FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 17, 2020) – Northern Arizona men's basketball head coach
Shane Burcar announced the addition of Malcolm Porter, a graduate transfer from Portland, on Friday with Porter set to the join the Lumberjacks for the 2020-21 season. Porter will have one season of eligibility remaining.
"With Malcolm's success in a conference like the West Coast Conference, we're really excited to bring a player of Malcolm's caliber to NAU," Burcar said. "He's a charismatic young man and he's a coach's son, and we can't wait to bring him to Flagstaff."
Porter, a 6-4 guard, will be immediately eligible to play in the Blue & Gold as a grad transfer after spending the last four years – one redshirt season – with the Pilots in the West Coast Conference. The Portland, Ore. native is coming off his best collegiate season in which he averaged 9.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game as a redshirt junior.
Porter shot 40.9 percent from the floor and a team-leading 78.1 percent at the free throw line, while making 27 three-pointers at a 36.5 percent clip. He started 23 of the 24 games he appeared in during the 2019-20 campaign and registered 13 double-digit scoring efforts. Porter recorded a career-high 17 points against Pacific on Jan. 16.
Over his career at Portland, Porter appeared in 80 games and made 30 starts while averaging 6.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He shot 42.5 percent overall from the deck and reached double-digit points in 24 contests over the last three seasons while also recording 112 assists and 41 steals.
"The best way to describe Malcolm is he's a combo guard," Burcar said. "When you put Malcolm in the backcourt alongside
Cameron Shelton and
Luke Avdalovic as well as all of the guys we have coming back, he makes our team better instantly. With his passing skills, he's also going to make everyone here better and our players who we have here will also help him improve his game."
The son of Terry, a 17-year NBA veteran and current Portland head coach, and Susie Porter, Malcolm Porter was a two-time All-State selection at Jesuit High School. Porter earned first team All-State recognition as a junior and second team honors as a senior in addition to being named to the All-Metro League First Team twice.
He helped lead Jesuit to an Oregon 6A state runner-up finish in 2015, which earned him first team All-Tournament accolades, before following that up with a second team All-Tournament nod at the 2016 State Championships.
