Western Kentucky men’s basketball coach Rick Stansbury speaks to members of the media Friday during a news conference at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Rick Stansbury says Mitchell Robinson was “doing fine” his first 2½ weeks on campus.

Western Kentucky’s coach said the freshman center was doing well in class, participating fully in practice and “adjusting” to life as a Hilltopper.

Then the night of July 26, Robinson packed up his belongings, left Bowling Green and never came back.

Stansbury addressed media Friday at E.A. Diddle Arena to preview WKU’s preseason trip next week to Costa Rica. But the topic on everyone’s mind was Robinson, who went from potential Topper star to former Topper in less than a month’s time.

The McDonald’s All-American Robinson was released Tuesday from his scholarship, six days after he skipped town without warning.

“You know, it was probably just as much a surprise to me as it was to you when we found out he wasn’t here,” Stansbury, WKU’s second-year coach, said. “Mitchell’s a good kid. He was doing fine here. But for whatever reasons, he’s no longer here.

“As I’ve said, he would benefit from structure, and he was doing fine. He’d been here 2½ weeks, done well in his class, started practice. We had two days of practice and an individual (workout), so there’s no question he was adjusting. It was a huge adjustment for him and he was handling that.

“Outside of that, you know just as much as I know.”

Stansbury hasn’t seen Robinson in person since he left WKU’s campus July 26.

Sources told the Daily News last week that coaches and teammates were unaware of the 7-footer’s absence until he didn’t show up July 27 for a workout. Program personnel went to check on Robinson and found an empty dormitory room.

Sources said Robinson and his family initially ignored phone calls and messages from WKU coaches and administrators. The big man first went home to Louisiana, then embarked on a trip to Pensacola, Fla.

The school issued a statement Monday saying Robinson, upon a return to Bowling Green, would be suspended indefinitely. The suspension was for violation of team rules, which sources confirmed were his unexcused absences from workouts and practices.

Stansbury said Friday that Tuesday morning he finally had what he described as “a very brief conversation on the phone” with the prized recruit. That night, WKU issued another news release, this time announcing Robinson was released from his scholarship.

“I had to move on,” Stansbury said. “I’ve got a team to coach. I’ve got a team to get ready.

“I didn’t want there to be any more distractions than there were for our team, because I like our team, I like our kids.

“Unfortunately, good or bad, right or wrong, that’s kind of the landscape of college basketball nowadays. That’s kind of where it is. There’s so much uncertainty with all these kids – reclassifying, they’re all just jumping around changing schools. That’s the climate we’re in today.”

Stansbury was asked Friday if there were ever any doubts of Robinson’s commitment to WKU before recent events. The consensus five-star recruit verbally pledged to the Hilltoppers last summer, then signed a National Letter of Intent in November.

Stansbury brought up the resignation of assistant coach Shammond Williams, whose sudden exit from the program was reported July 3. Williams mentored Robinson during the player’s high school days at Chalmette (La.) High School, which isn’t far from where Williams worked from 2013-16 as an assistant at Tulane.

Williams has been referred to as a “godfather” for Robinson. ESPN reported shortly after Williams’ resignation that Stansbury was making efforts to convince the big man to follow through on his NLI and enroll at WKU.

Amid rampant speculation, Robinson enrolled at the school in time for the second summer school session that began July 10.

“I guess there were a few questions that got brought up a month or so ago when Shammond left,” Stansbury said of Robinson’s commitment to WKU. “Those were probably the first questions that got brought up. But it’s very obvious that he came on to school.”

Williams hasn’t been hired by any other college program since leaving WKU last month.

Stansbury was asked Friday if Williams had been communicating with Robinson and influencing the player’s decision making.

“I can’t say that,” Stansbury said. “Shammond, when he left he just basically wanted to pursue other avenues and opportunities in his life, whether that’s coaching or not. I don’t know for sure where that is, but that’s basically what I was told.”

Robinson’s release from his WKU scholarship came 22 months after the big man committed to Texas A&M in October 2015.

Stansbury was an assistant coach for the Aggies when Robinson committed. The veteran coach was one of the first to heavily recruit Robinson, a talented but raw prospect who didn’t play organized basketball until the summer before his freshman year of high school.

Stansbury took over in late March 2016 as the Hilltoppers’ new head coach, and Robinson decommitted from Texas A&M shortly after.

Robinson committed to and then signed with WKU later that year. He finished his high school career in 2016-17, averaging 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and six blocks per game as a senior at Chalmette.

Robinson was selected to play in both the McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic. He was poised to become the first five-star recruit to play for the Tops in the modern recruiting service area.

Then came Robinson’s arrival at WKU and his sudden departure from campus less than a month later.

Stansbury’s no stranger to losing high-profile signees at the last minute. He inked Jonathan Bender, Monta Ellis and Travis Outlaw during a 14-year run as head coach at Mississippi State, only to see them all choose the NBA Draft over college basketball.

Stansbury mentioned Bender, Ellis and Outlaw and their situations Friday. But the coach said he’d “never lost one who’d been in school and just left” like Robinson did.

“There was some disappointment in all of us,” Stansbury. “It’s human nature. …

“We all know what he could’ve brought to our program and our team. But again, sometimes you’re just not in control of those things. You can’t sit back and think about what-ifs.”

Stansbury said he’s unsure what Robinson’s next move will be. The center’s options include playing pro ball overseas for a year until the 2018 NBA Draft, or transferring to another Division I school.

If Robinson indeed transfers to another D-I program, he’d need an NCAA waiver to avoid sitting out a transfer season. That’s because he took financial aid and participated in practices during his short period on WKU’s campus.

“Does he go overseas, does he not go overseas? I don’t have the answers to that,” Stansbury said. “I have no idea.”{&end}