Following a 10-2 start to the season, former Tigers Makhi and Makhel Mitchell have left the University of Maryland’s basketball team and are set to transfer. The 6-foot-10 freshman twins entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on December 27 after a mutual agreement with Head Coach Mark Turgeon.

“We want to thank Coach Turgeon for the opportunity to attend the University of Maryland. We are extremely appreciative of our time in College Park, but decided it was best to seek a new opportunity,” the Mitchell twins said in a joint statement. The twins’ departure comes as the team approaches the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments ranked ninth in the country. 

After playing in all 12 games prior to leaving the team, Makhi was averaging three points and just over nine minutes per game. Meanwhile, Makhel had played in 10 of the games, averaging one point and seven minutes per game. With minimal playing time, frustrations didn’t just rise from the players themselves. 

The twins’ mother was also part of the agreement that led to their ultimate departure from the team. Her frustrations were revealed two days after the transfer announcement via Twitter where she said that the twins had been “railroaded” by Coach Turgeon. By this, she implied that Turgeon only seemed interested in one of the twins, 4-star recruit Makhi. “He should’ve been honest from the start, he only wanted one of the twins. He finally told the truth about that,” she tweeted later that day.

She also claimed that the sudden disinterest in playing the twins was largely due to 7-foot-2 freshman Chol Marial’s clearance to play. However, with Marial only featuring in 12 of 17 games and averaging just over five minutes a game, that seems unlikely. 

After leaving the basketball program, the twins are still attending Maryland. Despite a visit to Providence College, there are still no clear indications as to where the twins will play next.