The SEC Tournament just became a whole lot more interesting, as arguably the most talented player in the conference will suit up and take the floor in Nashville. According to Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin, Tigers superstar Michael Porter Jr. will play for the first time since the team’s opening game of the year.
"He said 'Coach, I want to help the team'…for me it was always Mike's decision to play or not play."@CuonzoMartin confirms Michael Porter Jr. will play in the #SECTourney
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) March 7, 2018
The news of Porter’s availability was first broken by Paul Finebaum shortly before Martin confirmed that he will be giving it a go.
I'm told Michael Porter Jr. will play Thursday in the #SECTourney
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) March 7, 2018
Missouri’s first game will take place on Thursday afternoon, as the Tigers are awaiting the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Georgia and Vanderbilt. The winner of Thursday’s game would move on to face off against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Porter coming back into the fold for this tournament and for the NCAA Tournament is a potential game changer. He is as talented of a scorer as you will find in college basketball, a 6’11 wing who can fill it up with ease. Seeing as how this is a really good Missouri team right now, the thought of them getting perhaps the best pure scorer in the conference back at this juncture is terrifying.
There are certainly questions about how Porter will fare as he gets used to the speed of the game, and it remains to be seen how Missouri will adjust to a player who figures to play a massive role this month before he likely goes pro. But if both of those questions are answered quickly, the Tigers just became a terrifying opponent for anyone during the month of March.
