Injury update on Wichita State basketball star Craig Porter for Wednesday’s UCF game
Wichita State star point guard Craig Porter, who is healing from a sprained left ankle, will be a game-time decision for the Shockers when they tip off American Athletic Conference play in Orlando against UCF at 6 p.m. Central time Wednesday.
Porter, a 6-foot-2 senior who is averaging 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks, was injured in the first two minutes of the second half in WSU’s 65-56 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 22 when he jumped and landed on an opponent’s foot and rolled his left ankle. He returned to the bench for the final 10 minutes of the game, but watched behind the bench with an ice pack firmly planted on his left ankle.
Wednesday will mark six days since the injury, but Porter has not practiced since. He was given three days off for Christmas break, then did not participate in WSU’s practices on Monday or Tuesday, WSU head coach Isaac Brown confirmed to The Eagle following Tuesday’s practice.
“Right now he’s day-to-day,” Brown said of Porter. “He’ll get with the trainer (Wednesday) and we’ll see when that time comes.”
If Porter is unable to play on Wednesday against UCF, it would create quite the conundrum for WSU.
Porter has the highest usage rate (possessions that end with their shot, free throw attempt or turnover) of any player on the Shockers’ roster, leaving a massive gap on who would replace that amount of offensive production. He also routinely defends the point-of-attack for a WSU defense that ranks among the best 40 in the country.
It’s unclear if Brown would replace Porter with a backup point guard, either Melvion Flanagan or Shammah Scott, in the starting lineup or slide wing Jaykwon Walton to primary ball-handling duties and insert another wing like Jaron Pierre Jr. or Xavier Bell.
The 18 minutes without Porter in the Texas Southern game didn’t exactly solve the issue. The Shockers extended their lead to 16 points early in the second half, only for their offense to crumble without Porter, their foundation, down the stretch and for their lead to dwindle to 51-48 with 3:27 remaining.
WSU managed to fend off the rally and escape with a 9-point victory, but questions remain if the Shockers (7-5) have to play without their best player for any length of time.
Porter isn’t the only player whose availability is in question for Wednesday’s game, as the lower-back injury that held Quincy Ballard out of the Texas Southern game has lingered and the 7-foot sophomore center is also considered a game-time decision.
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