Former NBA player and Purdue boiler maker Caleb Swanigan died a natural death at the age of 25 on Monday night at a hospital in Fort Wayne, according to Allen County coroner.
Swanigan has been named Indiana's Mr. Basketball 2015 in its final year at Homestead High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and led the team to the state championship.
In particular, the recruited Swangian signed a treaty with Purdue after the initial surrender of the state of Michigan.Swanigan averaged 14.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in two Purdue seasons.
In his second season, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year, All-American First Team Consensus Player and Naismith Finalist.
The 6-foot-9 Swanigan played three years in the NBA for the Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings with an average of 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists.
He was transferred to Portland for the second stint in February 2020, but for personal reasons he decided not to join the Orlando bubble team as the game continued after COVID stopped.
Swanigan was arrested several months ago, in December 2020, for possession of drugs and no reporting on his mug.
One in six children, Swanigan, known as "Biggie," battled childhood obesity and homelessness as a high school student, according to WANE-TV 15 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.