Don’t look too much into Michael Porter Jr. shooting before games, Cuonzo Martin says

Missouri freshman forward and top recruit Michael Porter Jr. has shot a few baskets before games recently while his teammates have been warming up, but you shouldn’t think anything of it.

Really. Coach Cuonzo Martin said this means nothing.

When the program announced Porter had undergone back surgery after playing just 2 minutes in the team’s season opener, it said that he was “likely” to miss the rest of the season while spending 3-4 months recovering. Martin indicated Tuesday that Porter shooting casually does not mean there is any change in that status.

Porter wore street clothes while taking a few shots before Mizzou’s 82-81 win over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday, and his feet didn’t even leave the floor for those shots.

“All he’s doing right now is rehabbing, no playing on the court,” Martin said. “He might shoot a few balls, but nothing with the team. He’s not at practice, in uniform, anything like that. Again, he might shoot some balls here and there, but that’s about it.”

During Tuesday’s game, Porter joined his teammates on the bench. He has not sat on the bench for some of the Tigers’ games this season. Martin said whether Porter does so depends “on what he’s able to tolerate.”

“That means he’s probably progressing if he can sit on the bench that long,” Martin said. “If he’s not on the bench, he’s in the locker room, in a recliner probably sleeping. I’ve got to go in there and check on him. He’s rehabbing, and he’s progressing.”

On Tuesday morning, The Athletic published a story that quoted Martin saying he had not ruled out Porter playing this season.

“But again, my job as a coach is what we have right now,” Martin told The Athletic, “and that's for the doctors and the trainers to relay information to me.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 12:20 AM with the headline "Don’t look too much into Michael Porter Jr. shooting before games, Cuonzo Martin says."