3 time Calif All-Stater. 4 straight Final 4 appearances in Calif HS playoffs. Leading scorer in Modesto CHS history. (Nope, not Chuck Hayes)

Not only played against but DEFEATED Galloway’s HS team regularly.

I think he’ll be the first sub in at either G and see 10-15 minutes PT this season.

Not necessarily 6th man.

I suppose if Michael Porter made rap albums or flashed gang symbols from the court he would get more attention from the media, and there would be fewer Michael haters on these blogs showing their ignorance about his abilities. But do not mistake the lack of gaudy street-balling with a lack of talent.

I realize that these blogs are filled more with “ordinary fans” than with legitimate basketball analysts, and that’s fine, but all too often the ordinary fan blogger just accepts what he reads, and perpetuates myths that are wildly at odds with the reality. Such is the case with the Michael Porter haters.

Is he athletic enough? In terms of athleticism, Michael actually bench presses more than anybody on the team. Strength coaches generally use the military press as the best general measure of strength and conditioning—somebody might be able to squat thrust more than Michael, or whatever (I haven’t seen those figures), but the point is that DESPITE what people think they know about Michael, the facts are that he is not only athletic, he is the STRONGEST all around athlete on the team.

What about his defense? Despite those who claim he “needs to work on his defense,” the FACT is that he was the best defender on last year’s team as measured by the Steals-Per-Forty-Minutes average. That’s right! Nobody else was even close. Those of you who weren’t aware of that fact were reading blogs when you should have been watching the ball games. His tremendous defensive skills are obvious to anyone who knows anything about the game. His presence at the point changes the complexion of the game—not by being flashy, but by being smart, and stayinmg two stepos ahead of the competition. Talk to any of the opposing point guards he played against last year. How many of them have you spoken with? I’ve talked with several.

That’s why even as a sophomore Michael tended to get into the games when we needed a defensive stop - because BCG knows more about defense than those who read too many articles by people who know too little about the actual playing of the sport. My fellow cat fans - don’t drink the blogger Kool-Aid.

What about his basketball smarts? Don’t you have to have smarts to be a good lead guard? Well, Coach G says Michael has the highest basketball IQ of anybody on the team (of course his dad is a coach, so what do you expect?) That’s part of the reason Michael was the ONLY wildcat in the top ten in the SEC last year in Steals-Per-Forty. He stayed a step ahead of the opposition. While the flashy guys were flaily around, Michael had already outsmarted the other guys and knew exactly where the ball was going before it got there. While all of the pot-bellied has-beens are writing that Michael isn’t as good defensively as he could be, all he was doing was taking the ball away—away from the flashy guys some of you folks think are good because they’re flashy. Well, GOOD is measured by results, not flash, and that’s where Michael puts the lie to those who knock his defense.

So. let’s see. Hmmm. He’s the strongest, the smartest, and the best defender, but what about his scoring? Don’t we often hear the same old nonsense from the same old foolish armchair experts about how Michael is not a scoring threat? Well, again, let’s look not at the blogs, but at the facts. Who was the best shooter on our team from the free throw line we had last year? That’s right, Michael. And who shot better from behind the three point line than Crawford, Meeks, and Bradley—and everybody else who’s returning to the team this year? That’s right, it was Michael Porter. Hmmm… And don’t even try to give me that line about Michael not having as many attempts as some others. All you can do is hit the shots you take, and that’s what he did again and again, better than anybody else (from 3 and the chartity stripe).

Let’s see. The FACTS say he’s the best shooter, the best defender, the strongest athlete, and has the best sense of the game on the team. And he put up these stats last year while having to come in cold off the bench (usually). Had he started in place of Ramel and, like Ramel, been given time to play after he had fully warmed up in each game, he would have out shot and out defended Ramel by even bigger marins than he already did this year. (Spare me the nonsense about Ramel “having to play tired.” The facts show that Ramel almost always got better as the game wore on, like most guys. Had Michael been given those minutes, his stats would have been incredible.)

So what do the brilliant arm chair experts say about him? “Oh, if we don’t get a better lead guard, we’ll win only 50% of our games this year.” It’s really quite laughable. That kind of comment says more about the blogger than it does about Michael Porter.

I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, but there’s a reason some people are making millions coaching and recruiting, while others are living in a fantasy playing analyst on a blog somewhere showing how much they don’t know about guys like Michael Porter.

No, Michael is not the best shot blocker on the team. No, he can’t muscle through a Pat Patterson. Yes, he does sometimes expect too much of his teammates and wind up throwing the ball away (yes, being smarter than your teammates can be a liability if you don’t keep their limitations in mind). Yes, there are some guys who are better at getting their own shot when the clock is winding down. But he is an extraordinary athlete who has already played well above what Tubby expected, and who just keeps getting better under BCG.

Those of us who actually go to the practices and ball games know Michael is a class act who shows up early, stays late, accepts whatever role he is given without complaint, and rises to the occasion again and again for the blue and white. He is now and will be when he graduates a credit to the institution.

All of this makes me almost hope Liggins won’t qualify this year so you can see how wrong you were (almost).

The next time you are tempted to talk about how limited Michael Porter is at this or that, and how miserable we are going to be unless so and so gets qualified, be aware that to those who know a little something about basketball your comments will say more about your limitations than they will say about Michael’s.

Stop the Michael hatin’!

Go ‘Cats!

Decent back-up at either guard spot, good for 10-15 minutes PT off the bench.