'You have to give 100 percent': Georgetown's Otto Porter looks forward to NCAA Tournament

EDITOR'S NOTE: The name of Georgetown's home venue has been corrected.

There may be a lot of national buzz about Georgetown's Otto Porter.

But to a small-town 19-year-old from Morley, Mo., who goes by the nickname of "Bubba" in Southeast Missouri, there's not that much hubbub.

"It's not that big of a deal; I'm sure at home it is," Porter said during a telephone conversation with the Southeast Missourian this week about his skyrocketing fame. "But here, not really. People are just now trying to figure out who I am. It's pretty calm still."

Calm can be a relative term for a basketball player who has responded to a hostile crowd 35,000 strong at Syracuse with a 33-point performance, or who knocked down a pair of free-throws in the final seconds of regulation to force a tie in Friday's Big East tournament semifinal game in New York against the same rival Orangemen.

There's a calmness still in a leisurely stroll on the way to class across a campus that has an enrollment of about 7,500 students.

"Some people say 'Hi,' but others just go about their business," Porter said.

It's a stark contrast to the fanfare on game day at the Verizon Center when giant Otto heads are hoisted by fans in the crowd next to signs as outlandish as "Porter for Pope."

It's all been part of a sensational sophomore season for the former Scott County Central star who has taken a steady, selfless and unassuming climb into the upper echelon of college players.

Georgetown will play Florida Gulf Coast University Friday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament's South Regional.

"There's been a lot of interest in Otto this year, I think more so probably than any player I've certainly dealt with in the time I've been here," said Mex Carey, who is in his seventh year as Georgetown sports information director. "I think he's handled it with a grace and level of composure that maybe you wouldn't see in a young man his age.

"He's very down to earth. He's very humble. He remembers where he came from. He always thinks of his teammates, his coaches and the people around him, and in a lot of ways that's really refreshing."

And Porter has been refreshingly good for the Hoyas, who recently claimed a share of the Big East Conference title.

Two years after leading Scott County Central to a third straight Class 1 basketball championship, the 6-foot-8 Porter was a unanimous selection as the Big East Player of the Year.

That was just one year removed from coming off the bench most of his freshman season.

"I think I have exceeded my expectations," Porter said. "I didn't know I was going to be Big East Player of the Year. I wasn't shooting for that goal. But it's a great accomplishment. It's just something your hard work shows -- it pays off at the end."

Averaging 18.1 points a game in conference play and leading the team in virtually every statistical category has a way of making believers out of opposing coaches, who voted on the award.

The honor, which followed three consecutive Big East Player of the Week awards, was merely tangible confirmation of praise he's been receiving over the airwaves and in print all season. His well-rounded game often is gushed about repeatedly during the course of a nationally televised broadcast by the likes of Dick Vitale. Games that will air on major networks often are billed as "Otto Porter and the Georgetown Hoyas vs. ..."

And then his heroics, whether game-tying shots, 3-pointers, nifty passes, blocks or steals, are replayed over and over on late-night highlight shows.

In addition to his gifts on the court, Porter has the ability to watch himself in high-definition and remain immune to side effects -- like an enlarged ego.

"I think I'm used to it now," Porter said of his penchant for finding the TV screen. "But I never had a problem with it -- even when I first got here, I never had a problem with it."

When your team is ranked No. 5 in the country and has compiled a 25-6 record, there's not much to dislike.

"[I enjoy it] especially when they talk about you and talk about the team and show highlights," Porter said. "It's very exciting to see yourself on TV, especially on 'SportsCenter.'"

Even if something negative were to occur, Porter can find a way to turn it in his favor. For instance, the Big East Player of the Year wasn't even on the conference's all-freshman team last year. Such a slight nudges the competitive juices in the easygoing Porter.

"That definitely did motivate me," Porter said. "But at the same, it's just something they put a name to you. The rookie team, I wasn't really concerned about that or anything like that. Yeah, I can use that as motivation to do what I can do."

The guy who is known for doing almost everything well ... well, he's working on everything.

"I have a whole bunch of things that I'm trying to get better at in my overall game," Porter said. "I just want to get better offensively and defensively. As much as I put in work on the offensive side of things -- shot, dribbling and things like that -- I also want to work on my defensive stance and my lateral quickness and things like that."

Added motivation makes workouts in the weight room a little more meaningful as he works on a physique that looks more menacing with each passing day. He's still lean, listed at 205 pounds on the Georgetown website, but his long limbs -- he has a 7-foot-1 wingspan -- are toned with fast-twitch muscles.

"Since high school I've put on quite a bit of weight and muscle so I can hold my own inside in the Big East, one of the best conferences in the nation," Porter said. "I think I did pretty good with lifting weights, but I'll still continue to get stronger and get a little more meat on my bones, but I'm still growing."

That's one of the upsides that many experts point to that has Porter steadily climbing mock boards for the 2013 NBA draft. Scouts often cite his selfless style, passing and rebounding, but they also view him as a teen who will get stronger physically and has plenty of time to work on any weaknesses in his game.

He's ascended to a unanimous top-10 pick among experts -- some as high as No. 3 overall -- should he decide to declare for the draft, but that decision can wait for another day.

"I really haven't started that process yet," Porter said. "I'm still in my college process right now. I'm not worried about that right now. I'm just going to finish this college season out before we get to talk about anything else."

Porter's immediate attention is focused on Friday's game against Florida Gulf Coast University.

Georgetown is looking to beat the former Division II school, which qualified for the tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament in just its second year of eligibility, and three more opponents to reach its first Final Four since 2007.

Porter started the final seven games of his freshman year, which included a season-ending 66-63 loss to North Carolina State after defeating Belmont in its opening game of last year's NCAA tournament.

Porter provided a glimpse of the future by scoring at least 14 points in five of those seven games, but he was left with a reminder.

"I'm looking forward to playing all the great teams that are out there," he said. "It's going to be a great tournament. The one thing that I remember about last year is that any team out there in the tournament can be beat, whether it's a highly ranked team or smaller ranked team. Anybody can be beat any day. You have to give 100 percent."

One thing is for sure, opponents won't have to look too hard to find film on Porter.

But if they are in need of a scouting report, Carey offers his own:

"He's pleasant, easy going. I like him. He's a great kid."

Rachel Crader of semoball.com contributed to this report.