Page 23 - Final Inspirational Women Issue

SPOR T S

mount as they were an and in 1990, 122.4 going to work the to the basketball floor. Loyola played
up and coming power points per game. These Sweet Sixteen. LMU, ESPN stopped broad- Alabama on Satur-
house with one of the stats, some still in the although respect- casting the game day and won, pitting
best forwards in the record books, brought ed as a force to be when Hank’s mom them against UNLV for
country, Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount to reckoned with was collapsed on the floor Sunday’s game, they
and his teammate and the forefront of college still the Cinderella wailing in pain. The lost to the eventual
best friend Bo Kim- basketball and high- team. I watched as WCC suspended play winners of the champi-
ble leading the way lighted their talented many games as I could and awarded LMU an onship UNLV coached
as point guard, they 6’ 7’’, 210 pound inside between Duke, LMU automatic bid to the by Jerry Tarkanian.
seemed to be a shoe player, Eric “Hank” and UCLA, to become Big Dance. And, at 6:55 That was the end of
in for the tournament. Gathers. familiar with the PM, PST, Hank Gathers the LMU Cinderella
Gathers was the 2nd On December 9, players and their style was pronounced dead season and everyone
player in the history 1989, while playing a of play. Number 44 at the age of 23. wondered how things
of the NCAA Division home game against was clearly going to be This story dominat- would have turned
1 to lead the nation in UC Santa Barbara, the player of the 1990 ed the championship out if #44 was on the
scoring and rebound- Gathers collapsed on NCAA Men’s Division that year and as the court.
ing in the same season, the court. Two days 1 Championship and I games continued, the A caveat to this
with an average of 32.7 later he was diagnosed was looking forward to emotions grew deeper whole weekend of
points and 13.7 re- with exercise-induced seeing him tear up the and deeper. Everyone emotional basketball
bounds a game. Also in ventricular tachycardia boards in Oakland. , connected with the was that I did get a
the 1988 season, Hank and was prescribed On Sunday, March NCAA, everyone who chance to meet Mike
scored a career-high 49 beta blockers. He was 4, 1990, I was watching worked on the tour- Krzyzewski or Coach K.
points along with 26 cleared to continue Loyola play the Port- nament, media, fans I wasn’t disappointed,
rebounds to lead his playing basketball land Pilots in the WCC we all felt the loss of he was a very hum-
team to a 130-125 win as long as he took tournament semifi- a 23-year-old super ble and soft spoken
over Nevada. the Inderal. Gathers nals on tv. Before the star. Hank’s best friend, man even though he
He won awards and became hesitant game, Gather’s mom Bo Kimble, chose to was one of the most
was the West Coast about taking the beta was interviewed with honor Gathers in a decorated college
Conference player of blocker, as it slowed Kimble’s mom and very special way. Bo, basketball coaches in
the year and was also down his play and they talked about the a right-handed player history.
named the MVP of his ability to become closeness of the fam- announced he would Results for the 2018
the WCC tournament relevant in the fast- ilies. Every time Hank shoot the first free NCAA Men’s Champi-
that same year. All this paced Westhead game would make a dunk, throws left handed in onship are in; Monday,
while he was just a plan. He continued the cameras would memory of Gathers, April 2, 2018, in San
junior in college. to play and was the search the crowd for who was a poor free- Antonio, Michigan vs.
In his senior year, star of the LMU Lions. his mom’s reaction. throw shooter, tried Villanova. Michigan
Loyola, coached He was interviewed I remember Gathers shooting with his left came out strong with
by Paul Westhead, by all the networks had just mad a mon- hand in hopes that aggressive defense
instituted what some and it was common ster dunk when on the would improve his and it looked like they
would call an extraor- knowledge that Bo way down the court performance from the were taking charge.
dinarily faced-paced Kimble, his teammate to defend the LMU free throw line. A sold- However, Villanova’s
game, which meant and childhood friend, basket he collapsed. out Oakland coliseum guard and sixth man,
that the Lions ran up was not only his There was 13:34 left was waiting to see Bo Donte DiVincenzo,
and down the court in roommate, but also in the first half and Kimble make the first entered the game and
a frenzy causing their his best friend. Hank’s the star of the LMU free throw left handed, “that’s all she wrote.”
opponents to become mother was Kimble’s Lions was on the floor Bo never got to DiVincenzo scored a
disorientated and out mom, Kimble’s mom struggling to get up the line in the Sweet total of 31 points and
of their game plan. This was Gather’s mom, the and telling the team Sixteen win over Ala- led Villanova to its’ sec-
fast-paced game lead two families became doctor he didn’t want bama. From this point, ond title in three years.
the Lions of Loyola to intertwined through to lie down. When it onward and into his When the game was
lead in Division 1 in the years. became apparent he professional career, Bo over, the buzzer rang,
scoring in 1988, with All this hype was was unable to get up continued to honor his the scoreboard read
averaging 110.3 points leading up to another his mother followed best friend by taking 79-62, and the Wild-
a game; in 1989 aver- memorable March closely by Kimble’s his first free throw shot cats mobbed number
aging 112.5 a game; Madness, and I was mom made their way left handed. 10, Donte DiVincenzo.

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