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Michael Porter Jr. is now officially a part of the Missouri basketball team. The nations top-ranked recruit signed a financial-aid agreement with MU on Wednesday.

"Mizzou is my home," Porter said in a statement. "I lived in Columbia from fifth grade all the way until my senior year of high school. That place has shown me so much love. And I want to give back to that. I want to get Mizzou Basketball back to the atmosphere I know it can be.

There was little doubt the 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward would sign with the Tigers after he committed three weeks ago, but he finally could put it in writing on the first day of the spring signing period.

It goes without saying, but Michael is a special player and a special person, Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin said in a release. Michael comes to the Mizzou family from a great family of his own, and our basketball program is thrilled to have a student-athlete with his character, drive and passion. Lisa and Michael Porter Sr. raised Michael well. He is continually motivated to give and is always striving to be a great teammate.

Porter played the first three years of his high school career in Columbia at Tolton, leading the Trailblazers to the Class 3 state championship as a junior. Last year, he averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds in helping Nathan Hale High School in Seattle win a Washington state title.

"Coach Martin is such a normal, humble guy," Porter said. "I can't wait to play for him. He wants to put me in the best possible situations to succeed. As a player, you can really tell he is a guy that wants his players to be great, see them do well and make it to the next level.

Since his father was hired by Martin as an assistant coach on March 23 and Porter Jr. committed the next day, he has been busy helping Martin recruit. Porter helped convince fellow former Washington signee Blake Harris to give Missouri a verbal commitment on Sunday and is still working on fellow McDonalds All-American Kevin Knox, who remains undecided.

Porter was named the Naismith and Gatorade boys national player of the year this season and earned MVP honors as the McDonalds All-American Game on March 29 in Chicago. He is just the fifth player to claim all three honors and first since 2004, joining Dwight Howard (2004), LeBron James (2003), Chris Webber (1991) and Alonzo Mourning (1988).

Porter could not sign a letter of intent with the Tigers since he signed with Washington in November, and players are only allowed to sign a letter of intent once per school year. After a financial-aid agreement is signed, the school is obligated to honor the aid promised to the player in the contract. But unlike a letter of intent, a financial-aid agreement is not a restriction on a players recruitment. Players may sign financial aid agreements with multiple schools and arent required to attend schools they sign aid agreements with.

Porter is currently in Brooklyn for the Jordan Brand Classic. He will play for the East team in the game, which will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.

With C.J. Roberts and Porter signed, Missouri has three scholarships available for the Class of 2017.

SPREADING THE WORD: Its mid-April, and basketball is in the air at MU.

A stop at Speakers Circle on Wednesday morning was adequate evidence. In the center of the gathering space, dozens of students passing through campus between classes stopped to watch the drama unfold around an old basketball hoop.

There was Martin, in sunglasses and a white Missouri T-shirt, playing Knockout with students. Sophomore point guard Terrence Phillips was there, as was MU womens Coach Robin Pingeton and players Sierra Michaelis. Sophie Cunningham stopped by briefly to watch the proceedings.

Martins hiring and a wave of new mens recruits, including Porter, have put hoops in the spotlight. It is basketball season in Columbia in spirit if not in reality.

Its always been on my radar. I go to a lot of the games, even when we werent good, said Sam Zimmerman, a sophomore who took part in Wednesdays action. But now its on everyones radar. I just love seeing it. The campus, when all the recruits visited, seeing how excited everyone gets, it just gets everyone excited. Its just spreading across the campus, and its awesome.

Zimmerman was a Knockout champion Wednesday. The Platte City native eliminated Michaelis in the final round to finish on top.

I heard theyd be out here, Zimmerman said. I didnt know thered be Knockout going on, but when I got out here, they asked if I wanted to play. How can you turn that down?

Madison Pfleiderer, also a sophomore at MU, won the next Knockout game after knocking out Phillips in the final round.

It was awesome, she said. I know Terrence from class. I loved beating him. Im glad I got to do that.

Pfleiderer said the excitement and energy for next year is explosive already, and not just for the mens program.

I dont see how you could be any more excited, she said about the womens program. The first game of the NCAA Tournament was amazing. Getting that seeding and all kinds of stuff like that is just stellar, and the program is just going to keep building from here. Its something that, as a school, we need to be more aware of and more involved in, because the success theyve brought in the past two years is something to be very proud of.

Both Zimmerman and Pfleiderer were positive when asked about Martin, who took pictures and met with students in between games of knockout.

The student body in general is very eager for this season, Pfleiderer said. Compared to seasons past, I feel like theres a relationship now. This shows it. This shows that hes really going out there to reach all students that may have never been to a game before and are not really interested in athletics.

This article was first posted online on Apr 12, 2017at 6:01 PM

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Porter makes it official - Columbia Daily Tribune