Tony Mitchell out at Missouri, in at North Texas?

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

We finally have some news on Tony Mitchell and, well, its not exactly good.

But it could be worse, I guess.

The NCAA made its final ruling on Mitchell's eligibility at Missouri, and once again, they ruled him ineligible. The original ruling was handed down on January 5th, but the school appealed on the 13th. Missouri has no such plans to pursue another appeal.


If you don't remember, Mitchell was the center of an academic scandal at Pinkston High in Dallas, and also spent three years at a high school in Florida that is accredited as a home schooling organization.

That doesn't mean that Mitchell's collegiate career is finished.

The top 20 recruit is headed to North Texas. He will first have to get into the school, but it appears as if that is going to happen. The Big XII forbids teams from taking non-qualifiers, but the Sun Belt -- the league in which North Texas plays -- has no such rule. Mitchell would have to sit out until Dec. 2011 and get his grades to the point that the NCAA rules him academically eligible (that could be difficult based on what we know about his high school years).

North Texas loses two of their top ten scorers of all-time this year to graduation, but their 2011 recruiting class is already very strong, headlined by borderline top 100 recruit Jordan Williams. With Mitchell also in the fold, the Mean Green -- who have been to two NCAA Tournaments the past four years and are currently 16-4 on the season -- shouldn't have to wait too long to rebuild their team.