By SEAN BOCK
Missouri freshman forward Michael Porter Jr. has been cleared for all basketball activities, Jon Rothstein reported on Thursday.
Porter Jr. had microdiscectomy surgery of the L3-L4 spinal discs in November after appearing in only two minutes in the Tigers’ opener against Iowa State on Nov. 10.
Porter Jr. was originally told he was done for the season but told reporters on Feb. 9 there’s a “good chance” he returns this season.
Days after his surgery on Nov. 26, Porter Jr. posted on his Snapchat story “whoever said it was gonna take 3-4 months to recover lied,” creating even more speculation among the college basketball world.
Missouri is 18-10 (8-7 SEC) and a No. 7 seed in ESPN Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology. The Tigers are coming off a 90-87 loss at home against Ole Miss on Feb. 20 and will travel to Kentucky on Feb. 24.
In the latest ESPN NBA Mock Draft, Porter Jr. is the No. 6 pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers.