Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr.[1] (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990) was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC).

As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season.

Gathers began his college career with the USC Trojans, but transferred with teammate Bo Kimble to Loyola Marymount after his freshman year.

Playing under Lions coach Paul Westhead and his fast-paced system, Gathers was a three-time first-team All-WCC selection.

Gathers died at age 23 after collapsing for the second time that season during the semifinals of the 1990 WCC tournament.

[3] Gathers played prep ball at Dobbins Technical High School,[4] located in North Philadelphia.

Both of them were recruited to the University of Southern California (USC) by head coach Stan Morrison and his top assistant David Spencer.

[6] Gathers made up his mind early that he would join USC, while Kimble decided independently and only after spurning Temple late.

[7] They were joined on the Trojans by high school All-American, Tom Lewis, and Rich Grande as the "Four Freshmen" star recruiting class.

[16] Gathers' head coach while at LMU, Paul Westhead, had instituted an extraordinarily fast-paced game plan.

Four of the five occurred during Gathers' career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989.

[13][20] At 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) and 210 pounds (95 kg), Gathers was Loyola Marymount's strongest inside player.

[21] However, Gathers felt that the medication adversely affected his play, and his dosage was gradually cut back.

[23][25] His play recovered in a nationally televised game against LSU on February 3, 1990, when he scored 48 points along with 13 rebounds while being guarded by future NBA first-round draft picks Stanley Roberts and Shaquille O'Neal in a 148–141 overtime loss.

[17] On February 26, 1990, as the WCC Tournament neared, Gathers' medication was reduced one last time from 80 to 40 mg, on the condition that he undergo testing in a couple of days to determine if it was safe and effective at suppressing the arrhythmias.

[21] The following day in the WCC tournament quarterfinals in Los Angeles, he recorded 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 121–84 win over Gonzaga.

[26] On Sunday, March 4, Gathers collapsed again with 13:34 left in the first half of the semifinal game against the Portland Pilots.

[16][22] Thirteen seconds later while positioned around midcourt in the Lions' fullcourt press,[26] he collapsed a yard or two away from Pilots point guard Erik Spoelstra.

[28] Gathers was pronounced dead at nearby Marina Del Rey Hospital at 6:55 PM PST.

[36] Before the tournament, the right-handed Kimble vowed to shoot his first free throw of each game left-handed, in memory of Gathers.

[b] Both LMU's Cinderella story without Gathers and Kimble's left-handed tributes to him became part of NCAA tournament lore.

[43] 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.

Gathers' death reemerged in national news wires during the 2016 NBA Playoffs when Kimble, interviewed for the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, urged that Miami Heat star Chris Bosh retire for health reasons.

Rivera, played college basketball at St. Joesph's University before transferring to Binghamton University and leading the America East Conference in scoring with the Binghamton Bearcats in the 2008–09 season,[54] in which they won the conference for the first time and earned their first bid to the NCAA tournament, where Rivera scored 20 points in a first-round loss against Duke.

[55] Another nephew, Jordan Gathers, earned a bachelor's degree at St. Bonaventure University and played three seasons for their Bonnies basketball team from 2011 to 2014.