What does Kevin Porter's choice mean for USC, Oregon, Washington and others
Sunday afternoon, top 50 shooting guard Kevin Porter selected USC over a slew of Pac 12 rivals. What's his choice mean for the Trojans and the rest of the Pac 12's recruiting plans and who will feel the most sting from losing out on Porter?
USC
The last week will go down as one of, if not the, best recruiting week for the Trojans in the Rivals.com era.
By landing Porter, Andy Enfield and his staff hauled in their third four-star prospect in a span of six days after pulling power forward J'Raan Brooks and forward Taeshon Cherry. A well built two guard with size, Porter is also an excellent fit to play alongside those two.
The Trojans should have McDonald's All-American Charles O'Bannon back for his sophomore season next year but Elijah Stewart will be gone and there's a good chance they lose DeAnthony Melton to the NBA Draft. Because of that adding some backcourt firepower was a must and they've accomplished that.
Porter is the 11th four-star prospect to pick the Trojans since Enfield's first full class in 2014 and USC has established themselves as a formidable recruiting foe.
CAL
Sting Meter: 1.
Under new head coach Wyking Jones, the Bears recruiting has been on fire. They've already landed four-star combo guard Matthew Bradley and four-star combo forward Jacobi Gordon for 2018. They also added a nice piece to 2017 when they scored three-star shooting guard Darius McNeill.
Missing out on Porter shouldn't be a big deal for Cal because they weren't considered to be among his favorites. For now, the priority is landing local five-star power forward Jordan Brown and also working into the mix with emerging four-star center Bryan Penn-Johnson.
OREGON
Sting Meter: 3.
Porter certainly would have been a good fit in Eugene because of his length and athleticism. However, Porter was never a huge target of the Ducks and wasn't actually offered a scholarship.
Keep an eye out for Oregon with four-star forward Ignas Brazdeikas, five-star power forward Simisola Shittu and super versatile wing Louis King.
OREGON STATE
Sting Meter: 3.
Much like Oregon, the Beavers were never considered a huge threat for the services of Porter so missing out on him doesn't hurt that bad.
Plus, the Beavers should be covered at shooting guard for at least a few years after landing an elite two guard prospect in Ethan Thompson in 2017.
Three-star center Jack Wilson is already onboard and another Seattle area wing, three-star Emmitt Matthews, sits high on the Beavers wish list.
UCLA
Sting Meter: 5.
Probably the roughest part of missing out on Porter for the Bruins is seeing him land at their crosstown rivals. Porter had been on campus for an unofficial visit but missing out on him is lessened quite a bit by already having four-star shooting guard David Singleton in the fold for 2018.
The Bruins are trying to add more five-star talent with their available scholarships and have targeted the nation's best player Marvin Bagley III and point guards like Tre Jones and Jahvon Quinerly.
WASHINGTON
Sting Meter: 10.
Porter was a big test for Mike Hopkins in his first year in Seattle. He's the best player in Seattle and the exact type of kid that Huskies almost never missed on under Lorenzo Romar. It hurt to miss out on J'Raan Brooks, but Brooks had ties to Southern California and the consensus for some time had been that he would leave the state.
The Huskies are still on local wing Emmitt Matthews and landing Hameir Wright and Nahziah Carter as late 2017 recruits helped to ease the blow of missing out on Porter. Some others on the radar include center Bryan Penn-Johnson, forward Kamaka Hepa, point guard Xavier Johnson and wing Frankie Policelli.