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College basketball tragedy tonight in Division II men's game

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by OnTheRiver, Jan 15, 2010.

  1. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member

    Here's the kid in high school.

     
  2. fishhack2009

    fishhack2009 Active Member

    That makes sense.

    Here's the generic site link:

    www.courierpress.com
     
  3. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    I'm afraid I don't. I know some of the personnel and coaches at USI over the years, but not Lewis.
     
  4. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member


    I was just thinking about this today because one of the radio shows was doing a segment on surprising postseason runs. I covered that team and was sitting 20 feet from the spot where Gathers collapsed.
    Very sad memories.
     
  5. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Not that the basketball part of it is not secondary but I always remember thinking "My God, if Gathers had lived, how good could that team have been that year and the next year?"
     
  6. fishhack2009

    fishhack2009 Active Member

    The sky was the limit for that team with Bo Kimble on the outside and Gathers inside. A tragedy on so many fronts, least of all basketball, of course.
     
  7. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    Four of the starters were seniors: Gathers, Kimble, Per Stumer and Jeff Fryer. Only point guard Tony Walker was a junior. Reserve guard Terrell Lowery was a junior.
    Another thing I was thinking about today. I'm going to Vegas next month and staying at Bally's. I stayed there for one night in 1989 when I went to cover LMU-UNLV in a Preseason NIT game. About 3:30 a.m. after the game, I was losing at a blackjack table when Kimble walks through the casino. He sees me and asks how I'm doing. I flash him a thumb's down. He said, "Well, you'll start winning now." It was almost uncanny. I won back all I'd lost and tacked on another couple hundred bucks.
    So many memories from that time.
     
  8. fishhack2009

    fishhack2009 Active Member

    Neat story, SoCal. Unfortunately, my last Vegas memory is from Super Bowl weekend 1994, right before my last semester of college at San Diego State. I did one of those cheapo bus trips, and dropped $500 on the Bills to win, figuring, "What are the odds that they lose four in a row?"

    Pretty good odds, apparently. :D
     
  9. I saw a kid die once in a JV basketball game. Horrifying experience. Every time I've been in that gym since, my eyes just can't stop looking at the banner honoring him.

    That was a Gathers-like heart condition. A head injury is even more disturbing, in some ways. I wince every time guys hit the floor, because I can't believe there aren't more serious head injuries in basketball with the way guys go flying into the lane and crash to the deck (ex. Evan Turner a few weeks ago).

    I just got done reading S.L. Price's book on Mike Coolbaugh. Different sport, but similar circumstances.
     
  10. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    Hank Gathers' anniversary isn't until March 4 (we're dealing locally with a 20-year anniversary of our own coming up, although it wasn't on the court).
     
  11. Yea, kid was our prepsports high school athlete of the year a couple of years ago. This is sad. Prayers to his family
     
  12. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member

    Coroner says it looks like it was a heart condition, and not the hit to the head.

    http://www.14wfie.com/global/story.asp?s=11826479
     
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