Kansas basketball coach Bill Self won’t have much time to shake off whatever jet lag hits from his return from Italy to the United States this week, and it appears it will be important that he do so.
According to Matt Scott of 247 Sports site TheShiver.com, five-star Class of 2017 prospect Mitchell Robinson plans to make an unofficial visit Lawrence this weekend.
Robinson, a McDonald’s All-American who recently left Western Kentucky after his godfather, a member of the WKU coaching staff, resigned and now the No. 8 player in the 2017 Class according to Rivals.com is looking for a new school.
Robinson, who is from Chalmette (La.) High, reportedly made an unofficial visit to LSU last weekend but did not commit, as some reports had indicated. Robinson told Shay Wildeboor of JayhawkSlant.com that the rumors of his commitment to LSU were not true and confirmed that he would visit KU this weekend.
At 7 feet tall, 220 pounds and with a ton of skill and athleticism, the opportunity to land a player of Robinson’s caliber this late in the game is quite rare. However, landing him is only half of the battle for whichever program is fortunate enough to get him to town.
Because Robinson signed with and was enrolled at WKU this summer, he likely would have to sit out the 2017-18 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. There are some who believe he is exploring his options that might make him eligible to play immediately via some form of an NCAA waiver but the prospects of that, at least as of today, appear murky at best.
Still, getting Robinson to visit is a big step for the KU program, which could use help inside and has one scholarship available thanks to the unexpected departure of former William & Mary transfer Jack Whitman.
The Jayhawks still have a great deal of interest in Class of 2018 No. 1 prospect Marvin Bagley III, who may be trying to reclassify into the 2017 class, but how likely that outcome is also unclear.
