The final day to register for classes at Missouri has passed and basketball recruit Tony Mitchell has not (as far as we know) enrolled in school as he continues to wait for clearance from the NCAA regarding his high school transcripts.
The easy answer is to say that this now means Mitchell, ranked the No. 12 recruit in the country by Rivals, won't play for the Tigers this year. At this point, that appears to be the most likely scenario. It's been several months since I thought there was a realistic chance of Mitchell playing in Columbia this year.
But for anyone who has dealt with an academic institution, you know there are plenty of exceptions, and things can change, especially for athletes. Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch passed along a couple of potential options for Mizzou now that the registration deadline has passed.
MU said students can register for an eight-week semester within the semester that begins March 14 or for online classes and be eligible if they are taking at least 12 hours. Left unclear is when they could participate in those circumstances.
KOMU-TV in Columbia also reported that a late registration form would enable enrollment beyond Tuesday, but that could not be confirmed and it's unclear how late that could be extended.
In other words, this thing isn't dead yet. We've received no answers and no statements from anyone throughout the majority of this process so it seems fitting that it continues to drag on with no real answers from anyone.