Micheal Porter Jr. and his brother Jontay reportedly will finish high school in Seattle.
The Huskies moved a step closer to landing Michael Porter Jr., one of the nation’s top 2017 men’s basketball prospects, when they hired his father Michael Porter Sr. as an assistant.
“We’re extremely excited to have Mike and his family join us,” Romar said in a statement released by Washington. “I’ve known him for many years and he will be a very valuable addition to our coaching staff. Mike has a very high level of experience in player development and also provides a network of recruiting in the Midwest that we have not really been able to tap into. There’s no doubt he will help our program continue to grow and be a great mentor to our guys.”
Porter Sr. replaces Brad Jackson, who joined Romar’s staff in 2012 and moves into a newly-created special assistant position. The NCAA limits three full-time assistants per team.
“I am extremely humbled and excited to have the opportunity to join the UW men’s basketball program,” Porter Sr. said in a statement. “The admiration, trust and respect my wife, Lisa, and I have for Lorenzo Romar stems from many years of watching how he lives his life and handles his business. I’m grateful for the chance to work with and learn from a man who exemplifies everything I want to be as a husband, father and coach.”
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Porter Sr., who declined a similar offer from UW last year, and Romar are longtime friends. The UW coach played basketball with Porter Sr. on the Athletes in Action team when Romar’s NBA career ended in 1985. Romar also coached Porter Sr. on year with AIA. Romar is also Porter Jr.’s godfather.
Porter Sr. had been an assistant with the Missouri women’s basketball team the past three years where he helped coach his daughters Bri and Cierra, a sophomore and freshman respectively last season.
Porter Sr. will likely have a chance to coach at least one of his children at UW considering Jontay Porter, a 2018 prospect and a 6-foot-8 center, is verbally committed to the Huskies last year.
It remains to be seen if the Porters are a package deal heading to Montlake, but the family is reportedly moving to Seattle.
In an interview with Rivals.com, Porter Sr. said his sons Michael Jr. and Jontay will move to Seattle to finish high school. Jontay Porter seemingly confirmed the report with a tweet that read: “Moving to Washington!”
Last season the Porter brothers led Tolton Catholic High (Columbia, MO) to the Class 3 MSHSAA state championship.
The Huskies are now in a prime position to land the coveted Porter Jr., a 6-9 and 215-pound forward who is considered the No. 2 recruit in the country, according to Rivals. ESPN lists him third and Scout.com fifth nationally.
Last August Porter Jr. narrowed his list of college choices to Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Stanford, Syracuse, UCLA and Washington.
Securing Porter Jr. would be the second straight year the Huskies would have landed a top 10 recruit. Last year Washington signed consensus All-American Markelle Fultz, a five-star shooting guard from Maryland.
Adding Porter Jr. would offset the loss of 2017 prospect Daejon Davis, who recently re-opened his recruitment after committing to UW, and perhaps momentarily quiet Romar critics who bemoan the team’s five-year NCAA tournament drought.
Here’s a look at Porter’s highlights from last summer.