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Michael Porter Jr. put a ring on it and Tanner Houck starts watching some spikes

Here are today’s Mizzou Links.

By Jack Peglow

Shockingly, Michael Porter Jr. made his commitment to play basketball at the University of Missouri officially official yesterday by signing his financial aid agreement. This likely comes as a surprise to everyone following Mizzou’s basketball recruiting efforts, as they had been assuming the deal was done for a long while now.

Who am I kidding. I’m sure there were plenty of Tiger fans who were sweating this out to the last moment just waiting for Porter to change his mind. Well fret not, passionate fans, he’s all locked in! There isn’t anything that could possibly go wrong now! Not a single thing!

From the Post-Dispatch:

"Mizzou is my home," said Porter Jr., who's in Brooklyn, N.Y., for Thursday's Jordan Brand Classic all-star game. "I lived in Columbia from fifth grade all the way until my senior year of high school. That place has shown me so much love. And I want to give back to that. I want to get Mizzou basketball back to the atmosphere I know it can be.”

From the KC Star:

“It goes without saying, but Michael is a special player and a special person,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said in a release from the athletic department. “Michael comes to the Mizzou family from a great family of his own, and our basketball program is thrilled to have a student-athlete with his character, drive and passion. Lisa and Michael Porter Sr. raised Michael well. He is continually motivated to give and is always striving to be a great teammate.

“Most of all, welcome home to Michael. Mizzou is a special place and Columbia is a community that already knows him well. I’m looking forward to Michael representing Mizzou well, on and off the court and in the classroom, and I’m sure he looks forward to it, as well.”

Everything is good to go. No more need to worry. Not even a little bit.

A throwback to a piece from last by Dave Matter about Kevin Knox and Michael Porter Jr., talking about the way both became over-sized wings thanks to coaching foresight.

As a 6-3 guard, Knox began his high school career working with the guards in practice in ball-handling and shooting drills. “It was never like we stuck him down in the post,” his coach said. “We didn’t know he was going to be 6-9. But the way the game has changed if I had a 6-9 freshman I’d probably have him do all of our guard drills.”

When Knox pulled down a rebound, Dziagwa let him run the floor and bring the ball up the court. He developed a reliable 3-point shot, too.

Any of this sound familiar? It should. From a 2016 P-D story on Michael Porter Jr.:

Orthopedic specialists took a look at his growth plate and indicated he’d one day tower over his 6-4 parents. But Michael Sr. left nothing to chance. If youth coaches tried making Porter a post player, Michael Sr. yanked him off the team. Eventually, he started training him ball-handling and shooting skills. “Even though the orthopedic doctor said that, there was no guarantee,” Michael Sr. said. “I didn’t want him to get to high school and be a 6-4 post player.”

More Links:

The Ringer had an article about former Mizzou guard Jabari Brown — Which NBA Players Shine When No One Else Cares Anymore?

In the final game of the year, against the Kings, they played two guards for 48 minutes. One was Vander Blue, who was playing in his fifth — and to date, final — NBA game. The other was Jabari Brown, who’d led the SEC in scoring for Mizzou in 2014 and dropped 50 and 48 in games for the Lakers’ D-League team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

The NFL Draft is drawing near, which means it’s time to remember Charles Harris used to play a sport that wasn’t football.

And over in Kansas City, several former Tigers are trying out at the Chiefs’ pro day, including Josh Augusta, Sean Culkin, Michael Scherer, Donavin Newsom, Jake Hurrell, Rick Hatley, and Alex Ross.

Oh, and by the way, Rock M Nation is back on Instagram.

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