31Views
Michael Porter Jr. is back and ready to remind everybody he’s one of the nicest
Michael Porter Jr., basketball phenom. Ever heard of him?
Well that’s probably because he’s only logged a total of two minutes in Division 1 basketball. Allow us to put you on game to this highly touted NBA prospect.
Ranked the #2 recruit in the 2017 high school class, MPJ has been considered amongst the game’s can’t miss prospects with the most NBA ready potential.
The 6’10” small forward from Columbia, Missouri was both a McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic representative.
Fun fact, Brandon Roy was his coach during his senior year at Nathan Hale HS in Washington. The pair secured the 2017 National High School Player and Coach of the Year respectively.
Porter Jr. put up an astonishing 52 points and 23 rebound on his high school Senior Night. There’s no questioning it, the kid can absolutely ball.
Fast forward nearly one whole calendar year and the talented wing for the Missouri Tigers has barely played. He suffered a brutal injury during the first minutes of the season opener to Iowa State.
Porter was expected to miss the entire season with a lower back injury that required surgery, a complicated microdiscectomy procedure to his L3-L4 spinal discs.
Spine injuries are difficult so it was hard to expect him back this season but he kept at it through grit, grind, and determination.
On February 22, 2018, Porter Jr. was cleared to practice with Missouri, with the potential to return to play before the end of the season.
He returns this afternoon during the second round of the SEC Tournament matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs, much to the amazement of his teammates and basketball junkies across the nation.
He never checked out on Missouri, continuing to work out with the team. Prior to their match up with Arkansas he let the world know:
“The plan is to keep working, with an eye on potentially playing at the SEC tournament and helping our squad be successful in the postseason.”
Porter is set to log anywhere between 20 to 25 minutes and with a win this afternoon, they’d face powerhouse Kentucky next. Talk about setting the stage for a big time comeback.
His determination and will to make it back is just another factor for NBA scouts to consider, but we can assure you they’re salivating to see him in action again. So are we.