Missouri Tigers: Worst sports moments for Mizzou fans
WORST MOMENTS FOR MU FANS – NUMBER 4: MICHAEL PORTER JR INJURY
2017-2018 BASKETBALL SEASON
After the 2016-2017 basketball season wrapped up, the Missouri Tigers were in desperate need of a change. Kim Anderson and the program went their separate ways after failing to record double digit wins in three seasons as the head coach.
Missouri quickly hired then California head coach Cuonzo Martin and there was hope that another key member would be moving to Columbia. That key member was Michael Porter Jr., the top ranked high school recruit, who had recently de-commited from Washington after the Huskies fired their head coach.
Porter made all Missouri fans’ wildest dreams come true when he chose to commit to the University of Missouri. It was unlike anything MU fans had ever felt and they finally were excited for basketball season, for the first time in YEARS.
The hype grew all offseason long and a rare Border War exhibition game got Mizzou fans even more stoked, especially after seeing their Tigers compete with the Kansas Jayhawks. This season was going to be special, Missouri fans could just feel it.
The Tigers finally get a superstar to play for them and he only plays for two minutes in his college career.
Well, things took a pretty nasty turn early on. The Tigers hosted Iowa State in their season opener and Mizzou Arena was as packed as it had been in years. Michael Porter Jr. was announced with the starting lineup and the crowd went nuts. After all of the built up hype, the 2017-2018 season was underway!
Just two minutes into Missouri’s battle with the Cyclones, however, Porter was pulled from the game. He would not return to action for the rest of the night and it was later discovered he had tweaked his back during warmups. The coaching staff wanted to play it safe with the freshman and kept him on the bench.
As the week progressed, Porter still didn’t return to the court. Not long after, it was announced that Michael Porter Jr. would be out for the season with a back injury. Jeez! Such a Missouri thing to happen, right? The Tigers finally get a superstar to play for them and he only plays for two minutes in his college career.
Porter ended up returning for Missouri’s only game in the SEC Tournament and played in their lone NCAA Tournament game as well. He didn’t make a big enough difference, however, as the Tigers were one and done in both of those games.
If Porter were healthy through the regular season, the Tigers would have won a lot more of the close games they were involved in, there’s no doubt about that. Even though he returned, the injury ruined what could have been a really special season for Missouri basketball fans.