Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
"I just had to get in the gym and get back to my spots" - Porter's personal work fuels offensive explosion for Blue Raiders
1/12/2025 12:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The senior guard averaged 28 points this week after scoring 11 total last week in CUSA play.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Jestin Porter had felt he'd let the team down. Coming off a split on the road to start Conference USA play, the Middle Tennessee men's basketball guard had struggled against two strong defensive teams on the road. His 11 points at FIU were nothing to scoff at, particularly on a team where his teammates often had hot hands, as Jlynn Counter did with 17 points against the Panthers.
But the zero points Porter scored at Liberty burned inside of him.
"I just felt like I was failing the team by playing like I was playing," Porter said after a week where he shot 3-for-21 from the floor. "I know I wasn't playing like myself. So, I just had to get in the gym and get back to my spots."
The senior guard didn't know what the problem was, he just knew that being back in the gym made him feel right again. And the proof of that work, solo time in the Murphy Center away from his team's practice, was evident on Saturday, where Porter scored 29 points to lead MTSU in an 81-64 romp over Jacksonville State to improve the Blue Raiders to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in CUSA.
"The best of the best go through shooting slumps," head coach Nick McDevitt said of his leading scorer. "There's guys earning millions and millions of dollars in the NBA that are great shooters that are going to have a three, or four, or five game stretch where it's tough."
Tougher still, both McDevitt and his teammate Essam Mostafa pointed out this week, when Porter is likely the first player opponents scout each week, meaning nearly every player on the court Porter goes up against makes sure to do their part to slow him down. Porter has the skillset to attack teams in multiple ways, slashing to the basket to finish at the rim, shooting off the bounce in the mid-range or sniping from the outside off set plays, making that defensive task easier said than done for opponents, as both Kennesaw State, who Porter scored 27 points against earlier this week, and the Gamecocks found out.
But, McDevitt said, that defensive focus often means players like Porter need to add new tricks to their repertoire as the season progresses and more of their tools are targeted by defensive schemes.
"He's going to be at the top of the scouting report, guys are going to hone in on him," McDevitt said. "You've got to adjust your game a little bit sometimes, find shots in different ways, and he's done a good job of that."
Porter was not the only one with an offensive burst this week, with Essam Mostafa posting 22-point nights, to go along with nine rebounds in back-to-back contests. The Egyptian forward found success in the post, particularly off passes from his teammates and off the offensive glass, shooting 10-for-12 from the floor against the Gamecocks. The Blue Raider offense in general found its best flow of the season, scoring 19 of their 30 baskets on Thursday against the Owls off MTSU assists and following it up with 16 baskets off assists out of 28 total makes on Saturday.
Nine of those 16 assists came from Jlynn Counter, who was one point and one assist shy of his first career double-double on Saturday night. A year after Counter's IUPUI team won just six games, only three of which came against D-I opponents, Counter said that his assist totals are a credit to his teammates first and foremost, as well as how he plays the game "the right way."
"I haven't had that fun playing a basketball game in a long time," Counter said. "But I've got to credit to my teammates. I put them in position to score, but at the end of the day, the ball has to go in through the hole...They're making me look good out there."
But the zero points Porter scored at Liberty burned inside of him.
"I just felt like I was failing the team by playing like I was playing," Porter said after a week where he shot 3-for-21 from the floor. "I know I wasn't playing like myself. So, I just had to get in the gym and get back to my spots."
The senior guard didn't know what the problem was, he just knew that being back in the gym made him feel right again. And the proof of that work, solo time in the Murphy Center away from his team's practice, was evident on Saturday, where Porter scored 29 points to lead MTSU in an 81-64 romp over Jacksonville State to improve the Blue Raiders to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in CUSA.
"The best of the best go through shooting slumps," head coach Nick McDevitt said of his leading scorer. "There's guys earning millions and millions of dollars in the NBA that are great shooters that are going to have a three, or four, or five game stretch where it's tough."
Tougher still, both McDevitt and his teammate Essam Mostafa pointed out this week, when Porter is likely the first player opponents scout each week, meaning nearly every player on the court Porter goes up against makes sure to do their part to slow him down. Porter has the skillset to attack teams in multiple ways, slashing to the basket to finish at the rim, shooting off the bounce in the mid-range or sniping from the outside off set plays, making that defensive task easier said than done for opponents, as both Kennesaw State, who Porter scored 27 points against earlier this week, and the Gamecocks found out.
But, McDevitt said, that defensive focus often means players like Porter need to add new tricks to their repertoire as the season progresses and more of their tools are targeted by defensive schemes.
"He's going to be at the top of the scouting report, guys are going to hone in on him," McDevitt said. "You've got to adjust your game a little bit sometimes, find shots in different ways, and he's done a good job of that."
Porter was not the only one with an offensive burst this week, with Essam Mostafa posting 22-point nights, to go along with nine rebounds in back-to-back contests. The Egyptian forward found success in the post, particularly off passes from his teammates and off the offensive glass, shooting 10-for-12 from the floor against the Gamecocks. The Blue Raider offense in general found its best flow of the season, scoring 19 of their 30 baskets on Thursday against the Owls off MTSU assists and following it up with 16 baskets off assists out of 28 total makes on Saturday.
Nine of those 16 assists came from Jlynn Counter, who was one point and one assist shy of his first career double-double on Saturday night. A year after Counter's IUPUI team won just six games, only three of which came against D-I opponents, Counter said that his assist totals are a credit to his teammates first and foremost, as well as how he plays the game "the right way."
"I haven't had that fun playing a basketball game in a long time," Counter said. "But I've got to credit to my teammates. I put them in position to score, but at the end of the day, the ball has to go in through the hole...They're making me look good out there."
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