What an eligible Mitchell Robinson would mean for Kansas

By Matt Tait     Aug 17, 2017

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Big East's Mitchell Robinson dunks against Big West's during the second half of the McDonald's All- American boys high school basketball game in Chicago, Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Big West won 109-107. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

According to a Wednesday night report from The New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7-foot McDonald’s All-American Mitchell Robinson did in fact visit the University of New Orleans on Wednesday and the big man appears to be headed toward making a decision sometime soon between Kansas and UNO.

The Top 10 prospect in the Class of 2017, who recently was granted a release from Western Kentucky after spending part of the summer at WKU, is from Chalmette, La., which sits just 10 miles east of New Orleans.

The location of his hometown further explains why both UNO and LSU were among the schools Robinson considered after leaving Western Kentucky, but Kansas still appears to be very much in the running to land Robinson.

While few people, if any, know exactly when a final decision will be made, it sounds like by the end of the week is certainly possible and it’s also starting to sound more and more like there is a legitimate chance that Robinson could be eligible to play during the 2017-18 season. In order to do so, Robinson would need to receive a waiver from the NCAA granting him immediate eligibility.

Landing Robinson, waiver in hand, would no doubt be huge news for the KU program. It would erase any concerns about front-court depth and talent and would turn KU’s big man status into a legitimate strength.

Remember, Robinson is a projected lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and pairing him, a true 7-footer, with another 7-footer in sophomore Udoka Azubuike would give KU some serious options and advantages to work with during the upcoming season.

With that in mind, let’s jump ahead just a bit and look at a few possible lineups that assume Robinson joins the Jayhawks and is eligible to play this season.

Option 1: Twin towers
————–

> PG – Devonte’ Graham
SG – Malik
> Newman
SG – Lagerald Vick
PF –
> Mitchell Robinson
C – Udoka Azubuike

• This would seem to be KU’s most formidable lineup. Twin 7-footers clogging the middle and 3 lightning-quick, fantastic-shooting guards playing around them. Beyond that, it would give KU incredible depth at all positions, with senior Svi Mykhailiuk and promising freshman Marcus Garrett poised to back-up the three guards and five-star freshman Billy Preston and sophomore grinder Mitch Lightfoot in place to rotate with the two big men. Just the mere thought of Robinson and Azubuike on the court at the same time is enough to get KU fans excited.

Option 2: Run and gun
————–

> PG – Devonte’ Graham
SG – Malik
> Newman
SG – Svi Mykhailiuk
SG –
> Lagerald Vick
C – Mitchell Robinson OR
> Udoka Azubuike

• In this scenario, KU coach Bill Self would be putting his most experienced lineup on the floor and capitalizing on what he saw in Italy that he really liked — fast guards, running wild and shooting open shots from all spots on the floor. Because Self has always favored playing inside-out, this option seems like a long shot with Robinson in the fold, but the four-guard approach worked so well last year and Self easily could elect to start this way and yet still find 25+ minutes apiece for Robinson and Azubuike. Going this route would potentially bring out the best in the two 7-footers, as well as Preston, who all would be competing for playing time up front.

Option 3: The traditional look
——————–

> PG – Devonte’ Graham
SG – Malik
> Newman
SG – Lagerald Vick
PF – Billy
> Preston
C – Udoka Azubuike

• This, to me, seems like the most unlikely of the three, but, if it came to fruition, it would be pretty tough to beat. The idea of Preston in the starting lineup means that things would have clicked sooner rather than later for the player Self has called the best looking freshman power forward to report to campus during his 15 seasons at Kansas. But there’s still a long way to go, mentally, for Preston, so it’s hard to imagine this one happening early on at least. If it did, Kansas would have an incredibly talented player in Robinson ready to spell either Preston or Azubuike at any time and also would have the same guard depth — Mykhailiuk and Garrett — as in the first lineup. While Preston in place of Robinson would take a little size away, it likely would allow the Jayhawks to play a touch faster.

Regardless of which one of those lineups you like best, or even if you have your own variation or prefer the senior version of Svi to start over Vick, one thing is abundantly clear from doing this exercise — adding Robinson, as long as he’s eligible, would not merely be a ho-hum case of blue blood program adds another McDonald’s All-American.

Instead, it would be an absolute game-changer for the Jayhawks and, potentially, for college basketball, giving KU some serious depth up front and giving Self plenty of options in how he plays and who he puts on the floor.

Stay in touch with KUsports.com for the latest on Robinson, who could make a decision/announcement at any time.

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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.