Fans get their first glimpse of Tiger hoops
Mizzou fans got their first in-person showing of the Michael Porter Jr. Show Saturday afternoon, and it did not disappoint.
Porter, who fans have been clamoring to see live since he committed to Mizzou nearly seven months ago, won the dunk contest among he, Jordan Barnett, Kevin Puryear and fellow freshman Blake Harris (even if Porter needed a mulligan from emcee Mike Kelly to make the finals). His through-the-legs, two-handed reverse jam earned perfect 10s from the judges sitting courtside, and that might not have even been his most impressive performance of the afternoon.
In a 10-minute scrimmage that was more focused on showcasing the athleticism and talent on Mizzou’s squad than actual fundamental basketball, Porter was yet again the main attraction, opening the scrimmage by picking Harris’ pocket and throwing down a thunderous dunk on the other end. Throughout the next half dozen minutes, Porter grabbed rebounds on one end, led and finished fast breaks, and even showed off his passing ability by throwing an alley-oop to walk-on Adam Wolf.
Despite the elder Porter’s performance, it was the Black Team, led by Kevin Puryear and Michael’s younger brother, Jontay Porter, that prevailed in the 10-minute showcase with a 32-19 victory.
The scrimmage also served a tune-up for a highly-anticipated exhibition matchup Sunday when former Big 12 rivals Mizzou and Kansas meet at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Although it was short-lived, the 10-minute run was a good chance to get some of the bugs out before the teams face off in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 19,000 tomorrow.
“That was our first time playing in front of so many people," Harris said. "I’m glad we did this today because tomorrow in Kansas City, there’s going to be a lot more people.”
CUNNINGHAM LEADS THE WAY FOR WOMEN
First-team All-SEC forward Sophie Cunningham picked up right where she left off last season, dominating on both ends of the floor during the women’s team’s 15-minute scrimmage. The junior from Columbia again showcased her scoring ability at all three levels, finishing a handful of layups around the basket, hitting a mid-range fadeaway in the key and burying two long 3-pointers in about 10 minutes of action.
Unlike Porter Jr. though, Cunningham’s Gold squad came out on top with a 23-14 victory over the Black squad.
NOTES & QUOTES
•The starting lineups in the men’s scrimmage featured a mixture of newcomers and returners, with Blake Harris, Jontay Porter, Jordan Geist, Kevin Puryear and Kassius Robertson suiting up for the Black team while Porter Jr., Jeremiah Tilmon, Terrence Phillips, Cullen VanLeer and Jordan Barnett started for the Gold squad.
•When asked his thoughts on the Kansas program ahead of tomorrow’s exhibition Porter said this: “They’re a good program. Bill Self recruited me me heavily, and I really liked the school. But I wasn’t going to betray Mizzou like that, but I liked the school. He’s a great recruiter and a great coach. Their program is on a high level right now so it’ll be a fun game tomorrow.”
•Porter Jr. and Harris said they were blown away by the atmosphere in the arena Saturday, noting how many fans showed up to watch a 10-minute scrimmage. Mizzou did not provide tickets to the event, but estimates are that somewhere around 7,500 people were in attendance.
“Man, it was amazing,” Porter said of the atmosphere. “Those are the fans that’ll be there at the end of the year, and it was so cool to go out there. It felt like home. … They were excited, and we were excited to show them a little preview for this year, and we’re just excited to play in front of them all year.”
“When I came on my visit, I saw the crowd and it was great,” Harris said. “I’m happy we put on this outing and I knew people were going to come. I thought it was cool that everybody showed up.”
The Tiger veterans were equally impressed.
"I had chills in the tunnel," Puryear said. "It was crazy. Just to have this many people come out and support us after the first couple years, they were pretty rough. To have a good showing, to have so many people behind us this year is extremely exciting and I can't wait."