Home Court Advantage: Otto Porter Drafted by the Washington Wizards with the 3rd Pick in the NBA Draft

Georgetown's Otto Porter was drafted by the Washington Wizards with the 3rd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft Thursday night. Porter is the seventh Hoya to be selected in the top 5 picks of the NBA Draft, joining Patrick Ewing (#1 in 1985), Allen Iverson (#1 in '96), Alonzo Mourning (#2 in '92), Reggie Williams (#4 in '87), Dikembe Mutombo (#4 in '91) and Jeff Green (#5 in 2007). Porter also becomes the sixth Georgetown player drafted during the JTIII era, with Green and Greg Monroe (#7 in '10) as fellow lottery picks and Roy Hibbert (#17 in '08) also in the first round.

Porter will fit in well with a young core on the Wizards. In recent NBA Drafts, Washington has taken two promising young guards, John Wall (#1 in '10) and Bradley Beal (#3 in '12). But despite using a slew of additional first-round picks on forwards (Jan Vesely, Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, Chris Singleton), the Wizards still needed a small forward, a slot Porter will fill ably. At that position, Porter will match up against some of the league's luminaries (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Kevin Durant on trips West) and so will have high-level defensive assignments off the bat.

Porter's history suggests that he'll be equal to the task. In the past two-plus years, Porter has risen from a fairly unknown prospect to surefire NBA lottery pick. From his first game as a Hoya, Porter was an indispensable part of the rotation, contributing all over the court as a freshman. This past year, he stepped into a starring role, which only grew with the absence of fellow sophomore Greg Whittington. Porter did not shrink from the spotlight, dominating Big East foes while leading Georgetown on an eleven-game winning streak that resulted in the Hoyas claiming the conference's final regular season title. Otto's transcendent season eventually earned him Big East Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors and a place in the Hoya pantheon.

As pointed out in the comments earlier today, Porter staying in Washington should be a boon for Georgetown's recruiting. It's no secret that recent Hoyas have befriended the young Wizards, including Wall. Porter's link between the two teams, which both play their home games the Verizon Center, will only amplify that trend. Hoya targets will have to look no further than the locker room down the hall to see where life on the Hilltop can lead.

While he's no relation, fellow NBA prospect Otter Porter is still waiting to hear his name called, having impressed during a workout with the Portland Trailblazers.