Ex-Villanova Hoops Star Howard Porter Dead at 58 from Injuries Sustained in Minneapolis Beating

Howard Porter, 58, was one of the all-time greats in the history of Villanova basketball: a three-time All American who lead the Nova Wildcats to the 1971 NCAA Championship (which they lost to UCLA by a score of 68 - 62). Despite the loss, Porter was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. That same year, Porter was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, where he spent three years before moving on to the Knicks and then the Detroit Pistons. By 1985, Porter was financially broke and addicted to cocaine. He was living at the time with his mother in Florida, sleeping on her couch. He had "taken a ride with the devil", according to a 2001 Star Tribune interview.

"The devil picked me up and rolled me for a while, but I always knew deep down inside that God wasn't through with me yet." In 1989, Porter entered a rehab facility in Center City, Minneapolis, subsequently moving to a halfway house in St. Paul and started slowly but surely to try to turn his troubled life around. On May 19, 2007, police officers brought Porter to an area hospital after finding him in an alley way, severely beaten. Because no identification or wallet was found on his person, officers didn't realize that the man they were transporting was indeed Porter. He died on May 28th as a result of injuries sustained in the beating.

Porter grew up in a single-parent home in the swamps of Florida. His first basketball 'hoop' was an old tire rim, his first 'instruction' a booklet that his mother bought. He practiced day and night in the sweltering heat with the hopes of lifting himself and his mother to a better life.

It seems like trouble had been following Porter around for much of his life. His MOP award during the '71 championship game had been taken away because it was found that he had been dealing with a professional agent prior to the season's end. The Wildcats runner-up finish in the tournament was also vacated because of Porter's actions. Porter left Villanova and coach Jack Kraft under a darkened cloud of suspicion, but his career stats spoke for themselves. During a career that spanned from 1968 through the 1971 championship year, the 6'8" Porter averaged 22.8 points per game and 14.9 rebounds. "Howard provided many Villanovans with thrills on the basketball court playing for Kraft", said current Villanova coach Jay Wright. "Since his playing days, he has been an outstanding role model for our current players and coaching staff."

Wright also spoke in glowing terms of Porter when he attended the Nova Wildcats trip to Minneapolis in 2005. (Since taking over the Wildcats program, coach Wright has made a very real effort to include and honor former Villanova basketball players in each season's team activities. During the NCAA playoffs in Minneapolis, Porter befriended the Wildcats star guard Randy Foye, who subsequently became the Minnesota Timberwolves' lottery draft pick.) "He was a kind, humble and gentle man who loved Villanova and loved his family. We will all miss him", said Wright in a written statement.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Foye said that "The guy was a legend. I met him two or three times at Villanova, but our relationship really grew when I came out to Minneapolis. He was just always there for me, always offering to help me out with anything that I needed, if I had any questions about basketball or about life in general."

How did Howard Porter travel the long and hard route from disgraced Wildcats player in his senior year to being honored as a "kind, humble and gentle man" and "a legend" at his death? Following his stint in rehab at Hazelden in Center City, Porter began turning his life around. He became a probation officer for Ramsey County in 1995. He supervised adult offenders who had been released either from prison or sentenced to probationary terms. As a part of his job, Porter was responsible for overseeing often violent or nonviolent offenders. His mission was to make certain that they followed the terms of their release as well as following the law itself. Police investigating Porter's beating and subsequent death theorize that the nature of his current job may have implications as to who was responsible for his attack.

Porter left behind a brilliant basketball career as a Nova Wildcat as his legacy. Perhaps just as importantly, he fought a battle with his biggest demon, cocaine addiction, and won that battle off the court. He had reshaped his life into that of a man who gave back not only to his community and his former college, but also to the men and women whose needs were far greater than most: former convicted criminals. While some may remember only the opportunities lost to Porter, many of us choose to remember him as the player whose #54 Villanova jersey was retired in 1997; his school record of 1,317 rebounds still stands to this day. He will be missed.