Nation's top player is signed
The late signing period started today and the Mizzou men's basketball team has received a signed financial aid agreements from verbal commit Michael Porter Jr. The nation's No. 1 prospect joins fellow Rivals150 prospect C.J. Roberts as officially in the fold for Cuonzo Martin.
The school confirmed the signins of financial aid agreement in a release on Wednesday afternoon. Financial aid agreements do not bind the prospects to attend Mizzou, but Porter is considered a solid commitments. Because he had signed a National Letter of Intent with Washington in the early signing period, he cannot sign another one.
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“It goes without saying, but Michael is a special player and a special person,” Martin said in the release. “Michael comes to the Mizzou Family from a great family of his own, and our basketball program is thrilled to have a student-athlete with his character, drive and passion. Lisa and Michael Porter, Sr., raised Michael well. He is continually motivated to give and is always striving to be a great teammate.
“Most of all, welcome home to Michael. Mizzou is a special place and Columbia is a community that already knows him well. I’m looking forward to Michael representing Mizzou well, on and off the court and in the classroom, and I’m sure he looks forward to it, as well.”
Porter signed with Washington in the fall, but asked for and received a release from the school after Lorenzo Romar was fired. He committed to Missouri a few days later and has been leading the charge for the Tigers on the recruiting trail ever since.
Porter won state championships in each of his last two seasons of high school basketball. He averaged 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds as a junior at Father Tolton High School in Columbia. He then put up 34 points per game as a senior at Nathan Hale High School, leading a turnaround from 3-18 to 29-0 and state champs.
Porter has collected a bevy of postseason awards, including the Gatorade National Player of the Year and the McDonald's all-American Game MVP, in addition to retaining his spot as the country's consensus top prospect. He is currently in Brooklyn, NY, where he will play in the Jordan Brand Classic game on Friday night.
Below are quotes from Porter released by the Missouri Athletic Department.
On the thought of returning home to play at Mizzou…
"Mizzou is my home. I lived in Columbia from fifth grade all the way until my senior year of high school. That place has shown me so much love. And I want to give back to that. I want to get Mizzou Basketball back to the atmosphere I know it can be.”
On playing for new Mizzou head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin…
"Coach Martin is such a normal, humble guy. I can't wait to play for him. He wants to put me in the best possible situations to succeed. As a player, you can really tell he is a guy that wants his players to be great, see them do well and make it to the next level.”
On the Columbia community and Mizzou fans…
"Mizzou fans and people in Columbia know me. I'll be around town. I'm a friendly guy. On the court, I'm not as much of a friendly guy. You've got to dial it in, then. But just me? I’m fun.”
Fellow Rivals150 member, Blake Harris, is expected to sign with Mizzou in the coming days, perhaps as soon as Wednesday night. When that has been confirmed, PowerMizzou.com will pass along the news.