Hank Gathers

Eric "Hank" Gathers (February 11, 1967 in Philadelphia – March 4, 1990 in Los Angeles) was an American college basketball star at Loyola Marymount University who collapsed and died during a game.

Legacy

As a result of Gathers's death, the 1990 WCC tournament was suspended, and Loyola Marymount was given the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament (as a #11 seed) due to their regular season championship. During LMU's subsequent run to the Elite Eight, Gathers's best friend and teammate Bo Kimble (a right-handed player) shot his first free throw of each game left-handed in memory of Gathers (who was a southpaw), making all four attempts.

Related Topics:
NCAA Tournament - Elite Eight - Bo Kimble

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In 1992, Gathers's life was dramatized in a TV movie, as Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story.

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Gersten Pavilion, LMU's on-campus athletics facility, is known to Lions fans as "Hank's House", although that isn't part of its official name. On 29 January 2005, members of Gathers's 1989-90 team, including Kimble, were inducted into the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame during halftime of a 63-46 win over cross-town rival Pepperdine. Gathers's mother, Lucille Gathers Cheeseboro, also attended the ceremony.

Related Topics:
Gersten Pavilion - 29 January - 2005 - Pepperdine

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