Why is Everyone Bashing Mitchell Robinson?

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Mitchell Robinson
Photo By: Slam Online

Former Class of 2017 top 10 recruit, Mitchell Robinson, has left Western Kentucky for the second time that Scout first reported.

Since it was reported last night, there has been a lot of backlash of his decision.

Many people are questioning how he could be a 1st round pick with being as volatile as he has in recent months. We expect to 17-18-year-old kids to make life-altering decisions without allowing them to make a single mistake. If most of us took a look at ourselves when we were 17-18,  I think the majority would agree that the best decision-making was not made during this time.

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center,

It doesn’t matter how smart teens or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet. The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so. In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part. In teen’s brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are still developing– and not necessarily at the same rate. That’s why teens experience overwhelming emotional input, they cant explain later what they were thinking. They weren’t thinking as much as they were feeling.

With that information can you really hold it against him? It’s clear that for any recruit, their commitment is an emotional process as well as a life-altering one. With everyone being critical let’s think about another option that I believe to be his best.

Europe has many high-level leagues where making over six figures for a talent like Robinson is feasible. Also, guys such as Fran Fraschilla have publicly stated how they believe high-level leagues overseas are better than major Division 1 college basketball. It is not unusual for native players overseas to turn pro around the ages of 16-18. This allows them to focus on their craft. Robinson could go surround himself in this culture. Coaches overseas do a great job of developing fundamental skills.

I believe Robinson could have put himself in the best situation to develop his skills for the 2018 NBA Draft if he decides to go play in a high-level league overseas. He would be playing against better competition than if he were playing at Western Kentucky. In this world big risks can equal to big rewards, so why not? Robinson could go make salary almost no 18-year-old could make. He could also go surround himself with professional coaches that could get more out of him than the coaching staff at Western Kentucky.

It will be interesting to see what Robinson has in store for his next decision. Will he go to Dallas to just train or he will consider going overseas to be able to play in games?

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