http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...age-deals-coach-father-son-college-basketball
At a four-star hotel in Oakland two months ago, Cuonzo Martin and his wife, Roberta, met with former Washington assistant Michael Porter Sr. and his wife, Lisa, for two hours.
Martin, who had just accepted Missouri's seven-year, $21 million offer to become the school's head coach, says they never addressed the future of 6-foot-10 prodigy Michael Porter Jr., the top recruit in the 2017 class, who had been granted his release from Washington after Lorenzo Romar's dismissal.
But they all knew the prep star's forthcoming decision had initiated that meeting.
"We got to know each other," Martin told ESPN.com about his initial meeting with the elder Porter, who was then weighing his options after the Romar firing. "They wanted to make sure they felt comfortable with the relationship, if this was going to happen."
Added Michael Porter Sr.: "We got a really good feel for the type of people that the Martins are, and they hopefully got a great feel for who the Porters are. In the end, we saw this as a great fit, a great match."
Michael Porter Sr. would soon accept Martin's offer to become an assistant at Missouri. According to NCAA rules, coaches can hire parents of recruits as long as they're one of the three assistants on their staffs. That hiring preceded the least surprising commitment of the year from Michael Porter Jr. He was also going to Missouri.
Package deals involving the parents or mentors of star athletes, a more acceptable trend in the game compared with past years, have shifted the college basketball scene in a two-month stretch -- for better or worse, depending on the program involved.
Missouri evolved into an SEC contender overnight. Memphis and Washington, however, slipped into irrelevance after losing coveted father-son combinations after last season.
With one move, Martin elevated Missouri. Michael Porter Jr. is the school's first McDonald's All American in nearly 20 years.
Point guard Blake Harris (96th in the ESPN 100) and center Jeremiah Tilmon (43rd) followed Porter to Missouri, which now owns ESPN.com's fifth-ranked recruiting class. Jontay Porter (No. 26 recruit in the 2018 class), Michael's younger brother, may reclassify and join Missouri next season, too.
A Missouri team that won just eight games last season could end a four-year drought and return to the NCAA tournament in 2017-18.
The Porter family's ties to Missouri run deep. Michael Porter Sr. is a former assistant on Missouri's women's team, which features his daughters, Bri and Cierra. Lisa, his wife, is the sister of Robin Pingeton, head coach of Missouri's women's program.
"If it had been some school outside the state, I don't think he'd be with my program," Martin said.
Michael Porter Sr. said he never used his son as a ploy to get a job whenever he talked to coaches who were interested in hiring him.
"First of all, we made it clear at every opportunity that this job offer had to be about me," he said. "I was not going to be pressuring my son to go someplace so I could have a job. It did not go down like that. It just so happens, my son and I have the kind of relationship where no matter where I was, he wanted to be there."
That's the bright side of package deals. Not the only side.
Romar had attempted to secure success at Washington when he hired Porter and received a commitment from his son, a projected one-and-done superstar. Romar is the godfather of the younger Porter, and he was in the elder Porter's wedding. The duo could not help Romar maintain his post after the Huskies finished 9-22 last season with likely No. 1 NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz in the lineup.
Then there's Memphis coach Tubby Smith, currently fighting through one of the most turbulent stretches of his career after both K.J. Lawson (12.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and Dedric Lawson (19.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG) left the program along with their father Keelon Lawson, a Tigers assistant under former coach Josh Pastner and Smith's director of basketball operations last season.
Their departures capped a six-player exodus that pushed Memphis basketball into uncertainty.
"The reason we are leaving: I don't think there's anything Dedric can do, as far as the University of Memphis, as far as achieving his personal goals," Keelon Lawson recently told Gary Parrish on his radio show on 92.9 FM in Memphis. Days later, a Snapchat video showing K.J. Lawson using an expletive in reference to Smith and the Memphis program emerged. K.J. Lawson later apologized on Twitter.
At a four-star hotel in Oakland two months ago, Cuonzo Martin and his wife, Roberta, met with former Washington assistant Michael Porter Sr. and his wife, Lisa, for two hours.
Martin, who had just accepted Missouri's seven-year, $21 million offer to become the school's head coach, says they never addressed the future of 6-foot-10 prodigy Michael Porter Jr., the top recruit in the 2017 class, who had been granted his release from Washington after Lorenzo Romar's dismissal.
But they all knew the prep star's forthcoming decision had initiated that meeting.
"We got to know each other," Martin told ESPN.com about his initial meeting with the elder Porter, who was then weighing his options after the Romar firing. "They wanted to make sure they felt comfortable with the relationship, if this was going to happen."
Added Michael Porter Sr.: "We got a really good feel for the type of people that the Martins are, and they hopefully got a great feel for who the Porters are. In the end, we saw this as a great fit, a great match."
Michael Porter Sr. would soon accept Martin's offer to become an assistant at Missouri. According to NCAA rules, coaches can hire parents of recruits as long as they're one of the three assistants on their staffs. That hiring preceded the least surprising commitment of the year from Michael Porter Jr. He was also going to Missouri.
Package deals involving the parents or mentors of star athletes, a more acceptable trend in the game compared with past years, have shifted the college basketball scene in a two-month stretch -- for better or worse, depending on the program involved.
Missouri evolved into an SEC contender overnight. Memphis and Washington, however, slipped into irrelevance after losing coveted father-son combinations after last season.
With one move, Martin elevated Missouri. Michael Porter Jr. is the school's first McDonald's All American in nearly 20 years.
Point guard Blake Harris (96th in the ESPN 100) and center Jeremiah Tilmon (43rd) followed Porter to Missouri, which now owns ESPN.com's fifth-ranked recruiting class. Jontay Porter (No. 26 recruit in the 2018 class), Michael's younger brother, may reclassify and join Missouri next season, too.
A Missouri team that won just eight games last season could end a four-year drought and return to the NCAA tournament in 2017-18.
The Porter family's ties to Missouri run deep. Michael Porter Sr. is a former assistant on Missouri's women's team, which features his daughters, Bri and Cierra. Lisa, his wife, is the sister of Robin Pingeton, head coach of Missouri's women's program.
"If it had been some school outside the state, I don't think he'd be with my program," Martin said.
Michael Porter Sr. said he never used his son as a ploy to get a job whenever he talked to coaches who were interested in hiring him.
"First of all, we made it clear at every opportunity that this job offer had to be about me," he said. "I was not going to be pressuring my son to go someplace so I could have a job. It did not go down like that. It just so happens, my son and I have the kind of relationship where no matter where I was, he wanted to be there."
That's the bright side of package deals. Not the only side.
Romar had attempted to secure success at Washington when he hired Porter and received a commitment from his son, a projected one-and-done superstar. Romar is the godfather of the younger Porter, and he was in the elder Porter's wedding. The duo could not help Romar maintain his post after the Huskies finished 9-22 last season with likely No. 1 NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz in the lineup.
Then there's Memphis coach Tubby Smith, currently fighting through one of the most turbulent stretches of his career after both K.J. Lawson (12.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and Dedric Lawson (19.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG) left the program along with their father Keelon Lawson, a Tigers assistant under former coach Josh Pastner and Smith's director of basketball operations last season.
Their departures capped a six-player exodus that pushed Memphis basketball into uncertainty.
"The reason we are leaving: I don't think there's anything Dedric can do, as far as the University of Memphis, as far as achieving his personal goals," Keelon Lawson recently told Gary Parrish on his radio show on 92.9 FM in Memphis. Days later, a Snapchat video showing K.J. Lawson using an expletive in reference to Smith and the Memphis program emerged. K.J. Lawson later apologized on Twitter.