Just seconds into college debut, hip issue puts Michael Porter Jr. on the bench

Missouri star freshman Michael Porter Jr. played fewer than two minutes of his regular-season college basketball debut Friday against Iowa State before moving to the bench. He didn’t return to the game.

Almost immediately after the opening tipoff, Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin brought junior forward Kevin Puryear off the bench, and Porter Jr. left the court with 18 minutes, 20 seconds remaining.

Porter Jr. held ice on his left hip during the first half. At halftime, Missouri team spokesman said Porter Jr. “tweaked his hip” during warmups and was being held out “as a precaution.”

After the game, Martin said Porter Jr. told him before the game that he was “not feeling right.”

“So that was pretty much it,” Martin said. “I had to talk to the doctor, trainers, Mike, but he was in the (scorer’s) book, so that’s why he was on the floor. If we didn’t have him in the book, I wouldn’t have him on the floor. I just think again his safety, his health is most important. It doesn’t matter who we play. That’s all I have right now.”

Even without their best player, the Tigers played strong defense against Iowa State and led by 14 at halftime and won 74-59.

Kevin Puryear, from Blue Springs, led Missouri with 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting and four rebounds in the first half and finished with 17 points.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Just seconds into college debut, hip issue puts Michael Porter Jr. on the bench."