LMU’s Gathers Is Bankable Again After Tough Year

When basketball practice began in mid-October, Loyola Marymount’s Hank (the Bank) Gathers was undeniably the big man on campus. He was a consensus preseason All-American, the only player in NCAA annals returning as defending national scoring and rebounding champion. He was on the regional cover of Street and Smith’s magazine.

He was not only the team’s center on the court, but off it--raconteur, toastmaster, needler, the object of autograph seekers.

Gathers had passed up the pro draft after his stupendous junior year to try to enhance various aspects of his game for National Basketball Assn. scouts. The Lions were playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and Gathers would be able to show he could compete with some of the nation’s top big men.

He opened the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds in a close loss at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, then got 28 points and 17 rebounds in an easy victory over Nevada Reno. Next came three straight 30-point games--including 38 points and 16 rebounds against Stetson and 37 points and 27 rebounds against U.S. International.

He was on his way to another big game against UC Santa Barbara. He already had 18 points, and Loyola was protecting a 10-point lead when Gathers went to the foul line with 13:56 left in the game. He missed the first free throw, stepped away from the stripe, mopped his face with his ever-present wristbands, stepped back to the line. And in that instant, Gathers’ life changed. He fainted. The Bank was closed.

His 6-foot-7 frame just seemed to go limp. He crumpled into the lane, blacked out for a moment, then appeared to be hyperventilating when he came to. He walked off the floor under his own power, then was taken to a nearby hospital for several days of tests. While Gathers, possibly the most physically imposing player ever to wear a Loyola uniform, dealt with his confusion and frustration, the Lions managed to hold off Santa Barbara as Bo Kimble scored 51 points.

Without Gathers, the Lions remained competitive beyond expectation when Kimble went on one of the greatest scoring tears in recent history. Loyola defeated Oregon State in Corvallis, with Kimble scoring 53. They played a strong game against Oklahoma as Kimble got 46. Moving to the power forward position, Kimble also collected 26 rebounds in those games.

Gathers, having passed several batteries of tests and taking medication to regulate his heart beat, he said doctors felt an accelerated rate may have led to the fainting spell, returned to the lineup Dec. 30 and got 22 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes against Niagara.

But on the team’s much-awaited trip East, he was clearly not himself. Against a strong Xavier team, Gathers had trouble making his usual shots while scoring 20 points. The Lions lost at the buzzer despite 38 points by Kimble. In the airport the next day, Gathers complained, “I can’t finish off a . . . play.”

Two days later, playing at St. Joseph’s in his hometown of Philadelphia before a gathering of friends and family, Gathers had his least productive game in a Loyola uniform, scoring 11 points in 26 minutes--one point in the first half. He appeared out of sync with his body. Kimble, another Philly native, got the big headlines when his 35-footer at the buzzer defeated St. Joe’s and gave him 54 points.

Gathers, fuming at his own performance and sluggishness, persuaded doctors to cut back his medication.

“That was my lowest point,” he recalled this week. “I was really down emotionally. It was hurtin’ me because I know people didn’t really know what was going on with me. The first thing I said was, ‘People are gonna think I’m on drugs now.’ Maybe I worry too much about what people think, but there’s a lot of that (drug use) going on where I come from, and I’ve never touched drugs in my life. I knew if there was any way for me to do well, they were gonna have to cut back the medication.”

Gathers’ comeback began two days later, against nationally ranked LaSalle on national TV. He got 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Kimble scored 32 as the Lions dealt the Explorers their only loss of the season.

“I knew I was gonna play well (against LaSalle). I convinced the doctors to cut back on the medication, and I felt my body strength back up. I had a little bit of timing,” Gathers said.

It was another month before Gathers began to assert himself with his accustomed authority. He turned the corner the first week of February when he scored 44 points against St. Mary’s, then he got 48 two days later against powerful Louisiana State on a network TV game. The next day he got 30 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes against San Francisco--122 points in a 72-hour period.

In 14 West Coast Conference games, Gathers averaged 30.5 points and 9.9 rebounds. He goes into this weekend’s WCC Tournament with season averages of 29 points and 10.8 rebounds, both among the nation’s leaders. And although Gathers remains a probable first-round draft choice, Kimble--who leads the nation in scoring at 35.8 points per game--has probably passed him in the estimate of NBA scouts, some of whom see Gathers as a center in a forward’s body. None of that bothers Gathers, who had several weeks to contemplate life without basketball.

“I’m not bitter or sad I fainted,” he said. “I’m not getting the numbers I was getting last year, (but) I’m just happy to be healthy and playing well. Now if I have a bad game, it’s just me, not the medication and all the mental aspects of that.”

During his forced absence and slow comeback, Gathers had to resist judging whether he should have left school early. “I think it was even amazing to be out there playing on that medication--lackadaisical, just out of it,” he said reflectively. “My mind would tell me to do something, but my body just wouldn’t react. After a while it played head trips with me. I knew if I started to think I should have left (college), it would really play tricks with me. I don’t have any regrets about staying here. I still have a pretty successful season, and I’ll get my degree.”

While playing ball, Gathers has been preparing for a career beyond basketball. During the summer he took part in a sports broadcasting camp at Loyola, where activities included doing play-by-play of summer pro league games. During this season Gathers has been doing pregame interviews for Sports-Channel cable television. Interview subjects lately have included former USC teammate Tom Lewis before a recent Pepperdine game, and his mother, Lucille, last weekend.

“When I fainted, I was more confused than frightened,” Gathers said. “It made me think maybe I wouldn’t be able to play anymore. It made (non-basketball) things more important, like my broadcast career. Doing those interviews made life a little easier for me while I was out.”

Gathers remains a bankable talent as he tries to lead the Lions to their third straight WCC Tourney title--they open at 2 p.m. Saturday against Gonzaga--and he will be looking to win his third consecutive tournament Most Valuable Player award. The tournament is being played at Loyola, with opening round games Saturday at noon, 2, 6 and 8 p.m. Semifinals are at 5 and 7 p.m. Sunday. The final is at 8:30 p.m. Monday and will be shown live on ESPN.

The nation will get to see a Hank Gathers nearing peak form. Slowed or not, Gathers has compiled one of the most impressive records in Division I history. He enters the weekend at 15th in career scoring and needs only 14 points to move into 11th place. He’s also one of only a few dozen players in history with more than 2,500 career points and 1,000 rebounds.

He says he has enhanced his game by staying the extra year at Loyola. The knock by scouts a year ago was his questionable shooting percentage. “I think I’ve become a much better shooter,” he said. “I shoot facing the basket more than last year. I’m more active in the press. I’m passing the ball a lot better.”

And he remains the Lions’ emotional leader. After their most recent game, Coach Paul Westhead said: “He’s the leader of this team. His force frequently dictates how we play. I like to measure it by the sound of his rebounds. When he’s really grabbing the rebounds, it sounds like he’s slapping them all the way across the court. That kind of sends a message to the guys.”

Gathers played one of his most inspired games at Baton Rouge, where he got 48 points and 16 rebounds against LSU’s first-year 7-footers, Shaquille O’Neal and Stanley Roberts. O’Neal, who blocked a number of Gathers’ shots, responded with 24 rebounds and a conference record 12 blocks, but Gathers kept coming.

“I just watched (a video of) that game the other night, and I was very pleased the way I played,” he said. “That game I was really out to prove something, to the NBA scouts and folks around the nation. I wanted to make a statement--no matter who I play, no matter how much bigger they are, I come to play. I use my edge--working hard, my strength, quickness. I think there’s no way NBA scouts now can question whether I can play in the paint (against taller opponents).”

Gathers plans to continue to impress in the WCC tournament--and beyond. “This is my last go-round. I’ll appreciate the tournament,” he said. “The league wasn’t that much fun. LSU was a lot of fun--being in that type of competitiveness. We’ve had trouble getting up for conference opponents. But now it’s money time. We shouldn’t have a problem getting up.”

If the timing’s right, Gathers might even indulge in a three-point shot. “I’ve thought about that. I was planning on it for my mom the last game, but (the opportunity) just wasn’t there,” he said with a smile. “Who knows? I might, not to really prove anything, just to take ‘em for fun. I think I owe that to myself.”

NCAA DIVISION I LEADERS BY CAREER POINTS

Last Years Name, School Year Played Points Pete Maravich, Louisiana St. 1970 3 3,667 Freeman Williams, Portland St. 1978 4 3,249 Lionel Simmons*, LaSalle 1990 4 3,071 Harry Kelly, Texas Southern 1983 4 3,066 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1988 4 3,008 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1960 3 2,973 Danny Manning, Kansas 1988 4 2,951 Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola (Chi.) 1985 4 2,914 Elvin Hayes, Houston 1968 3 2,884 Larry Bird, Indiana St. 1979 3 2,850 Otis Birdsong, Houston 1977 4 2,832 Reggie Lewis, Northeastern 1978 4 2,708 Daren Queenan, Lehigh 1988 4 2,703 Byron Larkin, Xavier (Ohio) 1988 4 2,696 Hank Gathers*,Loyola Marymount 1990 4 2,695 David Robinson, Navy 1987 4 2,669 Wayman Tisdale, Oklahoma 1985 3 2,661 Michael Brooks, LaSalle 1980 4 2,628 Joe Dumars, McNeese St. 1985 4 2,605

* still playing