Elite Draft Prospect Michael Porter Jr. Has Reportedly Been Fully Cleared To Return To Missouri (UPDATE)

The Missouri Tigers received a piece of massive news on Thursday afternoon, one which makes the upcoming NCAA Tournament and the top of the 2018 NBA Draft a little more interesting. Michael Porter Jr., the Tigers’ star forward who has played two total minutes this season due to back surgery, has reportedly been cleared to return to the floor.

That news comes via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, and comes on the heels of Porter meeting with doctors earlier in the day on Thursday.

Despite the fact that Porter has barely played this season, it’s been quite the campaign for the Tigers, as they are 18-10 on the season with an 8-7 mark in conference play. Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently has them slotted in as a 7-seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

But getting Porter back is a massive shot in the arm for Missouri as it enters the home stretch of the season. The 6’10 wing was the nation’s No. 2 recruit in the class of 2017, per his 247Sports Composite rating, and is a potential game changer offensively. Put simply, getting Porter back makes Missouri a better and really dangerous basketball team as it enters the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

This doesn’t even begin to touch on what this means for Porter’s hopes as an NBA prospect — you can read about those here. But to put things simply, Porter being healthy and able to potentially make an impact this season could be something that helps him out in a big way in a few months.

UPDATE: The hopes that Porter can take the floor might have to be tempered. Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported that while Porter did indeed get cleared for full contact, there are questions about his ability to take the floor.

With the NCAA Tournament less than a month away, Porter does have plenty time to get back to 100 percent. As for whether he will, well, that remains to be seen.