Jeffery Porter is making a name for himself during Scott County Central's final four run

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Hanging on the walls of the Scott County Central high school gymnasium are the numbers of retired Braves, and tucked in amongst them are 35, belonging to Otto Porter, and 22 for Otto Porter, Jr.

The latter's name is emblazoned on the court, which was renamed after the current Washington Wizard in August 2013.

The trophy cases just outside the gym hold the hardware from a state-record 17 state championships -- the first from the elder Porter and three from his oldest son.

And in the middle of all the tributes to his father and brother is SCC junior Jeffery Porter.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who was part of the Braves' Class 1 state title from last year, doesn't feel any extra pressure from carrying on the legacy that goes along with his last name and will continue to forge his own spot in SCC history when he and the Braves attempt to win a Class 2 state championship this weekend.

"They always tell me to be my own person," Jeffery Porter said of his family. "Tell me to go out and make a name for myself."

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Porter was thrust into varsity basketball during his freshman season, helping the Braves reach the state quarterfinal round for what was then the sixth consecutive year.

Jeffery Porter, Scott County Central junior, returns to the final four with the Braves. (Laura Simon)

He averaged around 13 points for SCC during last season's state championship run, but his role and his repertoire has expanded during his junior campaign.

"Jeffery's kind of been under a lot of pressure since his freshman year," SCC coach Frank Staple said. "Obviously with his brother being in the NBA he has a lot of pressure -- not that we put on him, but just maybe others do. But Jeffery's just grown every year. He's still got a lot to work on, but just from a leadership perspective and an overall toughness perspective and understanding of the game he's really grown."

Porter averages a team-high 20.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Braves entering Thursday's noon state semifinal against Crane at Mizzou Arena.

He's a 72.9 percent free-throw shooter, with 80 more made free throws than any of his teammates, and has knocked down 17 3-pointers.

He lifted SCC to a come-from-behind 73-63 victory over Bernie in the Class 2 District 1 championship game with a 39-point performance then followed that up with 19 points in a six-point sectional win over Thayer.

On Saturday he sent the Braves to the final four with 46 points in a 70-62 win against Valle Catholic in the quarterfinals. He was 16 of 16 from the line and made 15 of 27 shots from the floor.

"He's just a crafty ball-handler," Staple said. "One area of his game that he's really improved this year is his shooting, so now they have to respect him beyond the arc. He's really hard to stay in front of as a defender."

It's not always easy to get Porter to take off like he has during the playoffs.

Scoring comes easy to him when he takes the shots, but sometimes it takes prompting from his coaches and teammates to get him going offensively.

"We have to get him a little bit more aggressive and create some things for himself sometimes because that's just what we have to have him do," Staple said. "That's just his personality. He's just a great teammate."

"We get on his butt, basically, and tell him, 'We need you to step up for us now,' and all of his teammates feel the same way," Staple added. "He's really done that for us these last couple games."

There's no doubt his teammates respect him and know that their success correlates to his individual success.

One of the first words out of senior forward Matthew Blissett's mouth when he describes Porter is "playmaker."

"It takes a lot of pride and courage to be able to be that playmaker, but he has it," Blissett said. "He's worked hard for it."

Porter has spent hours honing his skills and conditioning for the fast-paced Braves.

"He comes in after school, in the summer," Blissett said. "You know, he's always running outside. His dad probably pushes him, but it's that Porter family trait."

His teammates don't just appreciate Porter's ability to take control of a game but also the opportunities it opens up for them.

Senior forward Javonta Daniel, who averages 16 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, has found himself more open on the offensive end when teams have to focus on Porter, and he's ready to step up when that situation arises.

"There was times when people will box-and-one me and try to hold me and then he goes and scores all the points, then they go onto him and leaves me open, so it relieves a lot of pressure off me," Daniel said.

Porter said he's matured as a player during his three-year varsity career, but his success this season has also come from being more comfortable and familiar with his teammates.

"I was thrown in as a freshman and had to change a lot from being away from my group, this group, and playing with older kids," Porter said. "Now that I'm back with them it's easier to play with them."

"I know what they're going to do," Porter added of his teammates. "I kind of know everybody's strengths and weaknesses, so I can kind of capitalize on that and get them involved."

It's worked out for the Braves, who enter the final four with a 16-game winning streak.

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Porter doesn't let the success of his family members faze him, but he does use their advice to his advantage.

He said his dad is the person who drives him to make the most of his talent. His latest advice has been to be smarter with the ball when a game is on the line, especially because he knows he's capable of knocking down free throws at the line if a game comes down to that.

The mild-mannered Porter also described himself as "angry" on the court because that's how his dad tells him to play.

"Kind of be more aggressive," Porter explained what it means to play angry. "He especially tells me to be angry when I go up for rebounds to be able to snag it and hold onto it."

He talks with his brother, who he last saw during the NBA All-Star Break in February, about once a week, and basketball typically dominates the conversation.

He watches his brother's games on TV and lets him know different things he and his dad noticed, and the Porters send Otto Jr. video of Jeffery's games that he critiques.

Otto Porter, Jr., did get to see his brother play in person in a 15-point win over Oran on Feb. 13.

"He'll say something like, 'Go out and do your best. You know what you can do, and if you can, score 40 points. If you can,'" Jeffery Porter said. "He'll say, 'Go out and grab 10, 12 rebounds, get like 11 assists or something like that,' set my goals high."

He already has one goal in mind -- besides another state championship -- during the final four.

"Try and get close to my dad and brother's rebound record," Porter said with a laugh, referring to the state record 35 rebounds his brother had in a state championship game, which broke his dad's record of 25.

Regardless of whether that happens, Porter's begun to carve his own spot in the storied SCC history by helping the Braves reach the state semifinals for the seventh time in eight seasons.

"Jeffery's just his own man," Staple said. "He's a very special player. Unselfish to a fault sometimes. He's a guy you can depend on, very coachable, respectable young man. Just a guy that every coach would dream to have on his team."