COLUMBIA - As if a lawsuit against Missouri's athletic director from an SEC head coach, the commitment of 4-star 2019 Memphis wide receiver Shamar Nash and Senior Night for the women's basketball team wasn't enough news for one day, the Michael Porter Jr. saga got an update Thursday afternoon.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and FanRag Sports, and a college basketball pundit, tweeted an anonymous source informed him Porter Jr. had received full clearance for all basketball activities from his doctor in Dallas. Porter Jr.'s Instagram story Thursday afternoon displayed a geotag at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
A team spokesperson referred comment on the matter to today's media availability with head coach Cuonzo Martin, who will speak at 12:30 p.m. ahead of Saturday night's game against Kentucky.
Porter Jr. will still need clearance from Missouri coaches and strength staff before returning to the practice floor, let alone a game. He has not practiced since the days leading up to the Tigers' season opener against Iowa State. Porter Jr.'s situation is unique, as he will have even less time to re-assimilate than other notable late returners, most notably Kyrie Irving at Duke.
Missouri plays Tuesday at Vanderbilt, hosts Arkansas next Saturday afternoon, and depending on final seeding, will play in the SEC Tournament in St. Louis either Thursday, March 8, or Friday, March 9. Whether or not Porter Jr. will play in any of those games is unknown, but if he is to play in the conference tournament and whatever postseason tournament the Tigers appear in, he would almost certainly need to participate in at least one regular season game.
Porter Jr. would give Missouri another solid ball handler and scoring option late in games, but the impact he would have on Missouri's offense and defense overall (both top-60 in the country in efficiency metrics) is not known.