With nine hours remaining until Wednesday night’s deadline to withdraw from 2018’s NBA Draft, Missouri forward Jontay Porter announced his decision.
The freshman who reclassified last August to play for Missouri with his brother and projected NBA lottery pick Michael Porter Jr. will return to the city that raised him. Indeed, Jontay Porter will play a sophomore season in Columbia, as he announced in a release from MU basketball Wednesday afternoon that he is taking his name out of the NBA Draft pool and returning to the Tigers.
Minutes after tweeting out a GIF of a winking Porter, the MU basketball program sent out the release with a comment from Coach Cuonzo Martin.
“We are excited that Jontay will return,” Martin said. “He had a great experience going through the pre-Draft process, got the feedback that he needed to do what is best for him, and he will learn from it to improve in all areas of his game. Jontay has the potential to make a big jump from his freshman season, and he’ll be a great leader for us on and off the court next year.”
Porter, who declared for the NBA Draft on April 5 without signing with an agent, averaged 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a freshman at Missouri. His play in games at the end of Missouri’s first season under Martin — such as his 24-point performance at Vanderbilt — was crucial to MU earning its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2013.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, Porter’s play caught the eye of many scouts. They salivated at his ability to shoot the 3-pointer off of the pick-and-pop. They saw his 6-foot-11 frame as one that fit perfectly into today’s switch-loving NBA.
Porter eyed an NBA declaration because of those thoughts. And after his April 5 decision to go through the draft process, which featured interviews and workouts with teams, he was projected as a late first- to mid-second-round pick.
Ahead of the NBA Combine back in mid-May, Porter was expected to sign with an agent, locking him into leaving MU. But after the combine, where he did not participate in scrimmages nor excel in his measurables, reports surfaced about Porter’s possible return.
On May 21, The Ringer reported via multiple sources that Porter was leaning toward heading back to MU. A day later, an NBA scout phrased it this way in a text to the Columbia Missourian: “He could be a first but could also dip to early second. It’s okay to go back.”
Ultimately, Porter made the decision to do exactly that ahead of the 10:59 p.m Central deadline Wednesday. He’ll return to a team and program looking to build off of its NCAA Tournament appearance. He’ll return as the focal point of both the offense and defense. He’ll return for his first-ever summer workout program under Missouri strength-and-conditioning coach Nicodemus Christopher — a program that will likely help his case come 2019’s NBA Draft.
Questions regarding Missouri’s guard play abound heading into the 2018-19 season. Rising senior guard Jordan Geist will return, but last year’s seniors and leading scorers in Kassius Robertson and Jordan Barnett will not.
Freshman guards Torrence Watson, Xavier Pinson and Javon Pickett likely will have to shoulder a heavy load for Missouri to once again make the NCAA Tournament. But they now will have the help of a front court featuring not only Jeremiah Tilmon but also fellow sophomore Porter, who will once again be sporting the black-and-gold No. 11.
