Jontay Porter was considered one of the top NBA Draft prospects to choose to return to college this past summer, foregoing the chance to be a likely first round pick to play one more season at Missouri and possibly improve his draft stock.
The sophomore was going to be a leader for the Tigers, coming off a strong freshman season where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, earning co-SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors. However, like his brother Michael last year, Jontay has reportedly suffered a season-ending injury, as he reportedly tore his ACL and MCL during a secret scrimmage on Sunday.
Alex Schiffer and Peter Baugh of the Kansas City Star first reported the injury on Sunday evening, and the team confirmed the news not long after, noting that Porter’s season is over before it could even begin.
Missouri has confirmed that Porter will miss the season, torn ACL and MCL
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) October 21, 2018
It’s a huge loss for the Tigers, who are looking to find their way back to the NCAA Tournament this season, and it’s obviously a significant blow to Porter’s draft hopes as he was looking to climb draft boards with another strong season at Mizzou. Now, he’ll have to rehab his way back and either return to Mizzou in 2019-20 or hope a team will be willing to take a risk on him with a pick coming off a significant knee injury.
