Hank Gathers - Legacy

Legacy

As a result of Gathers' death, the 1990 WCC tournament was canceled. Loyola Marymount was given the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to its regular season championship and was placed in the West Region as the #11 seed. During LMU's subsequent run to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion UNLV, Gathers' teammate Bo Kimble (a right-handed player) shot his first free throw of each game left-handed in memory of Gathers, who, while naturally right-handed, was a poor free-throw shooter and had, for a time, attempted to shoot left-handed. Kimble made all three attempts (he did not have any free-throw attempts in the Sweet 16 win over Alabama); from that point onward, and deep into his professional career, Kimble continued to honor his fallen friend by making his first free throws left-handed.

Gathers was named a consensus second team All-America and first team All-WCC selection for the season. He finished his career averaging 28.0 points and making 59 percent of his field goals, which were both school records as of 2010. He also averaged 11.1 rebounds for his career. He was voted WCC Player of the Decade for the 1980s.

In 1992, Gathers' life was dramatized in a TV movie, as Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story with Victor Love starring as Gathers.

Gersten Pavilion, LMU's on-campus athletics facility, is known to Lions fans as "Hank's House", although that is not part of its official name. His number 44 jersey was retired by LMU in 2000. On January 29, 2005, the entire 1989–90 team was inducted into the Loyola Marymount's Hall of Fame during halftime of a 63–46 win over cross-town rival Pepperdine. Gathers' mother, Lucille Gathers Cheeseboro, also attended the ceremony.

Gathers' nephew D.J. Rivera was the top scoring player during the 2008-09 America East Conference and attends Binghamton University. Due to his strong play that season, the Binghamton Bearcats won the America East and for the first time earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Gathers was part of story line in the ESPN film Guru of Go about Westhead that is part of their 30 for 30 series.