Seattle's USC-bound Kevin Porter Jr. found a father figure in an NBA player. Now he's the state player of the year | Tacoma News Tribune

The most memorable part about Kevin Porter Jr.’s 40 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three steals he had in Rainier Beach High School’s season-opening game was one possession – one steal and two points.

It had been called the dunk of the year by some national outlets. Porter crossed between his legs twice, swiveled the ball behind his back to fool another defender and then jumped through one more for the absolutely jaw-dropping dunk.

Call that dunk a turning point. Because Porter tapped into something there that the people around him always knew he possessed but had never seen him truly put together.

Click to resize

“We started slow and I was frustrated,” Porter said. “I was saying to myself, ‘This is our season opener. We have to win and make a statement.’ I just had so much determination in me.”

How viral did it go?

“I haven’t seen somebody actually go behind the back in a game and finish like that,” said Kevin Garnett, the future Hall of Fame NBA player after watching it. “That was one of those right there. Whoa-h. Shoutout to the youngin’.”

A youngin’ who is more than a one-dunk show.

Porter can put his name among the pantheon of Rainier Beach greats. The USC signee who was one of the nation’s most recruited players is The News Tribune’s 2017-18 all-state player of the year. He averaged 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists per game in leading Beach to the 3A state championship game.

This comes three seasons after his former teammate, now San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murrray, was TNT state player of the year.

And you won’t have West Seattle boys basketball coach Keffrey Fazio arguing about the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Porter’s credentials.

“To me, it’s an absolute no-brainer that he’s the state player of the year,” Fazio said.

Fazio is on the board for the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association (WIBCA), which selected Porter as its “Mr. Basketball” – its top honor given to the best senior basketball player in any classification. Michael Porter Jr. earned that award at Nathan Hale last season and he’s another projected NBA lottery pick.

“Kevin is probably the most physically dominant kid I’ve ever coached against, with the exception of Michael Porter Jr.,” Fazio said. “He’s an absolutely special talent, and one of the best to ever come out of here, in my opinion.”

Around Porter’s house are reminders of why he does this, and why it’s so important to him that he not waste the physical and athletic gifts he possesses.

They’re pictures of his father, Kevin Porter Sr., who was shot and killed when Kevin Porter Jr. was 4 years old.

He never understood what it meant to have a father figure. But he hears all the time how he must have received his athletic prowess from his dad, who was a football, baseball and basketball player who, like Porter Jr. now, played for Mike Bethea at Rainier Beach.

But there were some of the consequences he now recognizes of him not having a father at home. He said people labeled him as a hot-head, an attitude problem.

Then he had some heart-to-heart conversations after his freshman season with long-time NBA star Jamal Crawford, the Rainier Beach graduate who now plays with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Really it was all about things off of the court,” Porter said. “Jamal would talk about how to make it far off of the court. How to be a role model. He told me I needed to grow in my mental maturity and as a leader. And he was like, ‘You know, you could really be something special – once you get it.’ And I feel like I got it now.

“When I lost my father, I really didn’t know, like, what having a father figure is like. Having him, he was basically filling that role for me. It’s a blessing, really.”

Of course, he certainly had others. His mother, Ayanna, has been his No. 1 fan and supporter, he said. Like his father, she also attended Rainier Beach. He said that’s why he wanted to go there, too.

But he also mentions his uncles, LJ and Curt, who pushed him to play basketball and develop his athleticism.

Rainier Beach has a bit of a reputation for tall, skinny guards like Crawford, Murray and Porter’s soon-to-be USC teammate and former TNT state player of the year Shaqquan Aaron. But Porter is thick and physical.

And Seattle Prep coach Mike Kelly compared the way Porter plays to that of James Harden. Which makes some sense because they are both lefties, but it was more because of how Porter moves.

“He moves like an NBA player,” Fazio said. “And the way he can contort his body with like real contact, he never falls away from a finish. Ever.

“But with his physicality – and this is comparing grown men to kids – but I think he has the physicality and skill set to match like a LeBron James. Because he’s bigger and stronger than you are, but he’s also faster and he can really shoot.”

Porter earned the 3A Metro League’s player of the year this season. He helped Rainier Beach knock off Wilson and Lincoln before losing to Garfield in overtime in the state championship game.

“He’s a New York City kind of player,” Wilson coach Dave Alwert said. “In that he could go straight to the parks and ball out. But he also has the fundamentals to go compete on any level.”

“He’s always been a guy with superior athleticism,” Timberline coach Allen Thomas said. “And he can shoot and take over a game at all five positions. But I think he’s finally putting it all together and maturing a little more. He’s just grown in hi basketball IQ.”

Thomas was asked who of Rainier Beach’s plethora of NBA-bound players – including Crawford, Murray, Nate Robinson, Doug Christie, Terrence Williams and C.J. Giles – Porter might most compare to. His Timberline squads play Rainier Beach just about every year in preseason scrimmages.

“He’s kind of a bit different from all of them – he’s really his own type of player,” Thomas said. “He can play all five positions, he can get off his shot against anybody. And I don’t know if he’ll admit it or not, but having Bethea on him all the time really helped him because Bethea was willing to sit him if he had an attitude and I think he needed that.”

You might have seen Porter around Tacoma.

He was at every Wilson basketball game to watch his friend Emmitt Matthews Jr., the UConn signee who was The News Tribune’s All-Area boys basketball player of the year. They played together for a short time on the Rotary AAU team.

Matthews said he’s never come under the impression that Porter is anything close to a hot-head.

“He’s is the most calm, funny and respectful person,” Matthews said. “He’s never had an attitude. He’s a fun guy, a goofy guy. He’s not in any way, shape or form an attitude problem.”

Porter and Matthews call their friendship a brotherhood, one formed through basketball.

“We all want to be making millions off of basketball,” Matthews said. “We’ll definitely keep hanging out after we go to college, probably matching up on Fortnite (a video game) and pushing each other to get to the league.”

Porter said he, Cleveland’s Washington State signee C.J. Elleby and Garfield’s P.J. Fuller (who are both members of The News Tribune’s all-state team) always spoke about getting here someday – loaded with college scholarship offers and preparing to play at the next level.

“But now we’re actually here,” Porter said. “It’s crazy how we look back and see how much we’ve been playing.”

And as Porter goes further in his career, he said he’ll never forget what Crawford taught him.

“He has always given back to me and I respect that,” Porter said. “I want to be him one day. I want to do what he does and give back to my community like he does. He’s an inspiration.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2018 7:15 AM.