NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — As Michael Porter Jr. and Trae Young did their post-game TV interviews with ESPN after leading MoKan Elite to the 2016 Peach Jam championship, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and his entire staff — which includes Michael Porter Sr. — stood a few feet away looking on proudly.
Washington was the last staff in the gym on Sunday, and they are also looking to be the last team standing for the 6-foot-9 Porter Jr., who went off for a game-high 33 points as MoKan Elite blew the doors off the PSA Cardinals, 93-65, before another gym full of spectators and big-time coaches.
Porter Jr., who made a strong case this weekend as the best player in the Class of 2017, is projected by one mock draft site as the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
On the recruitment front, he officially lists a top five of Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana and Washington. All of those schools were at Peach Jam, too, with Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, Virginia coach Tony Bennett, Missouri coach Kim Anderson and Indiana assistants Chuck Martin and Tim Buckley all on hand.
But is there a realistic chance Porter Jr. ends up somewhere other than Washington?
“No,” one industry source at Peach Jam told me. “Lorenzo Romar took a page out of Larry Brown’s book.”
More than three decades before he stepped down as head coach of SMU this week, Brown hired Ed Manning, Danny Manning’s father, as an assistant at Kansas.
”It just happened,” Brown said then. ”The thing I was afraid of, I didn’t want to ruin our relationship with Danny or embarrass Ed. I don’t think everything was so well planned out from the start. I’m not that smart.”
He added: ”I was up front and honest with [Ed] right from the start. I’m not embarrassed by what I’ve done in the least.”
”Whatever we try to do, whatever decision is made, we try to do it as a family,” Ed Manning said then. ”It was a great opportunity for me to get back into basketball, which was something I really enjoyed.”
How’d that one work out for Larry Brown?
“It worked out pretty well,” the source cracked. “He won a national championship.”
Ironically, Danny Manning and two of his assistants were also in the Peach Jam gym on Sunday because they are recruiting PSA Cardinals big man Mohamed Bamba and shooting guard Brandon Randolph.
In any event, there was nothing illegal or untoward about the hiring of Michael Porter Sr., a well-respected coach who has raised a family full of basketball players. It was a smart move by Romar, who just sent two players to the NBA Draft but has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011.
Speaking recently on The 4 Quarters Podcast, Romar said Porter Sr., a former women’s assistant at Missouri, will be great for player development — and, yes, recruiting, too.
“Well, one, he’s a great teacher of the game and great at player development,” Romar said. “They have a lot of kids. They have eight kids in their family, and two of the girls are playing Division 1 basketball at Missouri and the other guys obviously are good basketball players as well.
“He taught them all, he trained them all, so he’s very good that way. He’s a very good people person and has really good contacts in terms of recruiting, I think he’ll help us out immensely. He has a really good knowledge of the game. Mike Porter was a heck of a player in his own right. I’ve been on the court with him back in the day and played with him. He brings a lot of experience, a lot of know-how to our staff.”
Michael Porter Jr. knows the assumption is that he will end up at Washington with his father and Romar, his Godfather, but insists he’s keeping the recruitment open.
“With me moving up to Washington, everyone thinks that I’ll be going there,” the 6-foot-9 Porter Jr. told SNY’s Jack LeGwin in May. “I’m still definitely considering all of the schools on my top five [Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana and Washington]. I don’t know when I’m going to commit though because I want to see all of those teams play this year, especially Virginia. One of my best friends, Kyle Guy, is headed there, and I want see how they use him.”
He added: “I really like Coach Romar and how he develops guards. He’s sent a lot of players to the league, and I’ve sat in on their player development and it’s amazing.”
After Peach Jam, Porter Jr. said he “tries not to much attention to the coaches” in the gym but admitted “they’re all big-time coaches and it’s an honor to play in front of them.
Kansas’ Bill Self, Kentucky’s John Calipari, UNC’s Roy Williams and Alabama’s Avery Johnson were among the head coaches there.
They couldn’t help but take notice of the chemistry between Porter Jr. and Young, a 6-2 point guard who received co-MVP honors on the ZAGSBLOG All-Peach Jam teams.
The duo made MoKan look like a junior version of the Golden State Warriors as they combined to go 11-for-16 from downtown against a PSA Cardinals team that appeared to use all its energy coming back from a 20-point deficit against Team Penny in Saturday night’s semifinals.
“That’s my best friend and I think we’re best friends on the court, too, and I think that shows,” Porter Jr. said. “I’m proud of him, best point guard in the country.”
Asked if they continue to talk about playing together in college, Porter Jr., said, “Yes, sir, we do.”
Said Young: “Our relationship off the court definitely helps us on the court.”
How good could they be at the next level?
“I think as good as we let ourselves to be, we just gotta keep working and never let ourselves be content,” Porter Jr. said.
“Really good, really good, national championship caliber team,” Young said. “But right now we’re just going to enjoy this right now and enjoy it with my team and my family.”
As far as his recruitment, Young said plans to cut his list “soon” — and the conventional wisdom is that Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky and Washington are in good shape.
There will be pressure for Young to stay home and play at Oklahoma, and bluebloods Kansas and Kentucky also had their full staffs on hand and will be in the mix.
Talk of package deals is common in college hoops, but it may turn out that that’s not the best move for this duo — as effective and fun to watch as they together on this level.
“I think they’re really tough on the high school circuit because they both could score at a high level,” Terrance “Munch” Williams, the director of the PSA Cardinals, told SNY.tv. “But as far as college is concerned, they both are going to have adjustments to make when they get there and everyone has a learning curve.
“I don’t think it’s going to be as smooth or as easy as people predict it to be. Ultimately, if they continue to stay in the gym and work on their craft, I think they’ll be good college players. I don’t see them dominating from day one, but they’re really good players.”
He added: “I think they both gotta make their own decision for their individual selves, but if a school fits both of them for the best fit for themselves, I think it’s a good fit. But I’m not sure if that’s the perfect thing for both of them right now, but that’s up to their families and themselves as individuals.”
Through it all, Washington is looking to be the last team standing for both guys.
