One on One with Jontay Porter
N. AUGUSTA, SC--PowerMizzou.com talked with Tiger commitment Jontay Porter after his team's Friday afternoon game at the Peach Jam. MoKan Elite beat the New York Lightning 91-65, but stands just 1-2 in pool play. Porter had 11 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, a blocked shot and no turnovers on Friday.
We talked to Jontay about his brother, coming back to Columbia and where he stands on his decision to reclassify.
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PowerMizzou.com: Obviously this weekend hasn't turned out quite how you would have wanted it to, but how much have you enjoyed this summer and how has it gone?
Jontay Porter: "It's been awesome. Like you said, it hasn't been the greatest week ever, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love this group of guys, I love playing with the MoKan organization and overall it's been a pretty good summer. A lot of us got exposure to college coaches and obviously it's been a big jump for me in terms of my play so it's been good.
PM: I know you said yesterday it's a safe assumption that you would reclassify. Is there any more insight you can add to that or what your timetable for making it official is?
JP: "I kind of talked to my parents and we kind of decided not to comment on that. Whatever I say, people take it out of context, blow it out of proportion. I remember a while ago I said it was like a 60/40 chance that I would reclass and he kind of took it out of context. I mean, yeah, you could say it is a safe assumption that I will reclass, but I don't really want to dig deeper into that."
PM: So you'll probably just get back home and talk it over with your family in the next couple of weeks?
JP: "Yeah, yeah for sure."
PM: Obviously you see your brother all the time. How's he enjoying that next step at Mizzou?
JP: "It's been awesome for him. He's loving the dorm life with Blake (Harris) and everything. They're best friends, all the freshmen. Mike's always back at our house hanging out with the kids. He's a mama's boy so he's always back. It's been great having the family so close while he's in college. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with that too."
PM: You look back a year, year and a half ago, could you and Michael have possibly seen this all working out the way it has?
JP: "Not at all. No. When we left Columbia the first time we thought that was it, we wouldn't come back except for the girls and to watch them play. It's a crazy turn of events, but we're thankful that it happened and we're excited looking forward."
PM: Last thing, you mentioned it was a jump in your play and obviously your ranking this summer. Where do you think you made the biggest improvements?
JP: "I think it's mostly just my mindset. Not having Michael and Trae (Young) on the team to shoot all the shots helped too. Basically my mindset, be more of a leader and really showcase what I can do. I felt that I've had this skillset for a while. Hopefully I can keep growing my skillset. But, basically, just my mindset, having that alpha dog mindset."