Jontay Porter — the younger brother of Denver’s Michael Porter Jr., who did not play all season as he recovered from back issues — was impressive as a freshman, the one season he played at Missouri. He averaged 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds a game (mostly off the bench), showed a shooting touch from three, he plays a high IQ game, and at 6'11" he has NBA size and a strong frame.
But since then Porter has been a story of injuries. A lot of them. He did not play this past season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee back in October. By his own admission he tried to rush back and tore the same ACL again in March.
Now, Porter is declaring he will enter the NBA Draft.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwdIiqaBARA/
Porter has legitimate potential as a stretch five in the NBA, but the knee injuries and questions about Porter’s athleticism (he’s not athletic by NBA standards) makes teams hesitant. That’s why Porter is projected as a second-round pick, a big man with potential but one who needs time to get healthy and develop.
A couple other draft notes:
• Charles Bassey, the 6'11" big man out of Western Kentucky, will test the draft. He is projected as a late second rounder, if drafted at all.
WKU freshman center Charles Bassey will declare for the NBA Draft without signing with an agent in order to receive evaluation, while retaining his NCAA eligibility and the option to return to school. #GoTops pic.twitter.com/jr7Vb71VBp
— WKU Hilltopper Basketball (@WKUBasketball) April 19, 2019
• Mike Daum, who averaged 25.3 points and 11.7 rebounds a game this past season for South Dakota State, has entered the draft and signed with Octagon Sports. He needs to impress at combines and workouts to make sure he gets drafted.
Proud to welcome @gojackssdsu standout Mike Daum (@dauminator24) to the #OctagonFamily 🏀🙌🔥 #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/ACVl5nKSUL
— Octagon Basketball (@OctagonBsktball) April 19, 2019
• Two European big men, Louis Olinde (6’10” out of Germany) and Aleksander Balcerowski (7’1” center from Poland) both have put their names in the NBA Draft pool. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony announced both of the Euros looking to come to the NBA.
