Bo Kimble
Encyclopedia
Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble (born April 9, 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired American
college basketball
player at Loyola Marymount University
and professional National Basketball Association
(NBA) player with the Los Angeles Clippers
and New York Knicks
. In the 1989–90 season, he led the 11th-seeded
Loyola Marymount basketball team on a run to the regional finals
of the NCAA Tournament
after the death of teammate Hank Gathers
.
at Dobbins Technical High School in Philadelphia, with the pair leading the team to the Public League City championship in 1985.
by Head Coach Stan Morrison
and his top assistant, David Spencer. They were joined by high school All-American, Tom Lewis, and Rich Grande as the "Four Freshmen" star recruiting class. Following an 11-17 season coaching USC, Morrison and Spencer were fired after the 1985-86 season was over, despite winning the PAC-10 the previous year. It was reported that the players would not remain unless certain conditions were met, including having a say in the next coaching staff. USC hired George Raveling
as the next head coach of the Trojans. Raveling gave the players a deadline to respond whether they would remain on the team. When they did not respond, he revoked the scholarships of Gathers, Kimble, and Lewis. Raveling's controversial statement was, "You can't let the Indians run the reservation." "You've got to be strong, too. Sometimes you have to tell them that they have to exit," he said. Kimble and Gathers transferred together from USC to Loyola Marymount. Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC.
rules for transfer students, the pair became the centerpiece of arguably the most entertaining college team in history. LMU's then-coach Paul Westhead
installed an extraordinarily fast-paced game plan. On offense, the Lions typically took shots within 10 seconds of gaining possession, with many of the shots being three-pointers. The Lions' defense was a full-court press designed to force opponents into a frenzied up-and-down game. Kimble led the nation in scoring in 1990 averaging 35.3 points per game, and he was also a consensus second team All-American
selection that year. Kimble's teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5), and 1990 (122.4). LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010. As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined score games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Kimble's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989.
. As a result of Gathers's death, the 1990 WCC tournament was suspended, and Loyola Marymount was given the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament
(as a #11 seed) due to their regular season championship. During LMU's subsequent run to the Elite Eight
, Kimble (who was right-handed), Gathers's best friend and teammate, shot his first free throw
of each game left-handed in memory of Gathers (although right-handed, he struggled so much with free throws that he tried shooting them left-handed for a time), making all three attempts (Kimble did not have any free-throw attempts in the Sweet 16 win over Alabama).
On January 29, 2005, members of Gathers's 1989–90 team, including Kimble, were inducted into the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame during halftime of a 63–46 win over cross-town rival Pepperdine
.
with the 8th overall pick of the 1990 NBA Draft
. At the time, The Clippers were playing in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the same building that Kimble played in with Gathers, while they were at USC. As a rookie, he averaged 6.9 points per game and for his career averaged 5.5 points per game while mostly sitting on the end of the bench. His NBA
career was plagued by injuries. In the summer of 1992, Kimble was traded to the New York Knicks
as part of a three-team, six-player deal that brought Mark Jackson
to the Clippers. Kimble played only nine games for the Knicks, and was released at the end of the season, bringing his brief NBA career to an end.
Kimble played for several years in the Continental Basketball Association
after his NBA career ended. He played for the Rapid City Thrillers
, La Crosse Bobcats
and Yakima Sun Kings.
as fictional high-schooler Matthew Lockhart. Kimble co-founded and sits on the board of directors of Forty-Four for Life Foundation, a non-profit organization involved in reducing cardiac related fatalities
Los Angeles County declared July 17, 1990, "Bo Kimble Day" for "not only for his accomplishments on the court, but for providing a positive role model for Los Angeles' youth."
On March 7, 2011, Kimble traveled to Holland, Michigan
, to meet with Fennville High School
and Lawrence High School's varsity basketball team. Fennville had just lost their star player, Wes Leonard, after he collapsed and died moments after hitting the winning shot in the team's 57-55 overtime victory over Bridgman High school in the last game of the regular season. Leonard's death, caused by cardiac arrest
due to an enlarged heart
, occurred one day shy of the 21st anniversary of Hank Gathers passing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
player at Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
and professional National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) player with the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
and New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. In the 1989–90 season, he led the 11th-seeded
Seed (sports)
A seed is a preliminary ranking that can be used in arranging a sports tournament. It is called a seed because of the analogy with plants where the seed might grow into a top rank at the end of that tournament, or might instead wither away...
Loyola Marymount basketball team on a run to the regional finals
Elite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
of the NCAA Tournament
1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado...
after the death of teammate Hank Gathers
Hank Gathers
Eric "Hank" Gathers was an American college basketball star at Loyola Marymount University who collapsed and died during a game. He was the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season...
.
High school
Kimble played prep ball with Hank GathersHank Gathers
Eric "Hank" Gathers was an American college basketball star at Loyola Marymount University who collapsed and died during a game. He was the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season...
at Dobbins Technical High School in Philadelphia, with the pair leading the team to the Public League City championship in 1985.
USC
Both Gathers and Kimble were recruited to the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
by Head Coach Stan Morrison
Stan Morrison
Stan Morrison is a retired college basketball coach and athletic director. He was head coach of the USC Trojans team from 1979 to 1986, as well as San Jose State Spartans from 1989 to 1998 and Pacific Tigers from 1972 to 1979. He is currently the athletic director at UC Riverside...
and his top assistant, David Spencer. They were joined by high school All-American, Tom Lewis, and Rich Grande as the "Four Freshmen" star recruiting class. Following an 11-17 season coaching USC, Morrison and Spencer were fired after the 1985-86 season was over, despite winning the PAC-10 the previous year. It was reported that the players would not remain unless certain conditions were met, including having a say in the next coaching staff. USC hired George Raveling
George Raveling
George Raveling is a former college men's basketball coach and FOX Sports Net color commentator. He was the head coach at Washington State University , the University of Iowa , and the University of Southern California . The Washington, D.C. native attended St...
as the next head coach of the Trojans. Raveling gave the players a deadline to respond whether they would remain on the team. When they did not respond, he revoked the scholarships of Gathers, Kimble, and Lewis. Raveling's controversial statement was, "You can't let the Indians run the reservation." "You've got to be strong, too. Sometimes you have to tell them that they have to exit," he said. Kimble and Gathers transferred together from USC to Loyola Marymount. Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC.
Loyola Marymount
After sitting out the 1986–87 season as required under NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
rules for transfer students, the pair became the centerpiece of arguably the most entertaining college team in history. LMU's then-coach Paul Westhead
Paul Westhead
Paul Westhead is a basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Oregon women's team...
installed an extraordinarily fast-paced game plan. On offense, the Lions typically took shots within 10 seconds of gaining possession, with many of the shots being three-pointers. The Lions' defense was a full-court press designed to force opponents into a frenzied up-and-down game. Kimble led the nation in scoring in 1990 averaging 35.3 points per game, and he was also a consensus second team All-American
1990 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1990 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the...
selection that year. Kimble's teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5), and 1990 (122.4). LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010. As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined score games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Kimble's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989.
Hank Gathers's death
During the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament, Gathers collapsed and died of a heart condition in LMU's semifinal against PortlandUniversity of Portland
The University of Portland is a private Roman Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon. It is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross and is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 3,600 students...
. As a result of Gathers's death, the 1990 WCC tournament was suspended, and Loyola Marymount was given the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament
1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado...
(as a #11 seed) due to their regular season championship. During LMU's subsequent run to the Elite Eight
Elite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
, Kimble (who was right-handed), Gathers's best friend and teammate, shot his first free throw
Free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...
of each game left-handed in memory of Gathers (although right-handed, he struggled so much with free throws that he tried shooting them left-handed for a time), making all three attempts (Kimble did not have any free-throw attempts in the Sweet 16 win over Alabama).
On January 29, 2005, members of Gathers's 1989–90 team, including Kimble, were inducted into the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame during halftime of a 63–46 win over cross-town rival Pepperdine
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
.
NBA
Later that year, Kimble was selected by the Los Angeles ClippersLos Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
with the 8th overall pick of the 1990 NBA Draft
1990 NBA Draft
The 1990 NBA Draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. This draft produced only one perennial All-Star,Gary Payton. Among the 54 picks, Payton is considered by far the best pick of the draft. Payton went on to be considered one of the greatest point guards of all time...
. At the time, The Clippers were playing in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the same building that Kimble played in with Gathers, while they were at USC. As a rookie, he averaged 6.9 points per game and for his career averaged 5.5 points per game while mostly sitting on the end of the bench. His NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
career was plagued by injuries. In the summer of 1992, Kimble was traded to the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
as part of a three-team, six-player deal that brought Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson (basketball)
Mark A. Jackson is a retired American professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He played point guard for the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets in the NBA in a career...
to the Clippers. Kimble played only nine games for the Knicks, and was released at the end of the season, bringing his brief NBA career to an end.
Kimble played for several years in the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
after his NBA career ended. He played for the Rapid City Thrillers
Rapid City Thrillers
The Rapid City Thrillers were a professional basketball club based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Association franchise...
, La Crosse Bobcats
La Crosse Bobcats
The La Crosse Bobcats were a Continental Basketball Association basketball team located in La Crosse, Wisconsin from 1996 to the league's bankruptcy in February 2001. The Bobcats were the second CBA team located in La Crosse; previously, the La Crosse Catbirds played from 1985 to 1994...
and Yakima Sun Kings.
Personal Life
He starred in the 1991 movie Heaven is a PlaygroundHeaven Is a Playground
Heaven Is a Playground is a 1976 book by Rick Telander. It describes Telander's observations of the streetball culture in Brooklyn during the summer of 1974. Among the players featured in the book are Fly Williams and Albert King...
as fictional high-schooler Matthew Lockhart. Kimble co-founded and sits on the board of directors of Forty-Four for Life Foundation, a non-profit organization involved in reducing cardiac related fatalities
Los Angeles County declared July 17, 1990, "Bo Kimble Day" for "not only for his accomplishments on the court, but for providing a positive role model for Los Angeles' youth."
On March 7, 2011, Kimble traveled to Holland, Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
, to meet with Fennville High School
Fennville High School
Fennville High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in grades nine through twelve from Fennville, Michigan, United States, as part of the Fennville Public Schools.-Death of Wes Leonard:...
and Lawrence High School's varsity basketball team. Fennville had just lost their star player, Wes Leonard, after he collapsed and died moments after hitting the winning shot in the team's 57-55 overtime victory over Bridgman High school in the last game of the regular season. Leonard's death, caused by cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
due to an enlarged heart
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently. The decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems....
, occurred one day shy of the 21st anniversary of Hank Gathers passing.