And then, Gathers, 6-7 and 210, built like a Greek statue, toppled to the court. Died moments later, despite the best efforts of doctors and trainers and the use of a defibrillator that had been purchased after an earlier fainting episode involving Gathers.
"Hank achieved more in 23 years," said Bo Kimble, "than some people achieve who live to be 100. And now, Hank is still saving lives."
Kimble, Gathers' high school and college teammate, co-founded Forty-Four For Life Foundation, a nonprofit agency dedicated to spreading awareness of heart disease, the No. 1 killer in America with one victim dying every 37 seconds.
"People ask all the time about the number," said Dr. Tammy Goode, another co-founder of the organization. "It was Hank's uniform number. And for me, there's other significance. My father died of a massive heart attack at 44. That lefthanded free throw that Bo used to honor Hank in the NCAA Tournament, he took four, made four. Lots of fours.
"What we do is try to increase awareness and thus decrease the risk of cardiac disease. We go into churches, schools and encourage people to learn CPR, to learn how to use a defibrillator.
"Obesity is a big factor in heart disease. We support basketball camps, we encourage kids to be active."
Kimble works those camps, talks about Gathers openly and fervently. "People are always asking me about living in Hank's shadow," said Kimble, who played with Gathers at Murrell Dobbins Tech, then Southern Cal and Loyola Marymount. "I have my own identity. I was leading the nation in scoring before Hank died.
"The year before, I missed 18 games with injuries and Hank led the nation in scoring. Collectively, we were stronger together than individually. I'm proud to be associated with him and people ought to realize we not only lost a great player, we lost a great person."
