When Mark Mitchell decided to return to college, most everyone would have guessed he ended up in Lexington. He even filed his injunction against the NCAA for another year in Kentucky. He then picked Kentucky, but that didn't last long.
Mitchell is now heading back to coach Dennis Gates and Missouri. Brandon Mitchell, Mark's agent and older brother, told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Monday that his brother was no longer committed to Kentucky and had instead enrolled in fall classes at Missouri, with the intention of returning to the Tigers.
The SEC was fighting the transfer because the conference's rules only permit intraconference transfers during the portal window, which, for basketball, closed back in April. That is a blow for Kentucky, but it isn't a massive loss.
Mark Mitchell is a great player, but he didn't raise Kentucky's ceiling
The truth is, Mark Mitchell is a good college player. 18 points and five rebounds a night is always a welcome sight. But is it going to make the difference between winning a title or not? I doubt it. Oscar Tshiebwe averaged 16 and 13 and couldn't get to the Elite 8. Would it have been nice to have someone with Mitchell's potential in the rotation? Sure. But Kentucky has the horses it needs already in the stable.
At the 5, Malachi Moreno is one of the 10 best centers in college basketball, according to SI's Kevin Sweeney. Washington transfer Franck Kepnang is going to be his backup, and he pulled down more rebounds than Mitchell did last year.
At the four, Ousmane N’Diaye has professional experience and, while not proven in the SEC like Mitchell, is a talented athlete. Justin McBride is coming off a year where he averaged 15 and 5 while shooting 40% from deep. Reece Potter will be a spacing option at both the four and five. I also expect to see Milan Momcilovic playing up at the four in a small-ball lineup at some point.
So, yes, Mitchell is talented, and it would have been nice to have seen him in Lexington. But honestly, Kentucky has what it needs to compete in the SEC and nationally. Now, they just have to put aside another publicly embarrassing recruiting loss and make it happen.
Mark Pope has done it before, BBN, numerous times this offseason. All we can do is embrace the current squad and run it for year three.
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