By Sam Coombs

March 4^th, 1990 started as an exciting day for many NCAA basketball teams. For Loyola Marymount University, they were excited to take on Portland State in a West Coast Conference tournament game and to advance the team to a potential NCAA road to the Final Four berth. LMU was known for its’ up-tempo basketball and in your face approach to games and Hank Gathers was an integral part of this play. In the game against Portland State, LMU built a decent lead of 25-13. The 2 points that created the 12pt lead would ultimately be the last bright points of the day for LMU, as something that was never seen in basketball was about to happen. The day turned from exciting to devastating in the blink of an eye. This is the moment where Hank Gathers played his final basketball game.

After a brilliant alley-oop pass from Terrell Lowery, Hank Gathers skied in the air to throw down a magnificent dunk. The crowd went wild cheering for the play and seconds later would go silent for what they witnessed.

Hank Gathers collapsed to the floor.

In agony and distress Gathers tried to bring himself back to his feet but couldn’t find the energy in his body to do so. His body started going into a seizure state, which immediately had the LMU training staff in disbelief. In such a short span, Gathers went from completing such an electric play, to not even having the energy in his body to stand up. Something was seriously wrong.

Some of Gathers family rushes down to the court immediately in disbelief wanting medical staff to do something quick. A stretcher came for Gathers as he was quickly taken off of the court. A defibrillator was bought a couple months prior to this day specifically for Hank Gathers. He had another incident that was believed to be less severe where something happen to him on the court. This was bought for a safety precaution and was used on this day.

Hank Gathers body became lifeless with no pulse shown and electric shocks were needed to try and keep him alive. They worked for a short period of time as signs of life were shown. Gathers was worked on by emergency crews and staff in the emergency room for about an hour. CPR was administered, as was the defibrillator again. After about an hour none of these things were really working.

At around 5:40 pm, a short time after Gathers collapsed on the court, he was pronounced dead.

Gathers had such a future ahead of him as a potential NBA basketball player turning his talents into a profession. This was such a shame that a life was taken so soon from this earth. When his teammates heard the news, still in their uniforms, they were in utter disbelief at how this could happen to a great person like Hank Gathers.

The story of Gathers soon surfaced all through America, as nothing like this had ever really happened in American sports history. The death of such a prolific player who was in his prime was just devastating for the sport, his teammates, and his family. Gathers was a player who in 1989 led the whole nation in points and rebounds and was on track to be a potential future NBA star. A highly coveted player and recognized player by NBA talent scouts. This day was just a shame.

The West Coast Conference showed some tremendous class to Loyola Marymount who was given an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and the conference tournament was canceled. This gave the team something to play for. They were playing for Hank Gathers and still making him an essential part of the team that year. The most extraordinary thing was that LMU went on to make an amazing run in the NCAA tournament and advancing all the way to the Elite 8. They used their tremendous strength and passion to surge themselves all the way to the Elite 8 playing for Gathers. This day in sports will forever be remembered as a tragic day for LMU fans because of what happen on the court, but also a great celebration of the life of Hank Gathers and the great talent and character he bestowed in himself.