5-star big man Jontay Porter commits to Missouri

About three months ago, Missouri had only scored commitments from two five-star prospects since Rivals started keeping track in 2003 — Linas Kleiza and Tony Mitchell, only one of whom actually made it to campus. As of Monday night, the Tigers have now landed two since the season ended: first Michael Porter Jr., then Jontay Porter.

On its own, landing Jontay is incredible for Missouri. As he is the son of Mizzou assistant coach Michael Porter Sr. and brother of Mizzou signee and No. 1 overall recruit Michael Jr., however, this comes as no surprise.

This news adds to the litany of Mizzou offseason wins, which started with the hiring of Cuonzo Martin and has now culminated with Mizzou now having two commitments from the Porter family. If you were keeping track:

• Mizzou hired Cuonzo Martin
• Martin hired Michael Porter Sr as an assistant coach
• No. 1 overall 2017 recruit Michael Porter Jr. committed to Mizzou
• 4-star CG C.J. Roberts reaffirmed his intention to play at Mizzou
• 4-star PG Blake Harris committed to Mizzou
• Grad-transfer Kassius Robertson picked Mizzou
• 4-star post Jeremiah Tilmon signed with Mizzou

And now Jontay.

All of that, and I didn’t even mention the hubbub which surrounded five-star Kevin Knox and how quickly Missouri stormed up the charts with him (even though he ultimately chose Kentucky).

Jon Lopez/Nike via @jontayporter

So what sort of player are the Tigers getting in Porter?

Porter is a skilled big man who can shoot it from deep and has a deft passing touch. He’s capable of playing the low block and being an elite rebounder if he sets his mind to it, but he often ranges too far from the basket, content to shoot 3s. It would seem he’s read these reports, though — in the early periods of spring AAU action, he showed a rededication to the interior.

There are still parts of Jontay’s game that can be improved upon, but this summer he’s finally going to get to show what he can do, out from under his brother’s enormous shadow. Once Jontay was on his own, it didn’t take long for him to vault up enough spots in the rankings to grab the vaunted fifth star.

The big question now is this: will Jontay reclassify as a 2017 recruit to play with his brother? Not long ago, it looked like Jontay was planning on remaining a 2018 recruit and allowing himself to go through the year to potentially become another member of the family to play in a McDonald’s All American game. But the tide appears to be turning, and now Porter seems to be leaning towards reclassifying.

Adding a second Porter to the 2017 class would mean a lot towards Mizzou being a threat in the SEC next year. With Tilmon already on board, Jontay adds significant skill and bulk on the interior, an area where Mizzou was rather thin going into the offseason. The more reliable talent you have down low, the better, and the more rebounding you have, the better, and now the Tigers have two legitimate high-ceiling bigs to pair with existing roster holdovers like Kevin Puryear, Reed Nikko, and Mitchell Smith.

Porter is the No. 10 player in the 2018 class according to Rivals. If he reclassifies that likely boosts Mizzou’s recruiting class for 2017 into the top 5.

So welcome to Mizzou, Jontay! And continue to enjoy the incredible spring the Tigers are having, Mizzou fans.