Freshman point guard Tajuan Porter continued to make his impact known on the Oregon basketball team in the Basketball Traveler’s Classic tournament in Eugene this past weekend.
In three consecutive games, Porter scored 27, 28 and 38 points in the Ducks’ three wins. Porter’s 38 points against Portland State University Sunday night set the McArthur Court record for total points by a freshman, breaking Ron Lee’s record of 31 points in 1973.
Oregon started the tournament Friday night beating Lehigh University 77-65, California State University, Northridge 84-73 Saturday and Portland State 116-68 Sunday.
Oregon’s point total against Portland State tied a McArthur Court record and its 17 three-pointers made was also a record.
For the weekend’s performance, Porter earned MVP honors in the tournament, shooting .618 from beyond the three-point arc and boasting a .551 shooting percentage overall.
For good measure, Porter made a halftime buzzer-beater from 65 feet out against Portland State.
“We’ll be talking about him for a long time to come,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “He’s one of those special basketball players. The only credit that goes to us is recruiting him.”
Despite his performance, Porter didn’t believe it was anything out of the ordinary.
“It’s just basketball,” Porter said. “It’s not that hard.”
Porter’s accomplishment was more outstanding considering he attended a funeral for a friend in Detroit Thursday night and less than 24 hours later played in the team’s season opener against Lehigh.
“I’m emotionally drained right now,” Porter said Friday night. “Everyone goes through a little adversity – that’s life.”
While overcoming a heavy heart, he also proved that his 5-foot-6-inch frame doesn’t matter, which is something that he’s had to prove on a consistent basis.
“There’s always been a lot of doubters, even coaches from other teams,” Porter said. “It doesn’t matter how tall you are. If you can play basketball then you can play.”
For Kent, he believes that he’s already answered his critics as to why would a D-I program recruit a 5-foot-6 player.
“This is why we’re basketball coaches – we know what we’re doing,” Kent said.
The tournament also featured junior forward Maarty Leunen defining himself as Oregon’s main rebounder, grabbing 17 against Cal State Northridge, the most by an Oregon player since Richard Lucas’ 17 rebounds in 1990.
“Between Tajuan Porter’s scoring and Maarty Leunen on the glass, there may not be two players in the nation that are playing better right now,” Kent said.
Kent was impressed with the fact that the team was playing so well despite having few substitutions available. Kent said he is looking forward to what the team is capable of once junior guard Malik Hairston comes back from injury.
“You’ve got to realize that (with all the guys sitting out) this is a good indication for us early on,” Kent said.
Overall, the games were indicative of the team’s progression from last season.
“What you’re starting to see is this team evolve,” Kent said. “They’re evolving into understanding and feeding off of each other and we’re starting to understand how to use them better.”
Junior Bryce Taylor said: “I think this tournament was a good first step. We’re running the ball better, pushing it up the floor and we’re scoring a lot of points. It’s just good progression for our team.”
Along with Porter’s MVP award, Leunen and Taylor were named to the all-tournament team.
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