Craig Porter is Making a Strong First Impression

Despite being the 49th overall pick in this past Draft, Emoni Bates – who had an outstanding showing in Summer League – has garnered plenty of attention as the Wine & Gold tip off Training Camp. 

But there’s another Cavaliers rookie – who also had an excellent showing this summer in Vegas – who, himself, has garnered plenty of curiosity. 

Guard Craig Porter Jr. went undrafted this past June, but that didn’t mark the end of his NBA quest. It was only the start. The 6-2, 185-pounder from Terra Haute, IN inked a two-way deal with Cleveland in early July, and he’s been opening eyes ever since. 

“I was just going through my pre-draft process, just normal,” said Porter, explaining how he wound up a Cavalier. “I came here, and I did pretty well. And then just through the process, they liked the way I played the game – just being a multi-dimensional player. I can rebound, I can do a little bit of everything. That stuck out to them, and it was something that they needed, especially with what happened last year in the Playoffs, facing those bigger guards who like to play inside. My playing style was just a match – and that’s what they saw in me.”

After getting off to a slow start at this year’s Summer League session, Porter seemed to get better by the game. And on a team that values players who – as J.B. Bickerstaff says – “impact winning,” the 23-year-old showed exactly he was coveted by Cleveland. 

Porter came off the bench through the first three games in Vegas and started knocking on the door with his 12-point outing (to go with seven assists and five boards) in a reserve role against Memphis. The following game, he found himself in the starting lineup and responded in style – scoring seven of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter (adding eight rebounds and six assists overall) to send Cleveland to the Playoff round.  

Porter didn’t do a ton of scoring Cleveland’s two playoff games, but in the semifinal win over Brooklyn, the former Shocker grabbed seven boards, handed out seven assists and blocked a pair of shots and, in the title game against Houston, pulled down nine rebounds and led both teams with eight assists. 

“(Summer League) was really just to show the things (the Cavs) already knew that I could do,” said Porter. “But just showing that I could do it at a high level and showing them that picking me up was a good thing. (I was) trying to put myself in the best position possible heading into Training Camp, and I think I’ve done a good job of that so far.”

Porter began his collegiate career at Vincennes University in Indiana, helping lead the Trailblazers to the NJCAA national championship in 2019. From there, he transferred to Wichita State where, in his final season, he led the Shockers in … well … just about everything – becoming the first player in program history to lead the team in rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals in the same season. 

At Wichita State, Porter became the second Shocker, joining Fred VanVleet, to register a triple-double in the last 50 years. And for a pure point guard, his shot-blocking numbers are mind-boggling. 

Last season, Porter was the first player ever to finish in the Conference’s top ten – and the only player in the NCAA’s top 100 – in both assists-per-game and blocks-per-game. He blocked a shot in 11 straight games, longest streak by a Wichita State guard since the school began recording game-by-game stats. His blocked shot average (1.48bpg) was the highest nationally for any player 6-2 or shorter. 

So where did that tenacity come from? 

“It’s everything, especially coming from the program that I came from,” explained Porter. “It probably started with that JUCO grind. It just builds you up. It makes you want to be better. It makes you want to do better things.”

But blocked shot stats aren’t the only impressive numbers the tenacious guard has posted. In Cleveland’s six Summer League games, Porter grabbed at least seven rebounds in five of them (and he pulled down six boards off the bench in the game he didn’t).  

“I feel like (rebounding and blocking shots) takes a little bit of everything,” said Porter. “You just have to have good timing, good instincts. Just a feel for where things are going to be before they happen. So, just being a lot smaller, I had to take a different approach to the game. And I started watching how guys played and catching tendencies and just figuring out where they would be and timing it up. And it works about 80 percent of the time. So, it’s been good for me.”

The young gun has also impressed his teammates over the summer and so far during Camp. The guy he (and Ty Jerome) will be backing up this season – Darius Garland – spoke highly of the rookie guard. 

“Craig’s been really good,” praised Garland. “He’s super-athletic for his size. He can really jump. He’s really patient in the paint and he’s really good at decision-making – so I like him a lot.”

Porter returned the compliment. 

“It’s a little different, with (Darius and I) being the same age,” smiled Porter. “But he’s definitely been a big help for me so far. Just helping me understand the system we’re running, the different defensive principles. Really, him and Donovan have been great. I give all the credit to both of them – they’ve just been in my ear. Even if I’m doing the right things, they keep telling me, ‘Stay on it, stay on it. It’s going to feel like a lot this year, but you’re going to get better every day.’” 

The Cavaliers (and their fans) will get their first look at how Craig Porter fares against stiffer competition when the preseason slate tips off next week in Atlanta and against the Magic in Cleveland. 

“I just want to be able to help us win,” concluded Porter. “I’m one of those guys where I didn’t get my shot in college until my fifth year. So, I understand that it takes everyone’s role on a team to win. That’s the big thing to me. Obviously, everybody has personal goals. I just want to be able to be on the actual roster and I’d love to contribute. 

“It’s a marathon, like a lot of people say, and coming into this situation, they’ve got just about every piece a team would need. So, just finding my spot and mastering that – and wherever God takes me, he’s gonna take me, and I’m going to make sure it happens.”