DeArmond: “Missouri is the heavy favorite to land Michael Porter Jr.”

Gabe DeArmond of PowerMizzou.com joined The Ryan Kelley Morning After to discuss Missouri hiring Cal’s Cuonzo Martin as its next head men’s basketball coach and what’s next for the Tigers.

Are you surprised by the length of the contract?

“Going into this someone told me Sterk was going to have to overpay and with where Missouri’s at right now it’s going to require a lot more resources.”

Do you know anything more on the Porter family’s situation? 

“We were told if Romar got fired, there was a pretty good chance Michael Porter Jr. was going to come back here, along with his brother, they miss Columbia. They finally found out yesterday that Romar is out. We were told Porter Jr. did not sign a letter of intent, only a financial aid agreement. The only difference if he did sign a letter of intent, is that the process for him to leave will be a bit longer.”

“Missouri is the heavy favorite to land Porter Jr. based on our info. Porter Sr. hasn’t accepted an assistant job yet, but he’s likely expected to. I would put it above 75 percent chance that they get the whole crew here.”

“If you take the Porter’s out of it, this is a B or B- hire. Martin is a guy who’s never lost more than 11 games, but he lives on the NCAA tournament bubble. The pros are, you’re never going to be terrible with Martin, but you’re not going to win conference titles.”

“I think all of those St. Louis guys come back into play because of Cuonzo Martin.”

Where is this team next year?

“If Michael Porter Jr. comes I think it’s realistic that Missouri could go into February with hopes of making the NCAA Tournament.”

Related: Cuonzo Martin and Missouri agree to 7-year deal

The interview begins around the 28-minute mark