Whatever Happened to the UW's No. 2-ranked Recruiting Class of 2017?

From Lorenzo Romar's ill-fated collection of players, some have flourished while others couldn't make it happen.

They were the nation's No. 2 basketball recruiting class in 2017. 

All it took was Lorenzo Romar's firing to send them everywhere but to the University of Washington.

Four years later, players have lived up to their promise and been busts.

With the UW in a two-season downturn, we revisit that once gilded group and follow up on where each guy is today, with Romar coaching at Pepperdine for a second tour of duty:

Michael Porter Jr. 

The 6-foot-9 centerpiece and nation's No. 1 player, groomed for his Husky moment at Seattle's Nathan Hale High School under the direction of former NBA player Brandon Roy, took his roadshow to Missouri, where his father, Michael Sr., was hired as an assistant coach for $1.25 million over three years and his brother Jontay joined him.

Porter Jr. played in exactly three college games. 

He hurt his back in his first outing against Iowa State, had surgery, and returned for a 2018 SEC tournament game against Georgia and an NCAA tournament game against Florida State. He scored 2, 12 and 16 points.

And then he left.

Drafted by the Denver Nuggets, he had a second surgery and missed the entire 2018-19 season.

Porter finally played in 55 NBA games during the pandemic-disrupted bubble season, showed promise and averaged 9.3 points per game. 

He's averaging 19.5 during the current season and getting more comfortable all the time.

The 6-11 Jontay, likewise thought to be headed to the UW at some point after prepping at Nathan Hale, played a season for Missouri and averaged 9.9 points per game, missed another season with a knee injury and is with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, still nursing a bad knee.

As for Michael Porter Sr., who briefly was a UW assistant coach, he parted ways with Missouri last May when his rich contract wasn't renewed.

Blake Harris

The North Carolina native was supposed to be the playmaker, the floor leader, the Porter feed man.

Instead, he's on his fourth college program after backing out of his UW oral commitment to sign with Missouri, transfer to North Carolina State and now start for North Carolina A&T.

The 6-foot-3 Harris recently received a chance to put his skills up against a Pac-12 opponent and he scored 3 points in a 78-46 loss to Stanford.

He's had a modest college career, appearing in 19 games and starting 9 for Mizzou in 2017-18 and coming off the bench in 30 games for N.C. State a year later. He didn't play last season.

Mamoudou Diarra

This 6-9, 225-pound player from Mali by way of a South Carolina prep academy was expected to be Porter's Husky henchman up front and take some of the pressure off him.

Once Romar was let go by the UW, Diarra turned his attention to Cincinnati, redshirted for a season and has appeared in three others but only as a little-used sub. 

He averaged 3 points and 2.8 rebounds over 28 games in 2019-20. In three games this season, he's come off the bench and played just 7, 8 and 9 minutes. Here's hoping he's getting his degree.

Daejon Davis 

The Garfield High School alumnus bolted for Stanford once Romar and the UW parted ways. It was a good move for him.

Davis has started 94 of 96 games over four seasons in Palo Alto, California, averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 assists per game. He's won games with last-second shots. He even supplied 9 points and 4 assists in that recent outing against North Carolina A&T and his one-time future teammate Blake Harris.

While not necessarily a surefire NBA prospect, the 6-3 guard has had a nice college career and is getting a first-class education.

Jaylen Nowell

He was the only one who stayed and took a chance on Romar's UW coaching replacement, Mike Hopkins. It worked out well for him.

Nowell played two seasons for the Huskies, started 68 of 70 games and was named Pac-12 Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2018-19. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in his breakout season.

He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and appeared in 15 games last season, averaging 3.8 points per game, while shuttling to and from the NBA D League. He made the Wolves roster again this season, but hasn't played yet because of a calf injury.

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