Michael Porter Jr. doesn’t want to be the next top lottery pick to get his numbers in his one-and-done season but miss the NCAA Tournament.
Speaking at the Jordan Brand Classic earlier this week, the five-star forward said that he doesn’t want to follow the mold of Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons, a pair who could go as the back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in the NBA Draft despite being on underachieving teams in their lone college year.
“I’m not looking to do that, I’m looking to be my own person,” said Porter Jr, per Adam Zagoria of FanRag Sports. “And I know how Markelle and Ben Simmons did but [at] Mizzou we got pieces. We got players coming back that have been through it and if we get these freshmen, I think we’ll really get it rolling and surprise a ton of people.
“I care about individual success a lot but team is more what I’m worried about,” he continued. “I want to win in college. I’ve always hated losing so that’s what I’m worried about.”
Porter Jr. committed to Missouri after an organizational shake-up caused him to decommit from Washington, where Fultz attended college. The 18-year-old headlines a top-10 recruiting class for the Tigers, but he’ll have his work cut out for him, given that they went 8-24 last season (dead last in the SEC) and have a new head coach in Cuonzo Martin.
