Back in June, the Boston Celtics drafted center Chris Cenac Jr. with the No. 27 pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. Cenac played his college ball at the University of Houston.

With pick No. 40, the Celtics took forward Dillon Mitchell, an athletic 6-foot-9 wing from St. John's who played for the legendary Rick Pitino. 

Both players played in the Las Vegas Summer League, and showed flashes of excellence for a Celtics team that went 3-2 in Las Vegas.

However, now, there's at least a possibility that Mitchell could leave the Celtics before his career ever starts.

According to Adam Zagoria, college basketball insider, Mitchell is considering a return to college basketball under the "age-based eligibility model."

There's a lot going on here, so let's fill in some gaps:

Sometimes called the '5-in-5' rule, this rule gives a player five years to play five seasons in their sport, from the time they enroll in college, or after their 19th birthday, whatever comes first.

For instance, an athlete who goes the traditional US path from high school to college, would get five years to play five seasons.

Should a player sit out, get injured, or redshirt, they are not given an extra year. They will just have four more years of eligibility remaining.

However, if a player enters college after the age of 19, like many Division I hockey players do, they will actively be using up college eligibility before arriving on campus. 

Well, athletes who are returning to campus this season are being given an extra year of eligibility. For instance, someone who enrolled in college last fall and played in their freshman season, would still have four years of eligibility remaining.

However, athletes who graduated in 2026, from the high school Class of 2022, were not given this exemption. They simply played four seasons in four years and graduated.

A group of now-graduated seniors, including some Syracuse lacrosse players, have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking to get a fifth year of eligibility.

For the moment, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which would make all high school Class of 2022 athletes eligible for a fifth year in the upcoming academic year.

The NCAA is appealing, but all this needs to be decided quickly, as the fall sports schedule begins in just two weeks.

Well, Mitchell played just four seasons in four years, so he is thinking about trying to exercise his fifth year, and St. John's has room for him, especially after the injury to standout transfer Donnie Freeman. 

Mitchell played two years at Texas, one at Cincinnati and one at St. John's, averaging 8.0 ppg for his career. He also averaged 6.3 rebounds.

If he went back to school and played well, he'd be able to get drafted again - and potentially higher.

Well, the judge's ruling says that players who haven't signed professional contracts already are able to do this. As noted by Justin Turpin of WEEI in Boston, a Summer League contract is different than an NBA contract, and Mitchell hasn't signed his NBA deal yet.