1990: Death of Hank Gathers, ESPN News Coverage from SportsCenter

Twenty years ago, we lost an amazing human being (and much less importantly, a prodigical basketball player, and promising broadcasting student) during a game in the WCC Tournament. Hank was a friend, and just a warm, caring, hilarious, outgoing, special person. This is the story from SportsCenter that night after he died mid-court. He was so much more than a record-breaking college basketball player, he was everyone's friend. RIP, Big Man.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Hank
• Gathers
• Death
• LMU
• Loyola
• Marymount
• Basketball
• WCC
• Tournament
• ESPN
• Sportscenter

[FutureNewsAnchor]

Dan Patrick mentioned that in light of Gathers' death, the WCC cancelled the remainder of its tournament. Who ended up clinching the automatic berth in the NCAA Championship that year, then?

[PhillyPartTwo]

@FutureNewsAnchor It was based on regular season record, and LMU had won the WAC regular season championship. Some similar actions occurred in minor league baseball after 9/11.

[PhillyPartTwo]

@alex4tess You're an ass. Hank did not do steroids, he had a heart condition from birth.

[twomuchcocoa]

so sad :(

[FutureNewsAnchor]

Gathers fatally collapsed after performing his trademark dunk off an alley-oop with 13:34 to play in the opening half of the March 4, 1990 WCC quarterfinal game versus Portland.

[eliezerberry]

@rhythm61 My recollection, they did not use either CPR or defibrillator while he was still lying on the court.

He had a small crowd around him pretty fast, several people hurrying to him, one or two at a time from different places in the gym.

They managed to get him on a stretcher, and got him thru the doors out of the gym to the outside air, and at that point nobody in the stands could see anything. So yes, there was a bit of a wait until anyone used CPR or the defibrillator.

[edgargiosano]

Class act, RIP Hank.......

[xtracool32]

@GialloHorror The only time I watch espn, nowadays, is when their is a game on the network that I want to watch. And even that is is hard to do. All they do is promote their product all game long. How many times do they say the word "espn" during the telecast. Way too much. They also are in bed with the world of sports. If you want to hear criticism of athletes when they screw up, you have to somewhere else. 10 years ago I thought espn was the greatest thing ever. Now I have done a 180.

[GialloHorror]

What a tragedy. Gathers had so much heart, no pun intended. He worked his ass off. He would've been a great NBA player.

Bo Kimble was really effected by Gathers's death. I don't think Kimble was ever the same after this

[GialloHorror]

@xtracool32 Yes, indeed. ESPN got too big, and commercialized for their own good. I don't watch ESPN anymore. With The NFL, MLB and NBA networks on TV, I'll get my news and updates from those channels.

ESPN has no clue

[xtracool32]

The Good Ol' Days of ESPN. Before they started hiring those "no talent" anchors, who stink up the joint.

[FutureNewsAnchor]

@cauchamar Shut your mouth. Boomer's the man!

[expsteve]

Lionel Simmons and Doug Overton certainly respected Hank. La Salle was affected for sure

[FutureNewsAnchor]

@MacDaddy635 I have a heart. It beats quite well, thank you.