Injuries put an end to Porter's basketball playing days at Southeast Missouri State

~ The Sikeston grad fought health problems throughout his college basketball careeer

Michael Porter was never a star on the basketball court for Southeast Missouri State, but coach Dickey Nutt believes he was a major contributor for the Redhawks in areas that go well beyond a statistical sheet.

Porter's problem was something out of his control -- injuries. And those ailments led to Thursday's announcement that Porter's college basketball career is over.

Porter would have been a senior for the Redhawks this season and there were a chance the rugged forward from Sikeston High School might have gained an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA due to his injury history.

"It's a sad day for us because I know how valuable Michael is to our program. We fought it for a long time but he's just had so many injuries, he and his family just decided to call it quits," Nutt said. "But Michael will remain on scholarship to continue his education here and finish his degree. I told him there are lot of other things in life more important than basketball.

"He promised me he's going to hang in there and get his degree. He's a super young man and he can do just about anything he sets his mind to."

Nutt said Porter will remain a part of the program as something of a student coach.

"He'll be around our team every day for practice, for games," said Nutt, who added with a laugh: "I'm sure he'll be telling me what to do."

Porter's most recent injury was a labral tear in the right hip, which required a second surgery. He played a total of just 32 games, including four starts, in two seasons at Southeast. He averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.

"It's a shame he never got a chance to show what he could do on the basketball floor," Nutt said. "I feel sad for him and his family. He wanted to play so bad. He has an unbelievable passion for the game, and he's just a winner. He meant so much to our program on and off the court with his toughness, his leadership."

Porter's injury problems began during his freshman season at Missouri State in 2009-10, when he averaged 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in six games before missing the rest of the campaign due to an emergency appendectomy and a torn hamstring.

Porter transferred to Southeast and had to sit out the 2010-11 season under NCAA transfer rules. He was allowed to practice with the Redhawks after he recovered from hip surgery that resulted from an automobile accident.

Porter still was hobbled somewhat when he became eligible at Southeast during the 2011-12 season but came on strong late to average 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

That fueled optimism from both Porter and Nutt for last year, but Porter again faced injury misfortune. He suffered a broken foot during preseason practice and missed the first 20 games. He returned to play in one January contest but re-fractured the foot late during that game, forcing him to miss the rest of the campaign.

Porter had his second hip surgery following the season in the hopes of rectifying a problem that continued to plagued him. The condition persists despite the surgery.