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Back to work Porter returns to Auburn to finish off goals
Posted: Monday November 08, 1999 02:37 AM
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- With 1:57 left in the season, Chris Porter decided on his future. Auburn's electrifying forward was headed to the bench with his fifth foul and his team was headed for a loss to Ohio State in the NCAA tournament. Standing helplessly on the sideline, watching the seconds tick away, Porter decided the NBA could wait another year. "We were just a couple shots falling away from a chance at the Final Four," Porter said. "I didn't want to leave Auburn feeling like I had left something out on the court." Just like that, Porter was recommitted to the only school that ever really wanted him and the team he had awakened from a 10-year slumber. "The only thing to do," Porter said in his soft-spoken manner, "was to come back to school and finish what I started." Porter's not just talking about his role in the resurgence of Auburn's basketball program. He's also on a self-improvement campaign with the goal of getting a degree in criminal justice. The 6-foot-7 forward was the final piece in coach Cliff Ellis' rebuilding project. He averaged 16 points and 8.6 rebounds last season, both team highs, and helped the Tigers to a school-record 29 wins and their first Southeastern Conference title since 1960. He also made sports highlight shows all over the country with a stunning dunk in a victory over LSU. Soaring high for a rebound, Porter caught the ball with his right hand and slammed it through the basket in one incredible, windmill-like motion. "It was the most amazing dunk I've ever seen," teammate Doc Robinson said at the time. When Porter burst onto the scene at Auburn, he arrived with a 1970's-style Afro that some fans in the student section soon mimicked. When he showed up with braids, they begged him to let them out. As people began talking about Porter's thunderous dunks and relentless energy -- and the Tigers won their first 17 games -- fans at a football school suddenly fell in love with basketball. The student section filled up and the games sold out. The crowning achievement came last month, when the Tigers sold all their season tickets for the first time in school history. Belying the excitement he generates on the court, the 21-year-old Porter is quiet and easygoing, sometimes even guarded and private. He grew up in Abbeville, a town of about 3,000 in the southeast corner of the state and about 100 miles from Auburn. Even so, he said he has few real friends at the school. He insists he doesn't dream about an NBA career and is serious about earning his degree. He was reluctant to talk about the 3.56 grade-point average he earned while taking three summer classes. "He is from a small town and basically just a laid-back kid," Ellis said. "But on the court, when the lights are on, he is a strong and intense competitor. That's what people see." What the fans see is a spectacular athlete with tremendous leaping ability -- his forte is offensive rebounding -- who hams it up for the crowd. What they don't know is how he prefers to spend his free time visiting his two young sons in Abbeville, or staying home and watching movies, maybe even studying. "I don't much like clubs, maybe sometimes I go out and shoot pool or play darts," he said. "I don't really play video games, either. I guess I keep things kind of low-key." Had his priorities always been like that, Porter might never have ended up at Auburn. An admittedly poor student in Abbeville, Porter said he was more wrapped up in sports than grades when he helped bring the Class 4A state title to the town during his senior year. Auburn was the only school that recruited him. "I was from a tiny town in the Deep South and nobody had heard of me," Porter said. "But that was all right. I understood and it all worked out because I grew up an Auburn fan." But Porter couldn't academically qualify - he said he was "too lazy" in the classroom -- and his commitment to Auburn was voided. He instead spent two years at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, playing for former Auburn assistant Carl Nash, where he became an All-American and caught the eye of plenty of college scouts. "Lots of schools wanted me out of junior college, but I only wanted to play for Auburn," he said. As the start of the season closes in, Porter is more focused then ever on his goals. "He's always been one with tremendous desire," Ellis said. "But this year, he's matured. He's realized how valuable the game is to him and what it can do for him." But Porter, staying true to his small-town roots, won't say if he is looking forward to a future as a pro. "I mean, if that's what my future holds for me, that would be great," he said. "Right now, I'm just enjoying being a college senior, and that's pretty cool."
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