Jontay Porter's Season-Ending Injury Shows Why The NCAA Needs To Change Right Now

There was no doubt that the hype was real when Michael Porter Jr., decided to follow his dad to Missouri. That hype got even more real when his brother Jontay decided to reclassify in order to play with his brother and dad at Missouri – a school that pretty much every Porter went to.

However, Michael went down with a back injury last year that really just knocked him out for the entire year. We didn’t get to see Michael Porter Jr., arguably the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2017 play college basketball. It absolutely sucked. That’s the only way to put it. Missouri was supposed to be competing in the SEC and a second weekend team with MPJ and his brother joining the team.

Now, we’re finding out even more bad news regarding the Porter’s. Jontay, who decided to come back to Missouri for his sophomore year, after what would have likely been a first round or early second round pick in last year’s Draft, is going to miss all of this year. Jontay tore his ACL and MCL in a scrimmage against Southern Illinois last night.

Jontay is one of many reasons as to why I say what I do about the NCAA. Let these kids make money off of their name, likeness and image while in college. Take away the school paying them. That shouldn’t happen. I agree you can say the school paying them in scholarship is enough from there. But, don’t restrict these kids on making money on top of that.

Sure, there’s still a chance that Jontay Porter will end up making money in the NBA. Shit, he may turn out to be an All-Star for all we know. He’s someone who has potential. He’s a big, who can step out, has a nice touch from the 3-point line and is an excellent rebounder. Will that stay there after the ACL/MCL injury? Perhaps. We’re seeing guys come back from this more and more.

Regardless, do you think Jontay Porter’s marketability will ever be higher than when he was at Missouri with his brother? No, I’d bet that’s most likely it. Again, this is where we need to let the NCAA allow kids to make money off of their name, likeness and image. I know a lot of people argue that it will skew recruiting. How is recruiting not skewed already? The best programs typically get the best players. That’s not going to change.