No. 1 prospect Michael Porter Jr. commits to Washington

By Corey Young | Jul 18, 2016

Jul 10, 2016; North Augusta, SC, USA; Mokan Elite player Michael Porter Jr. (1) looks to pass the ball during the first half of the Nike Peach Jam Finals against the PSA Cardinals at the Riverview Park Activity Center. Mokan won 93-65. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports /

Top ranked high school player, Michael Porter Jr. commits to the University of Washington.

Ranked as the number one high school basketball prospect in the country early last week, Michael Porter Jr. verbally committed to join the Washington Huskies. Porter took to Twitter to make his announcement.

Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar is the godfather of Porte Jr, which weighed into his decision to join the school. Porter’s father, Michael Porter Sr., was recently hired by the coaching staff and played with Romar in the early 1990s. Porter Jr’s younger brother, Johntay, has also committed to join the Huskies.

“My dad told me it was the best place for me to get to the next level,” Porter Jr. said in a recent interview with ESPN prior to heading to Chile to play with the U.S. Under-18 national team. “I made it clear I wanted to be one-and-done if possible and he told me that was an ideal spot to do that. I trust my dad and Coach Romar.”

Washington has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2011, but Porter will certainly help them make a push to make it out of the Pac-12 Conference. The 6-9, 210-pound small forward is a polished scorer with the ability to finish around the rim. Porter Jr. helped Father Tolton (Columbia) win a state title last season. For his senior year, he will play at Nathan Hale High School under former Huskies and NBA All-star Brandon Roy.

In this year’s recent Pearl Jam event in South Carolina, Porter Jr. shared MVP honors with his teammate Trae Young. His team, MoKan Elite, went undefeated (7-0) to reach the championship and took home the title. He averaged 26.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in the tournament.

Here is a look at some of Porter Jr’s highlights from high school:

For more NCAA Basketball coverage, visit our NCAA Basketball hub page.