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Tony Mitchell update

A lot of Missouri fans have been asking for an update on Tony Mitchell the last couple of weeks, so here's what I've found out.

It's amazing how little attention this case has drawn compared to those of Enes Kanter and Josh Selby, even though we're talking about an elite recruit for a prominent team. (Mitchell was ranked 12th in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com.) The 6-8 freshman forward from Dallas has not been academically cleared by the NCAA and has yet to enroll in school.

To cut to the chase: This thing doesn't look good. Mitchell finished his senior year at Pinkston High under some very questionable circumstances, reportedly earning nine course credits in a matter of days shortly before he was supposed to graduate. Complicating matters further is the fact that Mitchell spent his junior year at a Florida prep school that was not accredited. All this has left him well short of the NCAA's requirements regarding core courses. So this was a longshot from the beginning.

From what I'm told, part of the reason this case has dragged on for so long is that Missouri has had a hard time getting information from Mitchell's former school, the Center of Life Academy in Florida. (There may be good reason for that.) Last week, the NCAA informed Missouri that Mitchell will not be declared eligible for the second semester. The school and the NCAA were preparing to make that decision public, but late last week Missouri received a FedEx package from Center of Life Academy which it hopes will help Mitchell's status. The NCAA is reviewing that new information, and we should have a final word by the end of this week.

The stakes for Mitchell are enormous. If he does not enroll at Missouri by Tuesday Jan. 25, he cannot be a student this year. NCAA rules allow a student to make up one core course requirement by the end of what would have been his freshman year of college, but I'm told Mitchell has much more than one course to make up. If he does not get eligible by the end of this spring, Mitchell will never be able to play Division I basketball. He can play in the NAIA or find a junior college. The more likely outcome is that he will have to try to make it somewhere as a professional.