If given the chance Aaron Colvin Jersey , Michael Porter Jr. would have a simple question for those who touted him as the best NBA prospect in this draft class a year ago and no longer do today.
Why?
The way he sees it, Porter was widely considered the best high-schooler in the country 12 months ago – even though he had back issues that led to him having surgery last fall and basically robbed him of his only college season at Missouri. So now, he thinks it’s logical that if his back is better, his stock should be even higher as well.
”I’m still the best player,” Porter said.
And that’s his message at the NBA Draft Combine, going on this week in Chicago. The small forward went through the anthropometric testing – height, weight, wingspan, body fat percentage and so on – but isn’t partaking in on-court matters this week, opting instead to save his statements there until he gets workouts with teams over the coming weeks.
”I know without a doubt,” Porter said. ”I’ve played against all these guys. They’re all great players. But I’m the best player in this draft and I can’t wait to show what I’m capable of.”
The players who are likely to be taken at the very top of next month’s draft aren’t participating in the combine. Arizona’s Deandre Ayton declined an invitation, Slovenian standout Luka Doncic’s season in Europe isn’t in Chicago – his European season isn’t over – and Duke’s Marvin Bagley III only took part in interviews with some teams.
That doesn’t mean intrigue is lacking at this gathering of hopefuls.
Texas’ Mo Bamba, he of the 7-foot-10 wingspan , said he believes he merits consideration from Phoenix for the No. 1 overall pick. Billy Preston , who left Kansas in November under the cloud of an NCAA investigation and briefly played in Europe Josh Allen Jersey , is in Chicago and insisting that he’s ready mentally and physically for the NBA life. Brian Bowen , who hasn’t played a college game yet – he left Louisville for South Carolina after it became known he was part of the FBI’s probe into college basketball and could only practice with the Gamecocks after enrolling there – is participating as well.
But there might not be a player in Chicago with more intrigue around him right now than Porter, who went from can’t-miss to couldn’t-play.
”Mike is a great player,” said Bruce Brown Jr., a guard who’s leaving Miami after two seasons for the NBA. ”I know him personally. We’re cool as friends. I think he can show the world what he is capable of and what I know he’s capable of.”
Porter is among the 25 or so Chicago invitees who are skipping the 5-on-5 portions of the combine. That’s not a surprise – the trend in recent years has been for players who are likely to be taken with the highest picks to skip some or all of the combine events – but a case could be argued that Porter could have used some game time.
He played in three games at Missouri, one of those for only two minutes before his back surgery on Nov. 21. He returned for two NCAA Tournament games.
Here’s how little Porter played last season: There were 3,505 players in Division I who scored more points than he did in his only college campaign. Porter shot 10 for 30 at Missouri, scoring 30 points in 53 minutes.
Obviously, those aren’t best-player numbers. Everything else on his resume suggests otherwise – 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior in high school, MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game, and was both the Naismith and Gatorade Boys High School National Player of the Year awards. He was the fifth player to sweep those, joining Alonzo Mourning, Dwight Howard, Chris Webber and LeBron James.
Big-time company.
”In the workouts, I won’t be holding back at all Emmanuel Ogbah Jersey ,” Porter said.
He’s interviewing with a slew of teams this week – New York, Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Atlanta, Cleveland, Memphis, Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers so far, with Sacramento, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Boston still to go. He knows that the Bulls fans are letting anyone who will listen on Twitter know they want him, and said he was impressed how New York’s braintrust knew many things about him.
And make no mistake: He says he is raring to play again.
”I was hoping to turn college basketball upside down, just like a lot of these players,” Porter said. ”But this is just a step in my process. It’s a little different, but I’m more ready than ever. I’ve been dreaming about this NBA stuff for so long. I feel like I’m ready.”
The Texas Rangers were great until the rain showed up. After that Stephen Anderson Jersey , they were holding on.
The Rangers led 5-0 when heavy showers forced a 29-minute rain delay in the top of the fourth inning Thursday night. The first batter after the delay hit a two-run homer to give the Rangers a 7-0 lead, but it was all Detroit Tigers after that.
The Tigers had the winning run at the plate with no one out in the ninth inning, but closer Keone Kela retired the next three batters to finish off a 7-5 victory and snap a three-game losing streak.
The Rangers didn’t arrive in Detroit until the early hours of Thursday morning after an extra-inning loss to the Astros the previous night.
”We had a tough night last night and some tough travel, but our guys showed up tonight,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”We needed to get a win to gain some momentum and gain some confidence.”
Yovani Gallardo (3-0) got the win, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two while winning his third straight start.
Kela allowed a run in the ninth – the first he’s given up in 12 career innings against Detroit – before finishing off his 21st save.
Matthew Boyd allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits in four innings. He is 0-3 with a 10.59 ERA in his last four starts.
”Everyone goes through good stretches and bad stretches at this level, and a lot of it depends on luck,” he said. ”Once the game is over, you have to put it away and focus on getting ready to take the ball in five days.”
Tigers bench coach Steve Liddle, who managed while Ron Gardenhire recovered from the heat exhaustion that caused him to leave Wednesday’s loss in Chicago, wasn’t pleased with Boyd’s pitch selection.
”He never threw his fastball, so they were sitting on his soft stuff all night,” Liddle said. ”They saw what he was doing and made adjustments, but he never made any adjustments to counter that.
”You can’t throw the same thing over and over and expect to win games.”
Detroit lost is third straight and dropped to 2-14 since June 17.
”We were down a touchdown early and we had the winning run at the plate in the ninth,” Liddle said. ”That’s something positive we can take from this.”
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Gallo became one of the few players to clear Comerica Park’s right-field stands with a home run. Gallo came into the game hitting .191 with 20 homers.
Nomar Mazara made it 3-0 with an RBI grounder in the third Ryan Kelly Jersey , and Tigers third baseman Ronny Rodriguez misplayed Adrian Beltre’s grounder to allow a fourth run to score.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s fourth-inning RBI single extended the Rangers’ lead to 5-0 on the final pitch before a 29-minute rain delay. The game had started 15 minutes late due to a brief rain shower.
On Boyd’s fifth pitch after play resumed, Guzman hit a two-run homer to put Texas ahead by seven.
The Tigers made it 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by John Hicks, Jim Adduci and Rodriguez, but Gallardo got Jose Iglesias to hit into an inning-ending double play.
”It’s tough coming out of the rain delay,” Gallardo said. ”We were ready to start the game and it rained, and then I had to stay loose through the second one. I gave up those three runs, but we got out of it.”
Goodrum homered in the sixth to make it 7-4.
Rodriguez started the ninth with an infield single and Iglesias reached on an error by third baseman Jurickson Profar. Victor Reyes followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5, but pinch-hitter Jeimer Candelario bounced into a force at second.
Kela struck out Nicholas Castellanos and retired Goodrum to end the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Chris Martin (groin) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and RHP Ricardo Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. … LHP Martin Perez (elbow) was scheduled to make his third rehab start for Round Rock on Thursday. Perez has not pitched for the Rangers this season after elbow surgery.
Tigers: Gardenhire was told by doctors to stay in the air-conditioned clubhouse with the heat index approaching 100 degrees at game time. Temperatures are forecast to be much cooler in Detroit on Friday. … RHP Drew VerHagen (broken nose) is expected to make one more rehab appearance for Triple-A Toledo before rejoining the Tigers.
BANISTER’S MILESTONE
The win was Banister’s 300th as a manager in his 574th game, making him the fastest manager to 300 wins in Rangers history. ”It’s a nice milestone for the organization and the ball club,” he said. ”I’ve been fortunate enough to be granted a great opportunity here.”
UP NEXT
Bartolo Colon (5-5, 4.76) will try to break a tie with Dennis Martinez for most wins by a pitcher born in Latin America when he starts against the Tigers on Friday. Colon is the last active major-league player to have played at Tiger Stadium, which closed in 1999. Jordan Zimmermann (3-0, 3.91) is scheduled to start for Detroit.
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