Western Kentucky Grants Top Recruit Mitchell Robinson Release to Transfer

Mitchell Robinson will not be playing for Western Kentucky, after all.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury says freshman center Mitchell Robinson has been granted a release to transfer from the program, a day after the 7-footer was suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Stansbury repeated his earlier opinion that Robinson was ''a great kid'' and wished him well in a statement Tuesday night. The second-year WKU coach said that after talking with the consensus high school All-American from Chalmette, Louisiana, ''we agreed that it would be best for both sides to allow him to move in a different direction.''

Robinson had enrolled in summer classes at WKU and practiced as recently as last week. His stunning departure leaves the Hilltoppers without their highest-rated recruit in program history as they aim to improve on last season's 15–17 finish.