Recruiting Roundup: Michael Porter Jr. Proving He's Class of 2017's Best Player

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — As a former three-time NBA all-star, Brandon Roy knows what special basketball talent is supposed to look like. 

The former Portland Trail Blazers star is spending the 2016-17 season as a first-time head coach at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle. The job at Nathan Hale meant that Roy was given the opportunity to coach 5-star class of 2017 forward Michael Porter Jr. The Washington commit, along with 4-star junior brother, Jontay Porter, had recently transferred to the area after their dad, Michael Porter Sr., took an assistant coaching job with the Huskies.

Roy knew that Porter Jr., in particular, was supposed to be talented. As a contender for the No. 1 spot in the class of 2017, the 6'10" Porter has received national buzz throughout his high school career. But even Roy couldn't foresee just how good of a player and teammate Porter would be during his only high school season in the state of Washington.

"I'm getting spoiled my first year coaching him," Roy said with a laugh.

The nation got to see what Roy and fans in the Pacific Northwest have been watching for months during the annual Spalding Hoop Hall Classic over the weekend. Although he's in a tight battle for the No. 1 spot in the class of 2017 with DeAndre Ayton and a handful of other classmates, Porter's dominating performance in a Nathan Hale upset over powerhouse Oak Hill Academy on national television showed why he is the current lead dog as the No. 1 player in the class of 2017.

Putting together 36 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, Porter was 14-of-25 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. With an ability to score from nearly anywhere on the floor with his elite size on the wing, Porter made Oak Hill—a team of 4- and 5-star prospects—look like a normal high school team.

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"I mean, it's been my goal to be the best player in the country," Porter said. "So on stages like this and the McDonald's All-American game, those are the stages I've gotta come out and really prove something.

"Lately I've been having stuff to prove, so every game I want to make a statement. This was another big statement, another big moment and I just wanted to go out and do my thing."

Roy didn't know what to expect from Porter as an individual outside of basketball. And taking over a team coming off of a 3-18 season, Roy definitely didn't know what to expect of his team on the court. He felt better about both before the Porter family even moved out of Missouri as he was impressed by how quickly Michael jelled with his new team.

"[Michael] fits in. From day one, he's talking to his teammates and he hadn't even came to Seattle yet," Roy said. "He's just texting with the guys and I'm like, 'Man, Mike's one of the guys already.' And to be rated so high [in the rankings]? I thought that was cool of him."

Plenty of praise also came from Roy for how Porter has rallied the team together and helped them stay focused while playing a much tougher schedule this season. The star players for Nathan Hale have been good, but Porter's play and leadership abilities have also empowered lesser teammates to play with more confidence.

"He sets the tone for our entire team. They kind of know when it's time to clown around and kind of know when it's time to lock in. They just go off his read," Roy said of Porter. "Like I said, I'm spoiled in a lot of ways because I don't have to get on the guys. If Mike is ready to go, then they see it's time to stop playing [around]."

Putting up huge numbers in front of sold-out crowds in the Seattle area, Porter didn't have the chance to state his case for the No. 1 spot on a national level until the Hoop Hall because Nathan Hale doesn't play in as many high-exposure games as some of his peers.

Next season at Washington, Porter will be facing a similar situation to his one year at Nathan Hale.

The Huskies are currently struggling to make the NCAA tournament, even as freshman Markelle Fultz turns in a brilliant season that could lead him to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Washington isn't on national television all the time like some of the blue blood programs we regularly see like Duke and Kentucky.

None of that seems to phase Porter one bit. Michael will be joining a Washington roster that is still very young this season, and along with playing for his dad, brother Jontay could be reclassifying up to the class of 2017. Porter has high expectations that he can end his high school career as the No. 1 player in the country while also helping Washington turn things around. 

"I'm going into an environment where I can make a big difference so I feel blessed. It's an opportunity," Porter said. "And I think my brother might be enrolling early, but we'll see. But it would be awesome to play with him in college. I think we could make a big difference for the program."

Kentucky's 2017 Class Using Hamidou Diallo as a 'Spy'

The midseason commitment and enrollment of 5-star shooting guard Hamidou Diallo to Kentucky made waves around the recruiting world. With the Wildcats securing the highly athletic former class of 2017 prospect to come and redshirt a half semester early, Diallo is getting an early taste of what college basketball and life at Kentucky is really like.

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Since head coach John Calipari also has five more commitments already in the fold in the class of 2017, those players are already quizzing Diallo on life in Lexington as much as possible.

"We text all the time. I just asked him how it is and he's loving it," Kentucky commit Quade Green said of Diallo.

"Everybody is using Hami as a spy. Me, Jarred [Vanderbilt], Nick [Richards], P.J. [Washington], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], we're all in group chat asking Hami, asking 'What's this? What's that?'"

Besides interacting with his future teammates, Diallo is also continuing to recruit other new players to Kentucky. The Wildcats are heavily involved with 5-star class of 2017 center Mohamed Bamba as the Harlem native told reporters that Diallo started recruiting him to Kentucky before he even publicly committed.

"I'm gonna use Hami as pretty much an informant," Bamba said. "He's there and he knows what it's really like coming, literally, straight out of high school just to start midseason. I'm going to use him as a resource as much as possible."

Diallo's Departure Puts Spotlight on Former Teammate Eric Ayala

Kentucky recruits aren't the only players who were affected by Diallo's sudden enrollment.

Diallo was also leaving behind his high school teammates at Putnam Science Academy in the middle of the season. That means that shooting guard Eric Ayala, a talented 4-star guard with numerous high-major scholarship offers, is drawing a lot of attention now from opposing teams and college coaches.

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Ayala is drawing a lot of college attention, in-part, because he could potentially be in the class of 2017 or the class of 2018. Weighing a potential reclassification decision, Ayala has gone to Diallo for advice on how to handle the process that Hamidou just went through.

"We talk about it. I talked about it a lot with him before he left," Ayala said. "But we're on two different paths. He made the best decision for him and I just have to make the best decision for me.

"He's a really good big brother to me. He gives me a lot of good advice."

Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Texas and Connecticut were schools that Ayala named as being after him, and he's still looking at a few factors in his reclassification decision. Ayala is scheduled to take the SAT over the weekend with the ACT coming up in February.

Getting a qualifying test score could be a big part of Ayala's decision to go to college for next season.

"Still up in the air right now," he said. "Still just trying to get through this high school season. Everything is up in the air right now with Hamidou leaving. I'm trying to adjust myself more with my team to be more of a leader now."

Recruiting ratings via Scout.com. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information were obtained firsthand.