Ex-Villanova Star Died Of Multiple Blunt-Force Injuries

Monday, May 28th 2007, 3:23 pm

By: News On 6

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Former Villanova basketball star Howard Porter died from multiple blunt-force injuries, authorities said Monday, but police were still trying to determine what happened in the hours before he was found, bloodied and beaten, in a Minneapolis alley May 19.

He died Saturday night at North Memorial Medical Center.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said the injuries caused the 58-year-old's death, but no further information was released about the injuries or how they were inflicted.

St. Paul Police Sgt. Paul Schnell said Monday the investigation was still active, but no arrests had been made. When asked whether Porter may have been kidnapped, Schnell said kidnapping was ``a very, very viable consideration in this investigation.''

Porter worked as a probation officer for Ramsey County. Authorities were looking into whether the attack had anything to do with his work.

``Let's hope that somebody's brought to justice for what they did,'' said Jack Kraft, Porter's coach at Villanova. ``It's a little bit tough. There he is in the prime of life ... and I'm 86 and I'm able to do what I want to do _ and that's just a sad thing.''

Porter grew up in Sarasota, Fla., leading his local high school to the state championship before a brilliant career at Villanova. From 1968-71, the 6-foot-8 Porter averaged 22.8 points and 14.8 rebounds and led the Wildcats to the 1971 NCAA title game, where they lost to UCLA.

He was voted the tournament's outstanding player, an honor later vacated because he had been dealing with an agent before the season ended. Villanova's 1971 runner-up finish also was vacated. The scandal tarnished his reputation in Philadelphia for a time, but the fences were eventually mended.

The school retired his No. 54 jersey in 1997.

Porter was drafted 32nd overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1971, but his NBA career never fulfilled the promise he showed in college. Porter also played for Detroit and New York, but he began using drugs when his career flamed out.

By 1985, he was out of money, addicted to cocaine and sleeping on the couch at his mother's house in Florida, according to newspaper reports.

Once he completed a rehab program in Center City, Minn., Porter decided to stay in Minnesota. He became a probation officer for Ramsey County in 1995, where he supervised adults who had been released from prison or sentenced to probation. He oversaw violent and nonviolent offenders, making sure they followed the law, as well as terms of their release.