Another milestone for favorite son

The scene was pretty much always the same when I walked into a Scott County Central basketball practice in 2011.

I'd sneak in the door as quietly as possible to find the players on the line and coach Kenyon Wright on the sidelines, often working the clock during the players timed sprints.

Sometimes a player would voice his pain or his wish for the sprints to stop, some looked like they might get sick and I even saw one run over the trash can once.

When the running finally ended, Wright would gather the players together for a quick word and then dismiss them, but no one ever left right away.

The players always got the basketballs back out and headed to different goals around the gym to shoot free throws or jumpers or joke around.

Eventually as some of the players started to head to the locker room, senior superstar Otto Porter would start to make his way over to the corner of the gym where I had a notebook full of questions and a recorder waiting for him.

Over the course of multiple visits we talked for hours, until he and I -- and sometimes his younger brother Jeffery -- were the only ones left in the gym.

These chats started with a few weeks left in the regular season and by the time the story I wrote was published he had helped the Braves win a third consecutive state title and committed to Georgetown.

I tried to move beyond retelling the story that we'd all heard so often, even then. You know the one about how his dad was a great player, and how he didn't play AAU, and how his family has basketball in its blood and how his school's success in the sport is unparalleled.

He is, after all, his own individual person who has worked harder than most can fathom to reach the level he has, not merely the result of his family's mold or community's commitment to the game of basketball.

I do think, however, it is hopeless to understand or appreciate Porter and his game on any level without first understanding and appreciating his backstory, which is why I wrote this in the final paragraph of my final story about Otto Porter's high school career:

"So what Otto Porter has earned, in addition to a college scholarship, is the opportunity to come to define Scott County Central and his family to the nation in the same way they have helped define him for a lifetime."

I had no idea what he would achieve at Georgetown. I had guesses and even hopes, but no real idea he'd be the Big East Player of the Year as a sophomore or that he'd be projected as a top five pick in tonight's NBA Draft, but I knew his story would be told again and again as it had already begun to be told by news outlets like ESPN.com and the St. Louis Post Dispatch during his high school days.

It's the kind of story that, once you hear it, you want to retell it over and over again to people who haven't heard it before simply to watch their reaction.

"His school has won how many state titles?" they might ask, or "He seriously NEVER played an AAU game?" "He had how many rebounds in the state semifinals?" "He seriously broke his own father's record?" "How many of his cousins were on the team?"

"You must be kidding."

And then if you're the one telling the story you get to say something like, "No. I swear that's the truth. Kids on teams he just helped pummel by 60 points used to line up to get his autograph after games. No joke."

People never tire of telling or reading the story, which is why it's going to keep being told and written. USA Today did a version during the college season and, in the last week, bleacherreport.com added a nice version to the collection.

That story included SCC superintendant Al McFerren revealing plans to name the school's court after Porter as well as retire his number. McFerren said he would "bet his house" Porter would never do anything to make the school regret honoring him in such a way.

It was a fair thing to include, and I presume it was something McFerren said in response to a question, which was a fair one to ask.

But those who know Porter know it wasn't really a necessary one.

Tonight Porter will walk across the stage in front of a worldwide audience at the NBA Draft and shake hands with commissioner David Stern after his selection. I'd bet you a million dollars his "tiny" hometown will be mentioned and I'd guess the Porter family lineage will be, too.

That won't be the case with most of the other players drafted. ESPN's talking heads will go on about basketball potential and wingspans and college careers and big shots made and so many other things. They might go on about how some player is a leader or a scholar, but few will have their draft night success tied to their high school or family the way Porter will. It's just a story too good not to tell.

So what Otto Porter has earned, in addition to the opportunity to make millions of dollars as an NBA star, is the opportunity to come to define Scott County Central and his family to the world in the same way they have helped define him for a lifetime.

Rachel Crader is editor of semoball.com.