Sophomore forward Cierra Porter is focused on the Missouri women’s upcoming first-round NCAA Tournament game and said she hasn’t talked to her dad, Michael Porter Sr., “a whole lot” since Lorenzo Romar was fired Wednesday as Washington’s coach.

Porter Sr. — who worked on Tigers coach Robin Pingeton’s staff for six seasons and is married to her sister, Lisa — was hired as an assistant on Romar’s staff last May and Cierra’s brother, Michael Porter Jr., is a Huskies signee and the No. 1 prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, according to ESPN and Rivals.com.

With Romar’s dismissal, the future for the Porter family, which moved to Seattle last summer, is up in the air.

 

Porter Sr. has been offered a position on new men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin’s staff at Mizzou, multiple sources told The Star, and Carrington Harrison of 610 Sports reported Thursday that he was in California to meet with Martin.

During an NCAA tourney press conference Thursday, Pingeton said she’s spoken with Porter Sr. several times, but the sixth-seeded Tigers (21-10) are trying to put blinders on and focus on a matchup against No. 11 seed South Florida (24-8) at 4 p.m. Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.

Pingeton also made it clear she’d welcome the Porter family’s return — which could lead to Michael Jr. and his younger brother Jontay, a 2018 four-star prospect who also committed to Washington, playing for Mizzou.

“Our family is extremely close,” Pingeton said. “We’re just an extremely close-knit group and, even though they were in Washington, that didn’t change anything. But just like any family, to be able to be back together would be pretty special.”