Missouri Tigers

Top HS basketball recruit opts for Missouri after Washington grants him release

Published Mar. 24, 2017 5:49 p.m. ET

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Aaron Torres

The nation's best high school basketball player knows where he'll play basketball next season. Michael Porter Jr., a 6'10" forward who played his senior year of high school in Seattle this past season, has committed to Missouri.

https://twitter.com/TheMPJ1/status/845382296555311104

Thus brings an end to the wild recruitment of Porter Jr. It also brings him back home to the place he grew up.

Porter Jr. is the son of Michael Porter Sr., who served as a Missouri women's assistant coach through the 2016 season. Last spring Porter Sr. took a job on the Washington staff to coach alongside his longtime friend Lorenzo Romar (who is Porter Jr.'s godfather). Shortly after his father took the job, Porter Jr. committed to the Huskies (his younger brother Jontay was already verbally committed to U-Dub).

However, the decision to fire Romar a few weeks ago at Washington changed things. It left Porter Sr. looking for a job, with Porter Jr. asking for a release from his Letter of Intent. That request was officially granted on Thursday — the same day that Porter Sr. was officially hired as an assistant at Missouri.

https://twitter.com/TheMPJ1/status/845382784638115840

So now the Porter family gets to return to Missouri, where two of Porter Jr.'s sisters already play for the Tigers' women's basketball team. He also arrives as one of the most decorated recruits in program history, after averaging 36 points per game as a high school senior and earning Gatorade National Player of the Year honors.

There's no telling whether Porter Jr.'s return will be enough to get Missouri into the NCAA tournament next year, but this is definitely one of the most interesting stories in the sport heading into the 2018 season.



 

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