The RoundHouse | 3/17/2021 4:39:00 PM
The Terre Haute (Ind.) media flocked to Wednesday's Zoom news conference to talk to
Craig Porter Jr. His story is well-known in Terre Haute and now deserves a refresh with Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.
They asked being a role model to people in his home town. They asked about playing an NCAA game in his home state. They asked if his experiences winning a junior college title will help the Shockers. To end the session, a reporter and former teammate told him the "whole entire city of Terre Haute is riding with you."
Indiana loves its basketball players, especially when they come with an underdog story.
"It's a big deal, especially to a lot of people who helped me along the way and believed in me," Porter said. "Terre Haute is a small city and not a lot of people get a lot of opportunities, so I feel like I can be huge influence to a lot of people."
Porter's influence on Wichita State is also important, although under-stated. He is a backup guard who can change the pace on offense when things get hectic and who is happy to defend and rebound. He averages 12.8 minutes a game, 2.2 point, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists. While most of the spotlight goes to American Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year
Tyson Etienne and senior
Alterique Gilbert, Porter's efficiency is helpful off the bench.
He played 12 critical minutes in the first game of the conference tournament against USF. He scored four points and had four assists and a steal in a 68-67 win. Both of his baskets, as well as a steal and block, came during a second-half rally.
"Run our basketball team, not turn it over, play good defense," said coach
Isaac Brown. "He can make wide open shots when he gets the opportunity and just defend at a high level, the same thing we've expected all year and the same thing he's given us all year."
That is a role Porter likes to play, dating to high school. As a senior, he led the team in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals on his way to a spot on the 15-man Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's Senior All-State Team.
While he also averaged 15 points, he ceded the team's scoring lead to De'Avion Washington, who played two seasons at Indiana State. Porter led the team by taking on all the other duties.
"He's just such a coachable kid," Terre Haute South coach Maynard Lewis said. "He listens. He just wanted to fill in those gaps."
Porter's high school career started late.
"Going into my freshman year, I was, I think about 5-0, 5-1, if I'm being generous," he said.
He said he grew almost a foot between freshman year and junior year, reaching 6-foot-1. He didn't play as a sophomore before rejoining the team as a junior.
"The light bulb went on," Lewis said. "He started making really good grades in school. It's one of the best stories I've seen since I've been a head coach."
The Shockers (16-5) play Drake (25-4) on Thursday (5:27 p.m. TBS) in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs remind Brown of a several American teams because of their dribble-drive offense that puts pressure on the defense to stop penetration. Etienne, Gilbert,
Dexter Dennis and Porter are Wichita State's first line against those driving guards.
"They try to beat you one-on-one off the dribble, off the bounce and we've got to do a good job of being in the gaps, containing the drive," Brown said. "Then we've got to do a good job of getting back in transition because they are a high scoring team."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
