It’s been a long time coming. Jake Porath was born with a basketball in his hands and now everything has come full circle. On Friday Dec. 5, Porath signed to Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Coach Todd Wolfson called the signing “every kid’s dream” and Porath sure looked as happy as a little kid when he finally put pen to paper. With friends, family, teammates, coaches, and Chaminade administrators all present, it was hard not to crack a smile.
Attending Williams will only serve to further the winning tradition that Porath has established in his short tenure at Chaminade. The small liberal arts school is about as much of a lock for the Division III Final Four as possible, reaching the plateau five times thus far during the 2000s. In brief, his adjustment to the college game should be relatively painless; this is a kid who is accustomed to winning and who will do whatever it takes to do so.
For Porath though, this has always been about so much more than basketball. The stretch-4 will be majoring in economics at Williams next fall as he furthers his education. Coming from two very similar high schools in terms of their academic rigors, he should be more than equipped to succeed at Williams. It was a great spectacle, but expect the future to be much, much brighter than the bright lights of Wednesday for young Porath. Whether that comes in the form of basketball, economics, or both, this kid is going somewhere.
—Conner Hoyt (photos by Jen Harlow)