ALL-AMERICA, 2013

In modern college basketball recruiting, there are no hidden gems. It seems everyone has a AAU pedigree to be scoured by scouts and coaches and interested fan web sites. But in 2010, from a high school of just 108, a 6-9 forward named Otto Porter Jr. was signed by Georgetown University. To those that did not know him, few would have imagined a small town kid that never played AAU ball would become a consensus All-American and NBA first round pick. To those that knew him, it wasn't a surprise at all.

Otto wasn't the first member of his family to have starred at Scott County Central HS--far from it. Otto Jr. had come from a family of champions: Otto, Sr. (Class of 1976), who scored a state record 143 points in four Missouri state championship games. Next followed brothers Melvin (1980), Calvin (1983), and Jerry (1989), followed by cousin Mark (1991). On his mother's side, the Timmons family, have a Scott County tradition as well: Mayfield (1980), Anthony (1983), Dean (1985), and Marcus (1991), part of a tradition that has won 15 men's state titles at Scott County Central. His mother and aunt also won women's titles at Scott County.

Otto Jr. passed on the AAU circuit, making him somewhat of an unknown commodity to some recruiters, but staying closer to home was invaluable.

"It's just how the Porter boys were raised," wrote author David Heeb. "To these boys, basketball is just a way of life, something that is more religion than sport. Every Sunday afternoon, and several nights per week, you can find Jerry, Otto Sr. and several other SCC alumni playing at the old high school gym. All of the younger Porter boys would be in there also, getting beat on by these grown men. I've watched as a 12-year-old Otto Jr tried to guard a 32-year-old man that was a two-time all state player in high school, and if Otto Jr. let him score, he was going to hear about it when he got home. If Otto Jr.'s team lost, and it caused one of the uncles to have to sit out a game...you don't even want to know what happened after that. John Thompson III can't give a tongue lashing like Uncle Jerry, I promise you that."

"He is the most prepared freshman that I've coached," said coach John Thompson III in 2010. "Mentally, physically, emotionally...just being prepared to compete at this level in a way that most freshmen are not. A lot of freshmen don't understand how to compete at this level. But he walked in the door knowing how to compete."

Porter didn't join the Georgetown starting lineup until late in his freshman year, though his presence from the bench was getting attention, such as a 14 point, 14 rebound effort in Georgetown's upset of #4 Louisville in December 2011. He averaged 15.9 points in his final four starts despite receiving no recognition on the Big East All-Rookie team and finished at just under 10 points a game overall. In 2012-13, notice was served.

The 2013 Big East Player Of The Year, Porter earned consensus All-America honors in 2012-13, averaging 16 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in leading the Hoyas to the 2013 Big East regular season championship and a ranking as high as #5 in the Associated Press poll. Two of his signature games were against Syracuse. In February 2013 at the Carrier Dome, the Hoyas held Syracuse to just 46 points, the fewest points ever scored by a Syracuse team at the Carrier Dome. Porter's numbers were remarkable: 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists, one turnover. (The rest of the team combined for seven field goals.) In the return game at Verizon Center, Porter turned to defense as the hoyas held Syracuse to just 39 points, its fewest since the 1961-62 season. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim minced no words--Porter was the best player they had seen all season.

Averaging over 35 minutes a game, Porter tired late in the season, shooting just 7 for 30 in the team's final two games: a Big East semifinal loss to Syracuse and the first round NCAA debacle to Florida Gulf Coast. One month later, Porter announced he would enter the NBA Draft.

"I think he's ready, as much mentally and emotionally as it relates to basketball," said head coach John Thompson III at a news conference in the McDonough Gymnasium lobby. "I thought he went about the process in an educated manner. He had good choices. He could come back to school which is a very good choice or he could head to the NBA, which is also a very good choice."

"In our many conversations, he has said, much like Jeff [Green] did and Greg [Monroe] is doing, he's going to come back and finish his degree. It's a process, and he's prepared."

"The toughest part was knowing you're going to leave a great place like this," said Porter. "I love this place."

Porter didn't have far to go, as he was taken by the Washington Wizards as the third selection in the 2013 NBA draft. Porter has averaged 10.0 points a game for the Wizards, a solid but not spectacular number given the continued dysfunction of the Wizards on and off the court. An 2016 ESPN statistical review considered Porter the most efficient scorer in the NBA, but he saw fewer opportunities alongside John Wall and Bradley Beal, the main scoring options for the team. Porter was offered a four year, $106 million contract by the Brooklyn Nets in which was matched by the Wizards, making him one of league's 20 highest paid players as a result.

But a statistical study wasn't necessary for Georgetown fans who marveled at Porter's ability to score and contribute in every facet of the game. Two years wasn't enough for Hoyas fans, but it was two years that defined Otto Porter as perhaps the greatest Georgetown player of the past quarter century.