Porter named Big East player of the year

A fractured Big East Conference that will undergo seismic changes to its membership in the near future agreed on one point Tuesday afternoon.

Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter is the best men's basketball player in the 15-team league.

The former Scott County Central star, who led the surprising Hoyas to a tie for the conference's regular-season title, was a unanimous choice as Big East player of the year.

Porter became the seventh Hoyas player to win the award in leading a young Georgetown team to a 14-4 conference record, tying it with Louisville and Marquette atop the standings. Georgetown coach John Thompson III also was named coach of the year with his team sitting 24-5 overall and ranked No. 5 in Associated Press poll.

Porter ranks second in the league in scoring in conference games at 18.1 points per game, and he is among the league leaders in rebounding, steals and 3-point shooting.

In general, the 6-foot-8 Porter has displayed the skills that helped Scott County Central to three consecutive Class 1 state titles.

Porter was named Big East player of the year, while Georgetown head coach John Thompson III garnered coach of the year honors. (Associated Press file photo)

"You don't get a lot of kids that can do all those little things and still score," said former Scott County Central coach Kenyon Wright after hearing Tuesday's news.

Porter started the final seven games of his freshman season at Georgetown and demonstrated the ability to help his team in every facet. He's poured on the scoring his sophomore season, especially the second half.

"Scoring is just second for him," Wright said. "This year he's had to do a lot more of it because that's what the team needs, and I think he's done that, and that's just kind of showed. And he can shoot the ball. He's always been able to shoot the ball. But shooting the ball at that level is a little bit different than shooting it at the level of high school, but I think he's just adjusted well."

Porter ranked as the Hoyas' top rebounder and fourth-leading scoring as a freshman, but his 9.7 point scoring average was tops among returning players this season after Georgetown's 24-9 team that tied for fourth in the Big East was hit hard by graduation.

Georgetown, with a roster that does not have a senior, started the season 10-1. Its only loss was to then top-ranked Indiana in which Porter hit the game-tying basket in the final seconds of regulation in a game that went to overtime.

The Hoyas' fast start hit speed bumps when second-leading scorer Greg Whittington, a sophomore, became academically ineligible and the first two Big East games were lost to Marquette and Pittsburgh.

Porter, highly regarded for selfless play, was a steady scoring presence through the first 14 games but topped 20 points just once and averaged 13.3 points. In the 15 games that have followed, Porter has eclipsed 20 points seven times, including a career-high 33-point performance in a 57-46 road win against rival Syracuse.

The performance, which included eight rebounds, five steals and 12 of 19 shooting from the floor -- 5 of 10 on 3-pointers -- made a believer of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

"I think he's the player of the year in the country," Boeheim told the media after the game. "He's the best player in college. There's no question in my mind."

The performance led to Porter claiming the second of three consecutive Big East player of the week honors.

He followed the Syracuse game with a 22-point effort in a 79-78 double-overtime win against Connecticut, scoring 21 of his points after halftime. He then poured in 28 points against Rutgers in a 64-51 win that completed an 11-game winning streak for the Hoyas.

Porter has averaged 19 points over the 15-game span that has seen the Hoyas post a 13-2 record and climb the conference standings and national rankings.

"This time of the year is his time of the year, you know," Wright said. "It always has been. He knows that. He knows what's at stake. He knows what he wants to do. He's determined. He's got goals, and I know he wants to reach those goals. He's got the people in place there at Georgetown, a great university, and good people. Just real proud of him."

On the season he leads the team in scoring (16.4), rebounding (7.5), steals (55), field-goal percentage (.502), 3-point shooting percentage (.440) and free-throw percentage (.774). His 76 assists are third on the team and just eight behind the team-leading total of Markel Starks, Georgetown's junior point guard.

And Wright is not all surprised that his former star is now unanimously considered the top player in one of college basketball's top conferences.

"I knew back when he was playing," Wright said. "He's a good kid, good character, done well in school ... all of that stuff and his work ethic, you knew with those three attributes he was going to do well. I know everyone around Morley and Scott County are real proud of him. I'm proud of him just for what he's done."