Len Bias and Hank Gathers: How their deaths impacted the NBA's power forward position

Over thirty-plus years have passed since phenoms Len Bias and Hank Gathers lost their lives in separate incidents before playing a single minute in the NBA. Len Bias and Hank Gathers were gifted college basketball players destined for superstardom, and their deaths left a void at the power forward position that may still be felt.

Hank Gathers

On March 4,1990, a lifelong friend, Lisa Burroughs, and I were sitting down at a Chili's restaurant after watching a not so good movie. Loyola Marymount, one of the most exciting teams in the nation, played on ESPN at home vs. Portland, the 4 seed in the Western Coast Conference tourney. March Madness. The WCC semis. Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble. Loyola Marymount led the nation in scoring in 1990 averaging over 122 points a game - which is still a Division 1 record. That record might be unbreakable.

Forever Hank’s House.This year we will honor the legacy of Hank Gathers with a statue outside Gersten Pavilion.Learn more >> https://t.co/23Ixj7hbWI#JoinThePride pic.twitter.com/v9YnJFzQ5y

— LMU Athletics (@lmulions) June 20, 2019

As the wings and 22 ounces of grog came to the table, Hank Gathers caught an easy lob for the dunk from Terrell Lowery, and it seemed like a bad movie was about to become a great night. After LMU set up to press, there was a whistle. Hank Gathers then walked towards his right at half court and collapsed. Gathers went to his back, convulsed slightly, tried to get up as team medical staff came to his aid seemingly out of embarrassment, went to his hands and knees, collapsed again, then appeared to have a seizure and lose consciousness. Bo Kimble escorted Hank's distraught mom to the floor, and the movements of the staff coming to his aid became more frantic. I remember one of the staff stomping the floor with her foot, and then going to her belly and banging on the floor with her fist. What she probably saw in Hank Gathers' face probably haunts her still. Hank Gathers was pronounced dead at 6:55 that evening.

The story of Bo and Hank

Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, teammates at Dobbins Tech in North Philadelphia, USC and now Loyola Marymount, were both capable of scoring 50 on the same night in Paul Westhead's gasoline-on-fire offense. In 1988-89, Gathers led the nation in both scoring (32.7) and boards (13.7), and was only the second player to do so at the time. Bo Kimble led the nation in scoring at an outrageous 35.3 clip the following year.

Len Bias

Magic's smile with Jordan's flair. That was Len Bias. Unstoppable when focused. Len Bias was fluid and absolutely dominant no matter the competition. His teammate, University of Maryland legend Adrian Branch, told me this of Len Bias:

"Lenny (Len Bias) had a mean streak. He'd fight you on the court. He was nasty. He had a unique combination: 6'8", and 220 pound of muscle. He had a heckuva verticle. 42 inch verticle. That wasn't his game time verticle -- which was about 46, 47, 48 when the game got competitive. He had a feathery soft touch. They talk about him. Would be be better than Jordan. I always say, if you were to take Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen -- two top 50 all-time players -- Lenny would be in between them. The difference between Michael and Lenny is Michael could dribble and get his own shot. Michael could dribble, dribble, dribble, and pass it to a cutter. Lenny would take two dribbles and the ball was up and he was hurting feelings. Growing up together, former Michigan head coach Brian Elerbe would always tell me about this kid named Frosty in the 8th grade. He said Frosty was nice at about 6'4". We were big-time rivals. I went to the catholic school, he went to the public school. His high school, Northwestern, was a half a mile away from Maryland. I'm three miles from Maryland. When we got to the University of Maryland, I told him we had to get along for the 3 years we would be here. He used to call me "Cook" 'cause I cooked them on the basketball court. We won the first ACC Championship in 30 years under Lefty Driesell -- beating Johnny Dawkins and Duke -- yet it was anticlimatic because we wanted Jordan and North Carolina. We would sit around and hold each other accountable because in '84 we had a nice team. Lenny was just like all of us. He was a good dude. He got himself into something he could not get out of. As an athlete, he never should have been there. Hank Gathers, Reggie Lewis... cocaine man. It was such a big loss. To this day, it's still a big loss."

That big loss happened on June 19, 1986. He was hanging out in College Park in his dorm when he injested a lethal dose of cocaine that instantly stopped his heart. Len Bias was recently drafted to the Boston Celtics with the number one overall pick, and was joining a team of future Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish. The Celtics were coming off a 67 win season as NBA Champions and had a home record of 40-1.

What if I told you the hype surrounding Zion in 2019 is nothing new and that Len Bias was riding a similar wave 33 years ago. RIP LB #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/0DJ8bgvmIJ

— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) June 19, 2019

Len Bias, the two-time ACC Player of the Year and ACC MVP in such a classic, would have continued where that team left off. Len Bias was extroidinarily gifted in ways that were unforeseen. That dynamic stuff. Len Bias was one who made plays where there were none. Len Bias was a rare generational athlete, and it was understood the future had great things coming for Bias. Here's what his University of Maryland Head Coach, Lefty Driesell, said of Len Bias regarding being potentially a Hall of Fame type player:

“Leonard Bias would have definitely been in there, in my opinion. … He was a great, great player. I don’t know if he would have been as good as LeBron James, but he’d be right up there in that same category. It’s just so sad. I think about him all the time.”

Boston effect

I remember standing in front of the family room tv in the house I grew up in, and watching the news of Bias' death. It was such a shock, and despite hating the Boston Celtics as a Sixers fan, empathy for the Celtics organization was exhibited. Bird, McHale and Parrish hung on for a few more years in Boston, yet no further championships were won until Boston's next big three, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, beat the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008. The league's most decorated franchise had some lean years after Len Bias died, and the unfortunate vibrations still haunts Boston whenever his name is mentioned.

What would have been?

Power forwards before and through the 80's and 90's were basically bruisers in support of the center down low. Some were agile, yet their job was to clean the glass on both ends. If they had the ability to score, like, say, Adrian Dantley, Alex English or Tom Chambers, that was a plus. What Len Bias had was a special ability to get to any spot on the floor and use his skills to not only score, but affect the game outright. There was no better athlete on the floor, and that included Michael Jordan when Maryland and North Carolina went at it in the ACC.

Hank Gathers was more unpolished, yet a tremendous athlete just the same. He was growing into his skin; into his potential abilities. He got to spots with his strength and heart. At 6'7", he wasn't the biggest power forward, yet his athleticism would have been a problem for any 4 in the NBA. One can't imagine what type of player Gathers would have become based on his athleticism and drive. Karl Malone, Kevin McHale, Buck Williams and Charles Barkley were the 4's of the day. Bob McAdoo and Elvin Hayes are the 4's of the past. It's possible that Len Bias was better than all. He encompassed something from each -- whether it was Buck Williams' will, McAdoo's scoring skills, Malone's consistency, Hayes' legend, Barkley's charisma, or McHale's tenacity and amiable personality.

Both Len Bias and Hank Gathers were different. They seemed in their larvae stages, and would have metamorphosed into instant stars once their NBA legs gained confidence in the speed of the game. Each would have pushed the league to catch up to their stars, and by extension, the game would have become more fluid. It's bolder and more charismatic. Close your eyes and think of the names mentioned above. Now see those names battling both Len Bias and Hank Gathers in moments that matter. The epic competition; the historic memories; the smiles after success. We were robbed of historical greatness with the losses of both dynamic hoopers, yet, the memories of Len Bias and Hank Gathers persist and will never be anything less.