Georgetown’s Otto Porter to Declare for NBA Draft

Georgetown sophomore forward Otto Porter will declare for the NBA draft at a news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET) later today, a source close to Porter informed Busting Brackets on Sunday. Head coach John Thompson III will accompany Porter as he makes his announcement official.

A fluid 6-foot-8 scoring ace with a diverse skill set, Porter led the Hoyas in scoring (16.2 points per game), rebounding (7.5) and steals (1.8) this season. He also racked up gaudy assist numbers (2.7 per game) as the focal point of the team’s Princeton offense.

Porter earned Big East Player of the Year honors after a stellar conference season in which he averaged 18.1 points and shot 49.8-percent from the floor (44.1-percent from 3). A 33-point performance in an upset win over longtime rival Syracuse at the Carrier Dome vaulted Porter into the national player of the year race. He finished runner-up for the Wooden Award.

Porter’s ascension to superstar status didn’t follow the typical course laid by blue-chip prospects. An unrecognized high school star in small-town Missouri, Porter garnered little interest as a national recruit, drawing high-major scholarship offers from only Missouri (the local state school) and Georgetown. The Morley native spurned the AAU circuit — an uncommon move for high school hoops standouts interested in auditioning for a college scholarship — scrimmaging instead against his father and uncles, who had all won state championships at Scott County Central.

Porter is a projected Top 10 pick. One scout told me the former Hoya could fly off the board as early as No. 4.