Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story is great made for TV movie about star that stopped shining too soon. I didn't know a lot about Hank Gathers since hey day was when I was a child. But from seeing the movie I learned a few things. Victor Love gives a great performance in the lead role and if the movie is ever on TV it's worth checking out.

I finally saw this replaying on the USA channel during March Madness.

This is a good story but has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. Hank Gathers must be rolling in his grave!

The actor playing Hank is awful. I've seen better actors in junior high school plays. The way he plays Hank Gathers, you'd think that Hank was mentally challenged.

And the actor they get to play Bo Kimble looks like a bodybuilder, not a baskeball player.

Not to mention the 7 foot basketball rims that the actors have to jump 2 inches to dunk on.

But if you ever want a GOOD laugh at awful filmmaking, check out this movie!

You won't be able to turn away, it's like watching a train wreck!

As a big college basketball fan, I, like many others was mesmerized by the on court exploits of Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and company on the late 80's early 90's Loyola Marymount teams. A real tragedy on many levels occurred when Gathers collapsed and died on the court during a tournament game in March of 1990.

While it is honorable to try and remember Hank through film, this effort was embarrassing, to say the least. A fat Bo Kimble, 8 foot high basketball rims, and a cheesy looking Coach Paul Westhead are among the sins committed in this cheap jack production which would have Gathers vomiting in his casket if he saw the finished product. I give it a "three" out of "ten" only because it is supposed to be a labor of love, but it is not a good quality movie- no where near on the level of "Brian's Song", for instance. The sympathetic, feel-good tone conveyed in the film is somewhat nullified by the (unportrayed) real life ugliness brought on by Hank's survivors looking for a pay day in suing a litany of people, including the University, Paul Westhead, etc.. for Hank's death.

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story is a moving film about a basketball player that many people today may not know of. It takes you through Hank Gethers' life as a child, then to his stay at USC, and finally Loyola Marymount where he tragically dies during an NCAA tournament game. The acting isn't great and it's cheaply made because it was a made for tv movie, but it is a very sad movie and worth checking out.

I had the pleasure of seeing Hank Gathers play basketball at Loyola- Marymount. When casting started for extra's in the television film, I applied and was in the crowd scene at Loyola U. when local shooting took place. Considering the film had a small budget it turned out very well. Director, Chuck Braverman took considerable effort to show Hank Gathers in a true light.Knowing the information I had on Gathers from his California days at USC and Loyola, I thought Braverman did a very good job. It was a sad finish to Gathers who had really found himself and would have had a fine career in the NBA and would have provided financial security for his son in Philadelphia.