Early Life
Gamble was born in Springfield, Illinois and lived in the city's John Hay public-housing projects with his single mother. Gamble entered Springfield's Lanphier High School; by his senior season, Gamble led the Lions to the 1983 Illinois Class AA State Basketball Championship. He scored 67 points in that season's four tournament games, which culminated with a 57-53 win over Peoria High School. Lanphier finished the 1983 season 30–3, while Gamble was the only Lanphier player selected to the All-Tournament team. In 2009 Gamble was named that year’s inductee into the Lanphier Hall of Fame.
Following high school, Gamble enrolled at Lincoln College in Illinois, where he played for two seasons under head coach Alan Pickering. After two seasons at Lincoln, Gamble transferred to the University of Iowa. He was part of a 1985 recruiting class which included B. J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Les Jepsen and Ed Horton. All five recruits went on to play in the National Basketball Association. Horton and Gamble played together at Lanphier High School.
Then-coach George Raveling kept Gamble on the bench for much of his first season. After the season, Raveling left Iowa to become the head coach at the University of Southern California. On April 7, 1986, Iowa named Tom Davis as its new head coach. Davis’ arrival reversed Gamble's fortunes, as he became a starter for Iowa in his senior season, and the team began the season with 17 straight wins to earn the #1 ranking in the AP Poll. In the Sweet Sixteen of the 1987 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Gamble hit the winning shot against the University of Oklahoma to send the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight, where they faced the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Against UNLV, Gamble attempted a 3-pointer as time expired, but the shot bounced off the rim, ending what was arguably Tom Davis's most successful season at Iowa. Iowa finished with a 30–5 record.
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