Mark Mitchell’s path back to college basketball may hinge on a Kentucky courtroom.
The former Mizzou forward has joined a lawsuit filed Wednesday seeking injunctive relief against the NCAA so he can play another year of college basketball. His hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Louisville.
The key issue is what kind of relief he gets. If Mitchell and the other plaintiffs win a temporary restraining order, they would seemingly be able to enter the transfer portal and talk to any school they choose.
That would be a major difference from the recent Wisne v. NCAA case in Colorado, where Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted immediate injunctive relief for all Class of 2022 athletes, but also made clear the NCAA could still enforce other rules, including the ghost transfer rule and roster limits.
That distinction mattered. Athletes who were not already in the transfer portal this spring - Mitchell among them - were not able to enter it after that Colorado ruling.
A separate ruling in Kentucky would change that. It would let Mitchell enter the portal and be recruited by other programs. Without it, he can still return to college, but only at Missouri.
The lawsuit includes a line that gets right to the point: “(Mitchell) is not sure where he will play if granted another year,” a passage from the lawsuit states, “and is having difficulty with his decision because NCAA rules currently prohibit him from speaking with any coaches other than his previous school even though he has graduated and been declared eligible.”
Mitchell’s decision to file in Kentucky stands out. He has no obvious tie to the state, aside from reports that the Kentucky Wildcats are interested in him. Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio first reported that Mitchell was part of the case.
That Kentucky interest matters because, if Mitchell gets the injunction he’s seeking, the Wildcats would be one of the programs able to recruit him. And they have a roster spot open, with only 14 places filled.
Missouri would almost certainly welcome Mitchell back, but there are complications. The Tigers already have 15 players on the roster, which is the current maximum, so they would need to clear a spot.
And there’s the money question, too. If Mitchell is granted a temporary restraining order, he’s expected to draw million-plus dollar offers in today’s college basketball market, and Mizzou has already spent heavily this offseason.
Mitchell’s value is not in question. He led Missouri in scoring, rebounding and assists last season, helping the Tigers reach back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and earning all-conference honors both times. In 66 games after transferring from Duke, he scored 1,064 points.
After going unselected in the NBA Draft in June, Mitchell signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Denver Nuggets and played in four Summer League games. Neither that contract nor those appearances automatically make him ineligible to return to college.
So Mitchell was already cleared to come back.
What this Kentucky case really determines is whether he gets options. If he wins injunctive relief, he can shop himself around. If he doesn’t, Missouri is the only college door still open.
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