Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990 TAG: 9003071604
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press and New York Times reports
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
His closed, silver casket draped with red roses and white carnations stood at one end of the basketball court he called home, the court where he was stricken Sunday during a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
As the basketball community mourned, the university was left trying to decide if its team would accept a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Filling the stands Tuesday at the small Jesuit university in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westchester were 5,000 friends, family members and classmates who came to say good-bye to the 23-year-old star, who died shortly after his collapse during a tournament game on Sunday.
With little prompting from teammate Bo Kimble, the crowd broke the solemnity of the memorial service to do something Kimble said his buddy would have loved.
"I know Hank would want to hear one more cheer here in his house," he told the mourners, who included Gathers' mother, Lucille, two brothers, a sister and an aunt.
And so they rose to their feet, 5,000 strong, and cheered and applauded one last time for one of the nation's best players. The ovation lasted several minutes and when it was over, Lucille Gathers ran to Kimble and hugged him.
"Every time I pick up a basketball for the rest of my life, Hank will be there with me," said Kimble, who played high school ball with Gathers in Philadelphia. "It's so difficult right now to be here speaking of my beloved friend and brother. Hank, I love you so much, you mean the world to me."
The 90-minute memorial Mass was said by the Rev. James Loughran.
Midway through the service, Gathers' teammates presented the player's family with his scarlet and white jersey, No. 44, and a photograph of him making a slam dunk.
Lucille Gathers was comforted through most of the service by the Rev. David Hagan, a family confidante who had been her son's grade-school mentor in Philadelphia.
Loyola coach Paul Westhead told the mourners: "For all of us to go on, that is the task. For Hank, the decision would be simple: Clear the floor. He would play today."
Loyola-Marymount would be the first school in 20 years to decline a NCAA bid. Westhead said a determination will be made later in the week.
In the aftermath of Gathers' death during Sunday's game against Portland, WCC officials canceled the tournament and declared the Lions champions. The decision gave Loyola-Marymount (13-1 in the conference) one of 30 automatic NCAA berths, which will be formally extended on Sunday.
The reasons for Gathers' death remain unanswered. On Dec. 6, he fainted at the free-throw line in a game, and he was later found by doctors to have a heart rhythm disturbance.
After testing, Gathers was placed under medication, and sitting out for several weeks, he was given medical clearance to play again.
Results from an autopsy conducted Monday will not be released for at least a week.
by CNB