It was Twenty Years ago Today~ Sgt. Hank Gathers Left us & Showed us how to PLAY

Jack Patton asked me a question about Loyola Marymount on a previous post about the Loyola Marymount fast break, and coincidentally it was exactly twenty years ago today that the college basketball world was stunned by the sudden.. on court death of Hank Gathers. I felt the urge to reminisce and share a touching story.

Twenty years ago today, March 4th, Hank Gathers Passed away. I'm going to tell you an incredibly touching story...but first let me share some background.

Today's basketball players probably don't recognize the name. Hank Gathers. Believe me, Gathers was an incredibly talented basketball player....let me just tell you a little bit about him.

Raised in the Raymond Rosen Projects in North Philadelphia, Gathers had his sights set on making the NBA when he was 12 yrs old. Thinking every rebound was his, and that he could make every shot he took, Hank became a cocky, 6'7" strong, athletic forward for the LMU Lions. A beast on the boards. A terror to contain in the paint.

He was 23 at the time, and played for Loyola Marymount [Ca.] under head coach Paul Westhead who was notorious for being the ultimate coach of run and gun basketball. High speed, full court pressing, attacking running game were his trademarks.

Westhead had previously been a head coach for three different NBA teams and also coached for 9 yrs at LaSalle. Offensive players LOVED playing his style. Last year he took over the head coaching position of the Oregon Ducks women's program!
In 2007, Westhead coached the Mercury to a WNBA championship, making him the only coach to win a championship in the NBA and the WNBA. But this isn't about Westhead.

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble transferred from USC to play for Westhead at LMU on the other side of town. It became the Hank & Bo show. The year before his death, the 6'7" Gathers led the NCAA in both scoring (over 32 points per game!) AND rebounding (just under 14 RB's per game!). How good was Gathers? His warrior mentality and confidence meant he would never back down.

Loyola Marymount was the media darling with their fan friendly,, free style run-and-gun offensive attack. A month before his death, LMU headed east to play a nationally televised game before a sell-out crowd in Baton Rouge against Louisiana State.

LSU had a pretty good youngster by the name of Shaquille O'Neal. Also on that squad was Stanley Roberts, 7'0" and 285 lbs, who also had a nice NBA career. They had an all american guard named Chris Jackson. The game began and Gathers had his first FIVE shots blocked from what Coach Westhead remembered!! About 14,000 LSU faithful were going nuts as their star studded Tigers looked like they would destroy the high scoring Lions on the Tiger homecourt. But Gathers, Kimble and company did not go down easily.

It was a track meet and a game of runs; LSU held a 72-58 lead at halftime. Loyola was leading the country in scoring and LSU Tiger Coach Dale Brown had decided he was going to run with LMU, arguably the best conditioned team in the country. Gathers recovered from the BLOCK festival to finish with 48 points; 20 of 35 field goals and 8 of 11 free throws. [Many fans never noticed, but Gathers would shoot his free throws both right handed and left handed.]

LSU held on to win what might have been the most entertaining game ever in college basketball. The Tigers were forced into overtime before winning 148-141.!

The twin towers O'Neal and Roberts combined for 41 points including 19 of 22 combined from the field. But Gathers and Kimble and their teammates were something special when they would steal, rebound, or grab the ball as it came through the basket they attempted to defend. And they clawed their way back into the game. [Opponents scored often and early against the Lions.]

OK,, what happened to Hank? Exactly one month and one day after the memorable nationally televised game at LSU, Gathers was playing against Portland in their conference quarterfinals.

Terrell Lowery [who later played baseball for the Texas Rangers after a several years playing here in Tulsa with the Drillers] made a steal and fed Gathers for an alley oop dunk. There was 13 minutes left in the first half, running back on defense, Gathers slapped hands with Lowery before collapsing at half court.

The crowd went silent.

With Gathers mother, Lucille Gathers Cheeseboro, and other family members courtside, Gathers died. Five days later he was buried. Projected as an NBA lottery pick, his heart failure made his performance a month earlier even more impressive.

Kimble, who led the NCAA in scoring that year, said, "People identified with his greatness on the court, but he was even greater as a person."

NCAA RUN by Gathers-less LIONS
Five days after Gathers was laid to rest at Sharon Hill cemetery in Philadelphia, LMU began an improbable run through the tournament before falling to UNLV one game short of the Final Four.

"It was all a blur to me," Kimble says softly. "When that ball went up in the air, guys were playing for the love and respect of Hank."

HONORING HANK
In honor of his fallen teammate, Kimble elected to shoot the first free throw in all four of the NCAA Tournament games LEFT HANDED. Oh my god...I remember seeing video of each of those shots.

Tears mounted each time I watched; it made the "game" seem so trivial. I remember thinking the free throws were more important than who won the game!! I will never forget the feeling I had as Kimble readied his left handed shots. Amazingly,,,or not....Bo converted all four of the left handed charities.

Forty-four for Life Foundation
Today, through his non-profit Forty-four for Life Foundation (44forlife.org), Kimble continues to honor Gathers' legacy. The foundation raises money to donate defibrillators and educate people around the world about sudden cardiac arrest.

"It's all about giving back to save lives," Kimble says.

"It's a sign of respect for Hank."

Jack, thank you for asking about Loyola Marymount's pressing defense. Although you may be right about it being the "key" to their fast break, they were equally good at breaking after MADE baskets! While leading the country in scoring, they may have had the worst defense based on opponents scoring. But Lowery and Tony Walker were ultra quick, and Kimble and Gathers had the basketball smarts to make numerous interceptions and steals.

My dad, Len Morton, used to broadcast Tulsa University basketball games in the 60's and 70's and a lot of the stat sheets were handwritten during the game. I used to devour those stat sheets after each game. I found this box score of that unbelievable game.

#44 Eric "Hank" Gathers ~ I hope you are resting peacefully Hank!