Incomplete.
We aren’t giving grades for the season like a lot of other sites, but if we were the grade you would have to give Jevon Porter would be an incomplete.
The Porter family is synonymous with disappointment around Mizzou (men’s) Basketball. From Michael Porter, Jr’s near season ending injury, and the ordeal that turned into. To Jontay Porter’s pre-season season ending injury, and subsequent gambling embarrassments. Next Coban, who had no direct ties to the University outside of his family members, but ended up going to jail for a DUI crash that killed someone. So you might be able to understand if more than a few fans felt a little PTSD when Jevon Porter announced he was coming back home to Mizzou to finish his college career.
Eliminate his last name and there was reason to be intrigued by the addition.
Porter was a mobile and skilled 6’10 forward. The same type of player Gates has deployed successfully over the years. He was an adept passer, and had shown flashes over the years as a play finisher.
And things started out promising. Porter started the first 10 games of the season as Gates tried to deploy a big lineup with Mark Mitchell, Porter, and Shawn Phillips on the floor at the same time. All Porter really needed to do was defend, rebound, and shoot the ball consistently.
But consistent shooting was often a struggle for Porter, even before he landed (back) in Columbia. And while he had two games of multiple three point makes, he only made 7 in his shortened season and finished with a 25% rate from behind the arc. Hardly enough to be considered a threat.
After the kU loss, Dennis Gates tried to switch things up a bit and brought Porter off the bench against Alabama State. But Porter only saw the floor for a minute, Alabama State went on a run, and Gates parked Porter the rest of the way. He saw the floor for 16 minutes against Bethune-Cookman in the following game, and scored an efficient 6 points. But that was the last game time Porter would see all season.
At some point between the Bethune-Cookman game, and the Illinois game, Porter hurt his leg. What the exact injury was never was disclosed, but some sort of lower leg injury. My thought was perhaps Mizzou was going to shoot for a medical redshirt after a certain point, and let a lingering injury heal fully. Similar to how they handled both John Tonje and Caleb Grill.
But after the season Porter entered the transfer portal and had requested a medical redshirt. But just yesterday he was named as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies summer league roster. So I guess his college career is over. Good luck to Jevon, but just the latest and hopefully last example of a Porter leading to a disappointing result with the Mizzou (Men’s) Basketball program.
I’ll always differentiate the Men’s vs Women’s side when it comes to the Porters, because despite a lot of injuries, both Cierra and Bri had solid careers on the women’s side.
Past Reviews:
About the Author
