BRANSON MO NEWS: Michael Porter Jr.’s second full game in a Missouri uniform, a 67-54 loss to Florida State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, could very well have been his last.The highly touted freshman, a consensus lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft, said he has not yet made a decision about his future, but he will take the next few weeks to talk to family and friends about the next phase of his basketball career.“I’ve got to do what’s best for me,” he said after the Tigers’ loss in Nashville, Tennessee. “I’ve got to get my body right and keep moving forward. I’m not even going to make that decision for a little while.”
Porter Jr. said returning is “definitely not out of the question,” but with some mock drafts predicting the 19-year-old going in the top-five — if not top-three — selections, it’s hard to see a scenario where the Columbia product comes back to school.His younger brother Jontay, who reclassified to play for Missouri, is also eligible for the NBA. (The league’s rules state that a player is eligible so long as he turns 19 in the calendar year of the draft; Porter turns 19 in November.)After joining the team in August, and after his older brother’s injury two minutes into the Tigers’ season, the 6-foot-11 freshman made a name for himself with veteran vision, natural ball-handling skills and consistent 3-point shooting — a trait that sets him apart from most forwards in the 2018 Draft.Porter, who started just seven games this season, found his name on draft boards in January after a string of impressive performances. He scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a Jan. 3 win over South Carolina, and a week later finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds …
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