Porter explains Missouri commitment

For Jontay Porter it was always a matter of when, not if.

Missouri landed it's second Porter brother in the last few weeks on Monday when the five-star recruit announced his commitment to the Tigers. For now a 2018 recruit, Porter could join the Tigers this season. He did not specify for which class he was committing.

"Just to keep the hype levels up for Mizzou fans," Porter told PowerMizzou.com. "They've been waiting for this for a long time and based on the recent commitments and everything the hype has been at a maximum and I just want to keep it going. With Jeremiah's (Tilmon) commitment last week I thought this was the perfect time heading into summer."

Rivals national analyst Eric Bossi recently rated Porter the no. 10 recruit in 2018 Rivals150. If Porter reclassifies, Missouri will have a top-five recruiting class under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin.

The younger brother of Tigers signee Michael Porter Jr., Jontay Porter is coming off a very successful high school season where he and his brother led Nathan Hale High School in Seattle to an undefeated season and national championship.

Porter has been playing for MoKan Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit where he is averaging a double-double through the first two sessions.

He's unsure when he will decide on reclassifying and said that he's trying to reach a decision as soon as possible.

"Me and my family talked about it," he said. "I'm pretty sure I know what I want to do but it's not always about what I want to do."

Porter said the biggest hurdle with his decision to reclassify is that if he were to wait until after the Peach Jam to decide on it, he would miss summer classes and workouts at Missouri. He's already finished up work on the high school end and waiting another month would mean he wouldn't be able to take classes on campus while he finished out the grassroots season.

The Columbia native originally committed to Washington during his sophomore year of high school and rescinded his pledge shortly after Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar was fired. Porter’s father Michael Sr. was hired to be on Romar’s staff prior to last season and joined Martin’s staff shortly after Romar’s firing.

The newest Tiger said the entire Porter family is all packed up in Seattle and they plan to move back to Columbia this weekend. Porter Sr. is already back in Columbia with four of his children.

A natural big man that can pass and protect the rim when he’s not in the paint, Porter provides immediate depth at a position where Missouri struggled the past two seasons. He could challenge fellow signee Jeremiah Tilmon for a starting spot next season or give Mizzou a big start for 2018.

Regardless of the class he winds up in, Porter said he plans on recruiting some of Missouri's targets for 2018 because of the relationships he's built with them.

"Hopefully they see the success Mizzou has this year and they decide that's the place they want to go," he said. "Whenever I do get the chance like at these EYBL sessions I'm definitely going to be in their ears with how Mizzou is a great place for them personally. I hope they make the right decision."

Aside from his brother and Tilmon, Porter would join graduate transfer Kassius Robertson, Blake Harris and C.J. Roberts in the 2017 recruiting class. Missouri would be out of scholarships for the 2017 class and would likely put full attention on its 2018 class. No further roster movement is anticipated outside of Porter's decision. Of course, we still await official word how soon Jontay Porter will begin his college career.

Porter previously told PowerMizzou.com that he’s pondering a college major in finance.