Porters in the spotlight against the Seminoles
NASHVILLE, TN—Before Missouri’s game against Georgia in the SEC Tournament, Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox said the Tigers were hard to prepare for with Michael Porter Jr. because they hadn’t had him all year and Fox had no idea how he would be integrated into the game plan.
With all of 23 minutes of film, the challenge of preparing for Porter now falls to Leonard Hamilton, whose Florida State Seminoles face the Tigers in a do-or-die NCAA Tournament game on Friday night at about 9 p.m.
“I’ve been asked that question several times about Michael Porter and I don’t understand why people are asking me why that’s gonna be difficult,” Hamilton said. “We’ve watched him play for a number of years and he’s a tremendously talented youngster. In fact, he’s one of the top four or five players in college basketball. We don’t have it twisted: We know exactly what we’re facing.”
Maybe Hamilton does, but nobody else really does. Porter Jr. was 5-for-17 from the floor against Georgia, mainly being used as a spot-up shooter. Outside of a couple of layups, most of Porter’s attempts were jump shots. With a week of practice, no one is sure how much that will change.
“I just think really put him in position so he can be successful,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Fitting him into what the other guys are doing so he can complement the other guys. It’s too late in the game for the guy to say do what we do, change it to fit him. He has to fit in to what the guys are doing.”
“He’s not going to try to be somebody he’s not,” Kassius Robertson said. “And don’t forget, we did have three, four months of practice with him before the season started so it’s not like he’s a stranger to us. We know exactly how he plays, who he is.”
The question is how close Porter is to the guy he was then.
“I have made some progress. Practice has been going good. I’ve been getting up and down a lot more and I’m starting to feel better,” Porter said. “There is a little mental hurdle even at this point. My mind’s telling me I want to do some certain things that I just won’t be able to do for a couple months after I get the nerve regeneration. I feel a lot better at this point than I was a week or two weeks ago.”
If that translates to the floor, it could be a big concern for the Seminoles. Because Hamilton was already duly impressed with what he saw in Porter’s first game.
“I was just amazed at the level of confidence that he played with,” Hamilton said. “He shot the ball from the three point line with a tremendous amount of confidence, he shot a turnaround jump shot like he’s been doing it all year long, he took the ball the length of the court, he moved the ball, made the extra pass. he played almost like a veteran, a guy whose maturity level is beyond his years.”
One play in particular stood out from the Georgia game. Michael got a rebound and sent an outlet pass to Jontay Porter. He then ran the floor and got a touch pass back from his brother.
“A 6-10 guy throwing an outlet pass to a 6-11 guy who touch passes it to his brother running down the middle of the floor,” Hamilton said with something bordering on incredulity. “I had to replay that to make sure what I was seeing.”
And that’s the real challenge in facing these Tigers. It’s not one Porter. It’s two. And the lesser heralded one has actually been Missouri’s best player for the last few games.
“I'm just equally as impressed with the younger brother. To see a 6-11 guy that dribbles and passes and shoots the ball as well as he does is extremely impressive,” Hamilton said. “I do think that’s the way basketball is moving. Guys who are position less type of players. He displays that.”
Jontay has scored in double figures in nine of his last 11 games (Missouri has won seven of those nine). In the last three, he is averaging 21 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 57% from three-point range.
“It sounds kind of weird, but I’ve never really liked being in the spotlight or having all the attention because I’ve always played behind Michael so I’m not used to it at all,” he said. “He’s the best player on our team. I don’t think that’s a secret.”
Hamilton stressed a number of times in his 15-minute session with reporters that Missouri is not a team where you can focus on one or two players. And yet…
“We don’t have it twisted: We know exactly what we’re facing,” Hamilton said of the Porter brothers. “They have our full attention.”
The Tigers and Seminoles will tip about half an hour after Xavier and Texas Southern ends tomorrow night in the final game of the day at Bridgestone Arena.