Michael Porter Jr. Proves Top-Player Status At Les Schwab Invitational

HILLSBORO, Ore. — The locker room inside Liberty High School was already crazy, one of the happiest anyone will see all season. Yet, there was someone missing. The underdogs had just pulled off the upset to win the Les Schwab Invitational late Friday night and all that was left was for the star player and senior leader to come join.

It took a little bit for Nathan Hale’s Michael Porter Jr. — the nation’s best high school player — to make his way from the court to Locker Room D. But it was worth the wait.

As soon as the 6-foot-9 forward walked through the doors, his teammates began chanting, “M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!” to complete the celebration for No. 8 Nathan Hale’s 67-65 win over No. 2 Sierra Canyon.

Although Porter, the No. 1 player in 2017, did not win the tournament’s MVP honors (that belonged to Sierra Canyon’s Marvin Bagley III — the No. 1 player in 2018), his performance, and crazy stat lines, throughout the tournament, including 27 points and 15 rebounds in the championship, were a major reason Nathan Hale took the trophy home to Seattle.

For the event, Porter led the star-studded field in scoring (32.0 ppg.), rebounds (16.8 rpg.) and was fifth in assists (4.8 apg.). He was the best player on the floor in all of the Raiders' games and was one of the many standouts who took center stage.

2016 LES SCHWAB INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Michael Porter Jr. (Nathan Hale) — 32.0 PPG, 16.8 RPG, 4.8 APG

Cody Riley (Sierra Canyon) — 18.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.5 BPG

Chris Lykes (Gonzaga) — 17.5 PPG

J’raan Brooks (Garfield) — 19.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG

Elijah Gonzales (Clackamas) — 27.3 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 SPG

2016 LES SCHWAB INVITATIONAL MR. HUSTLE AWARD

Braden Olsen (West Linn) — 19.0 PPG, 8.0 APG, 2.5 SPG

2016 LES SCHWAB INVITATIONAL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Marvin Bagley III (Sierra Canyon) — 23.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.5 BPG