Porter receives degree after injury-plagued basketball career at Southeast Missouri State

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt recalled several instances when Michael Porter, who was plagued with injuries that eventually ended his basketball career and had obligations away from the court that led him to consider quitting college, would come to his office with tears in his eyes.

The coach and player would talk about life after basketball, about how basketball was not the most important thing in life.

Porter nearly reached his breaking point, but eventually those conversations clicked.

"Two years ago I was going to drop out of school," Porter said. "I had two kids, child support was piling up for my first kid. I was close to dropping out. I'd already told [athletic director] Mark Alnutt and my guy Brady [Barke] in the Compliance office that, 'Hey, I'm getting ready to drop out of school. It's time for me to get a job and pay some child support and take care of my family.'

"But coach Dickey Nutt," Porter said with a slight chuckle. "He sat me down, talked to me, let me know how important it was that I finished my school so I could make a better life for my kids."

Michael Porter, left, and former teammate Tyler Stone prepare for Southeast Missouri State University’s commencement Saturday at the Show Me Center. Porter had his basketball career at Southeast cut short, but remained in school and earned a degree in general studies. (Laura Simon)

Porter took his coach's advice, continued taking classes and graduated from Southeast with a degree in general studies Saturday.

He was one of 41 student-athletes that graduated, including his teammates Tyler Stone and Lucas Nutt.

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Nothing in Porter's college basketball career ever went as planned.

The Sikeston graduate played just six games during his 2009-2010 freshman year at Missouri State due to an emergency appendectomy and a hamstring injury.

Southeast Missouri State’s Michael Porter plays against Murray State two seasons ago.

Then that summer he was in a single-vehicle accident that resulted in his first hip surgery.

He decided to transfer to Southeast when he found out that he had a son, and moved closer to where his child lived, 'so he would know who I was,' Porter said.

Porter had to sit out the 2010-2011 season at Southeast due to NCAA transfer regulations. He was able to practice with the team while recovering from his hip surgery.

He played in all 31 games the following season, although he admittedly never was at full strength.

"I felt so bad for him because he's such an outstanding player and such a winner, that I knew that he could be that construction guy with our team, and I knew he could help us get to another level," Dickey Nutt said. "But his health never would allow him to fully participate. For him to stick in there, he deserves a lot of credit."

Southeast Missouri State’s Michael Porter scores during a game two years ago at the Show Me Center in. Porter was a former start at Sikeston High School but was plagued by injuries in college. (Southeast Missourian file)

In October 2012, Porter broke his foot and missed the first 20 games of the season.

He returned on January 19, but refractured his foot in the game, and it would ultimately be his last with the Redhawks.

He had a second surgery to repair a labral tear in his hip, and it was announced on September 26, 2013, that his basketball career was over. He would remain on scholarship so that he could continue his education and earn his degree.

Porter had talked with his doctors and understood that the risk of re-injuring something was too high, and hearing the words "hip replacement" as a possibility by the time he was 23, if he suffered another injury, was eye-opening.

"I'm going to need a hip replacement anyway by the time I'm 30 or 40," Porter said. "But that kind of right there made people like my doctor Jimmy Bowen just say, 'Let's take a step back and look at what's really important.'"

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Sitting on the sidelines last season wasn't easy for Porter, but Dickey Nutt considered him the team's "biggest cheerleader."

"My role was just to be there," Porter said. "It was hard enough just going to practice, watching my guys play. I wanted to be a student coach but the reality was, to be honest, it was just too hard to sit there and watch my best friends play the game that I wanted to play so bad. ... I just had to realize that even though I can't play, I just had to be there for the team.

"If guys needed to talk off the court -- you know, college basketball is not all about basketball. We all have different problems going on, we all have certain situations that occur, and everybody on the team knew that if they needed someone to talk to or help with something, they could call Mike. I was one of the first guys they could call. That's what I was there for, just kind of like a big brother, a guy that could help the younger guys figure out what to do in certain situations."

His voice was also heard, and respected, by his teammates on the court.

"He's a powerful guy to talk to because whenever he did play you felt his presence," Lucas Nutt said. "He played harder than any other player. He was tough. And everybody respected him. We called him 'Big Mike.' We called him that for a reason, because everyone respected him. Kind of what he said, goes. He was still a leader even when he couldn't play. He made an impact on us because anytime we'd be down at halftime or something in the locker room, he'd be the one speaking up and telling everybody what they needed to do."

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Porter knows he can't change anything that has happened up to this point in his life, so sees no reason to dwell on it anymore.

It's a sign of maturity and growth for the former basketball player that struggled through multiple difficult circumstances.

"I'm one of those guys that don't want to think about what could've happened," Porter said. "Only thing I can really say is everything happens for a reason. At the end of the day, God wanted me to be here at SEMO. He wanted me to meet Tyler Stone. He wanted me to meet Lucas Nutt. Those guys are going to be my lifetime friends."

And now, they'll be lifetime graduates from Southeast.

"It's been a long and tough ride but I'm finally at the finish line getting my degree."

Porter recently was hired as a supervisor at United Parcel Service (UPS). He has two sons and another child on the way with his girlfriend, Stephanie Triblett, whom he plans to wed.

He's in the place after basketball, the place that's more important than basketball.

"I can truly say that Dickey Nutt honored his commitment," Porter said. "He honored his words, you know, he stuck by his promise. He promised to get me through school and make sure I was a better man when I left."

"I know I'm a better man," he added.