What was expected to be a breakout 2018-19 campaign for Missouri power forward Jontay Porter came to an end before it even started when he tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee during a preseason scrimmage. Porter sat out the entire season working to rehabilitate the injury, but on Saturday afternoon, a report indicated that the Missouri native suffered another major knee injury.
According to Alex Schiffer of the Kansas City Star, Porter re-tore the ACL in his right knee as he was working to get back to 100 percent. The news was confirmed by Missouri’s basketball program. Schiffer reported that the injury occurred while Porter was doing some on-court work.
“Porter was in Denver rehabbing his first ACL injury,” Schiffer wrote. “Sources told The Star the injury didn’t come directly from rehab but happened while he was on the court working out. It’s unknown if Porter was cleared for activity when he was injured.”
Porter’s older brother, Michael, is a rookie for the Denver Nuggets, but has been shut down by the team all year as he’s rehabbed from back surgery. As for Jontay, this is an unspeakably tough break. The 2018 SEC Sixth Man of the Year and All-Freshman team selection was viewed as a potential first-round selection in the 2019 NBA Draft, but tearing the same ACL twice in the span of the year is the exact sort of thing that throws that into a state of limbo.
During his freshman campaign for the Tigers, Porter averaged 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game. We’ll keep you updated on his next steps as that information becomes available.
