Is there a new player in the recruiting race for Mitchell Robinson?

By Matt Tait     Aug 18, 2017

With visits to Kansas and the University of New Orleans officially out of the way, the New Orleans Times Picayune reported earlier this week that 7-foot McDonald’s All-American Mitchell Robinson soon would make a decision between KU and UNO.

But close followers of Twitter who have been observing Robinson’s behavior of late are aware that there might be a third school in the picture. And, no, it’s not LSU, which Robinson also visited before trips to Kansas and New Orleans.

Instead, it’s Western Kentucky. That’s right… the same Western Kentucky program that Robinson initially had committed to but, in July, from which he asked for a release.

There’s nothing official out there saying that WKU is back in the mix. But @BarstoolWestern, a Twitter account with 6,000 followers that tracks Western Kentucky sports, Tweeted this week that it had sources that confirmed that Robinson was “seriously considering returning to WKU.”

Big deal, right? Fan site hopes for the best and tries to create a little buzz and/or hope that the return of the Top 10 prospect and potential future NBA lottery pick is a real option for the Hilltoppers.

That would be the logical conclusion. But add to that the fact that Robinson himself (@kodakmitch23) ReTweeted that claim and one that urged WKU fans with the following: “Hearing a lot of different thoughts from Tops fans about this. If you want to see him play for WKU, give him a shout”

Robinson also ReTweeted a Twitter poll put up by @100MilesofHate (sweet name, smh) that asked: “If you’re @WKUBasketball & Coach Stansbury, do you welcome back Mitchell Robinson if he wishes to return?”

As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, with 1,092 votes counted, “Absolutely” was leading “Nope” 64-36. And that’s far closer than I thought it would’ve been.

Robinson also ReTweeted at least three or four other Tweets referencing his possible return to WKU, including one person who took the ultimate leap and said Robinson going back to Western Kentucky “would be like Lebron coming back to Cleveland.”

Huh?

Robinson, as you surely know by now, is from Chalmette, La., so him going to UNO would be a lot more like him returning to Cleveland than him electing to stick with his initial commitment to WKU.

There’s no telling just how serious this chatter about the 7-footer changing his mind (again?) and staying with Western Kentucky for the 2017-18 season really is. But it’s at least worth tracking, even if Twitter is not the most official and scientific place to do such things.

Either way, if that Times Picayune report was accurate and Robinson is planning to decided soon, we’ll know one way or another in the fairly near future and can move on from Robinson Watch 2017 regardless of the outcome.

Stay tuned…

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.