Gregg Marshall’s recruiting momentum continues, as WSU lands a top juco combo guard
Once the first domino fell, the recruiting momentum for Gregg Marshall and his men’s basketball staff at Wichita State continued to build through the weekend.
Craig Porter, one of the top junior-college combo guards available, became the Shockers’ third commitment of the day on Sunday, and the fourth of the weekend. The 6-foot-2 guard from Terre Haute, Indiana made the announced on social media.
Porter, who is rated as the No. 17 junior-college prospect nationally by JucoRecruiting.com, averaged 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks at Vincennes, which finished 28-5 and ranked top 10 in the final NJCAA poll.
“Coach Marshall is just like my junior-college coach: he’s on you hard, but he just wants the best out of you and at the end of the day, he’s going to make you a better player and a better person,” Porter told the Eagle. “I needed someone like that in my life.”
He joins Connecticut graduate transfer Alterique Gilbert, Virginia prep star Chaunce Jenkins and North Carolina prep star Ricky Council IV as spring pledges for WSU.
Porter had reported interest from high-majors like Kansas, West Virginia, Oregon, Texas Tech, Indiana, Connecticut and Mississippi. But he picked the Shockers because of his long-time relationship with WSU assistant coach Lou Gudino, an Indiana native who actually recruited Porter in high school when he was an assistant at New Mexico State.
“I’ve known coach Lou since I was in high school and he’s been in my corner ever since Day One,” Porter said. “I have a lot of trust in him and coach Marshall. I think I’m going to be a great fit in their system.”
In less than two days, WSU turned its biggest concern into possibly its biggest position of strength. Gilbert and Porter topped WSU’s wish list at point guard, and being able to pair them together is an enticing proposition for the Shockers.
Gilbert has enough Division I experience to step in right away and lead WSU for his final collegiate season, while Porter can play alongside him at shooting guard and can also be groomed to take over the following season.
“I think with the guys that are coming in, I feel like we can win right away next year,” Porter said. “I can play on or off the ball, wherever my team needs me. I just want to help the team win.
The duo very well could be one of the best defensive one-two punches at point guard in the Marshall era. Despite being only 6-foot-1, Porter ranked top-20 nationally at the junior-college level the past two seasons in blocked shots per game. In fact, he averaged nearly two blocks and two steals per game last season.
He said growing up he always had a knack for defending.
“Growing up I used to play with guys who all they wanted to do was to score,” Porter said. “I’m not selfish, so I let them do that and then I focused on doing all of the dirty work. I just worked hard at it because I knew that was my way to stay on the court.”
But Porter isn’t a defensive specialist. He appears solid in just about every aspect offensively. He was a three-level scorer at Vincennes and looks ready-made to run WSU’s ball-screen or motion offense.
Porter improved as a scorer last season and is a crafty player, one with high intelligence and armed with an array of spin moves and hesitation dribbles that make him difficult for a single defender to guard. If his game has any flaws, the junior-college level didn’t expose them.
Bringing Porter on board also helps Marshall accomplish his mission of breaking up the classes for his next roster. After seeing the pitfalls of having too many in the same class, like this past season when WSU had 10 freshmen or sophomores, Marshall told The Eagle that he doesn’t want to run into that same problem again.
Porter said it was a little surprising to see seven scholarship players leave WSU’s program this offseason, but he felt comfortable in his relationship with Gudino to trust the rest of the WSU coaching staff.
“It was obviously brought to my attention, but I’m not really worried about it,” Porter said. “I know at the end of the day, they can get the job done. So I’m not concerned about that.”
Porter joins Dexter Dennis and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler as the three juniors on the roster, while Trey Wade and Gilbert are the Shockers’ two seniors. Tyson Etienne is the lone sophomore, while Council, Jenkins, JaDun Michael (a fall signing) and Josaphat Bilau (a redshirt) are the team’s four freshmen.
With Porter’s commitment, WSU now has up to three available scholarships in its 2020 recruiting class.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the fan base,” Porter said. “Even before I committed, I had people reaching out to me telling me how crazy they are an dhow much of a basketball city Wichita is. I feel like I can do a lot for Wichita State and I can’t wait to feel the love there.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 7:03 PM.
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