- Howard Porter (basketball)
Howard Porter (
August 31 ,1948 –May 27 ,2007 ) was an American professionalbasketball player. At 6'8" and 220 pounds, he played as a forward and a center.Porter was born in
Stuart, Florida . He attended Booker High School inSarasota, Florida , where he was nicknamed "Geez" because teammates said he could leap into the air like ageyser . The highlight of his high school career occurred in 1967, when he led Booker to the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A State Basketball Championship. Porter then played collegiately atVillanova University , where he was a three timeAll-America selection. He took Villanova to the 1971 NCAA Championship Game, in which Villanova lost toUCLA 68-62. Porter was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 25 points in the final game. However, he was later ruled ineligible for the honor because he had signed a professional contract with thePittsburgh Condors of theAmerican Basketball Association during the middle of his senior year. [ [http://publications.villanova.edu/vumagazine/summer2002/a_basketball_story.htm http://publications.villanova.edu/vumagazine/summer2002/a_basketball_story.htm] ]Porter never played for the Condors, instead joining the
NBA 'sChicago Bulls in 1971. He played seven seasons in the NBA as a member of the Bulls,New York Knicks ,Detroit Pistons , andNew Jersey Nets . His finest professional season occurred in 1976-77, when he averaged 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Pistons. [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/porteho01.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/porteho01.html] ]2007 disappearance and murder
Howard Porter, who was employed as a county
probation officer , disappeared on May 18, 2007. He was found severely beaten in aMinneapolis, Minnesota alley in the early morning hours of May 19 and died on May 27 of injuries sustained during the assault. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2884248 Porter dies from beating injuries at age 58] , updated May 27, 2007]Local police arrested 33-year-old Tanya Washington in connection with the murder. [ [http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S102932.shtml?cat=1 http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S102932.shtml?cat=1] ] Washington was later released by police, stating that there was not enough evidence to file charges against her. [ [http://cbs3.com/local/local_story_156132031.html http://cbs3.com/local/local_story_156132031.html] ] On September 4, police announced that they had arrested and charged Rashad Arthur Raleigh with Porter's murder. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3004682 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3004682] ]
Howard Porter is interred at
Washington Park Cemetery inOrlovista ,Florida . [cite web | title = Howard "Geezer" Porter | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19553016 | accessdate = 2007-12-01]Notes
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