Craig Porter becomes sixth player in Wichita State basketball history with triple-double
Craig Porter became just the sixth player in Wichita State men’s basketball history to record a triple-double in a game in the Shockers’ 83-76 win at Tulane on Sunday.
Porter, who was also celebrating his 23rd birthday on Sunday, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists to register the 12th triple-double total in program history.
That etches the WSU senior point guard’s name into history with Hall-of-Famers Gene Wiley, Dave Stallworth, Warren Armstrong and Terry Benton and current NBA world champion and All-Star Fred VanVleet. He also became the first player in WSU history to have at least six assists in six straight games.
“To be in the company of players like that, I can do nothing but thank God,” Porter said.
Porter has come close to securing a triple-double before — he had 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the first game against Tulane on Jan. 25 — but he had always come up a little short with assists. In fact, Porter had never finished with double-digits assists before Sunday’s game.
He knew he had a good chance to set a career mark when he assisted three WSU baskets before the first media timeout and had seven helpers in the first half alone.
A WSU assistant coach told during the under-12 media timeout in the second half that he needed just two more rebounds and one assist for the triple-double. Less than 90 seconds later, Porter had the two rebounds and assist when Kenny Pohto finished a basket inside with 9:42 remaining.
“I got confidence in all of my guys and I’m going to get them the ball every time I see someone open,” Porter said. “They delivered big time today and I’m really giving them the credit for this trouble-double.”
It was the program’s first triple-double since VanVleet recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against Missouri State on Feb. 7, 2015. The last triple-double before that was Benton’s in 1972.
WSU head coach Isaac Brown, who was an assistant for VanVleet’s triple-double in 2015, has witnessed the only two triple-doubles by Shockers in the last 50 years.
“Craig Porter was absolutely incredible today,” Brown said. “That’s special to be in company like that. The guy works so hard and he affects the game without scoring and he makes his teammates around him better. I’m so excited for him. He’s a guy that decided to stay and believed in us and we’re so happy for him to get that.”
Porter has filled up the stat sheet this season, averaging 12.8 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds and a team-high 4.3 assists before Sunday’s game.
And now he will have his place in Shocker history.
“That’s a well-deserved honor,” WSU senior Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler said. “Honestly, his work ethic is amazing. He’s continually staying in the gym and he does whatever he has to to keep us going in the right direction. Offense, defense, last-second moments, he kind of has the whole package.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 4:05 PM.
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