Missouri's Jontay Porter to Miss Entire Season After Tearing ACL in Scrimmage

Missouri Tigers forward Jontay Porter tore his MCL and ACL during a scrimmage Sunday and will miss the entire 2018-19 college basketball season.

Tom Martin of KCTV5 News shared the statement from Missouri:

Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr., averaged 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a freshman in 2017-18.

Michael Porter Jr. was the second-best recruit in the 2017 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and Jontay was nearly just as good. He ranked 25th overall and was the ninth-best power forward in the country.

With his brother gone, Porter had the opportunity to play a starring role for the Tigers this season. SEC media members selected him as a preseason All-SEC second team player earlier this week.

Losing Porter for the year almost certainly shuts the door on any chance Missouri had of reaching the NCAA tournament. The Tigers are now without their top four scorers from last year's squad that lost in the opening round of the tournament.

More concerning for Porter is how much the injury will impact his NBA draft stock.

He entered his name into the 2018 draft pool before withdrawing in May and returning to Missouri. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman ranked Porter 10th on his big board of draft-eligible college players.

"The scouting lens picks up his shooting, passing and shot-blocking skills for a center," Wasserman wrote. "At 18 years old, Porter finished as one of two players in the country to average at least one three-point make, 1.5 blocks and two assists per game, per Sports Reference."

Michael Porter Jr. decided to leave Missouri after an injury-plagued freshman season yet was still the 14th overall selection in the 2018 draft. Considering he didn't have nearly the same high school resume as his brother, Jontay may have little choice but to return for 2019-20 if he wants to remain a potential first-round draft pick.