Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble (born April 9, 1966) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Loyola Marymount Lions The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Coast Conference. Sports sponsored Baseball ...

. As a senior in the 1989–90 season, Kimble was named a consensus second-team All-American as well as the conference player of the year in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

(WCC). He led the 11th- seeded Lions to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament after the death of teammate

Hank Gathers Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. (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 ...

. Kimble was selected by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft with the eighth overall pick. He played three seasons in the NBA with the Clippers and the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

High school

Kimble played prep ball with

at Dobbins Technical High School in Philadelphia, with the pair leading the team to the Public League City championship in 1985.

College

USC

Both Gathers and Kimble were recruited to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

by head coach

Stan Morrison Stanley Mack Morrison (born October 15, 1939) is an American retired college basketball coach and athletic director. He was head men's basketball coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1972 to 1979, University of So ...

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.Harvey, Randy
Un-Raveling at USC: A Failure to Communicate
Los Angeles Times, May 13, 1986 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 University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

(LMU). Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC.

Loyola Marymount

After sitting out the 1986–87 season as required under

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

rules for transfer students, the pair became the centerpiece of arguably the most entertaining college team in history. The

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; ad ...

' then-coach Paul Westhead installed an extraordinarily fast-paced game plan. On offense, LMU 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 March 2019. 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 United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three inter ...

on January 31, 1989. During the 1990 WCC tournament, Gathers collapsed and died of a heart condition in LMU's semifinal against Portland. As a result of Gathers's death, the tournament was suspended, and Loyola Marymount was given the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament (as a No. 11 seed) due to their regular season championship. During LMU's subsequent run to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

, Kimble (who was right-handed), Gathers' friend and teammate, shot his first

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

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). Kimble's No. 30 and Gathers's No. 44 were retired by LMU in a joint ceremony in 2000. In 2005, the entire 1989–90 team was inducted into Loyola Marymount's Hall of Fame.

NBA

Later that year, Kimble was selected by the

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 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...

, 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. Kimble revealed in 2015 that getting very little playing time despite his ability while the Clippers floundered drove him to consider

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

several times. His NBA career was plagued by injuries. In the summer of

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, Kimble was traded to the

as part of a three-team, six-player deal that brought

Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...

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 The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

after his NBA career ended. He played for the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team 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 As ...

, La Crosse Bobcats,

Hartford Hellcats The Connecticut Pride (From 1993-94 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Hartford from 1993 to 2000, primar ...

and

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associat ...

Personal life

He starred in the 1991 movie '' Heaven is a Playground'' as fictional high school student 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 Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

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 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 (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...

, to meet with

Fennville High School Fennville High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in grades nine through twelve from Fennville, Michigan, Fennville, Michigan, United States, as part of the Fennville Public Schools. Notable alumni *J. Edward ...

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 is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

due to an enlarged heart, occurred one day shy of the 21st anniversary of Hank Gathers' death.

Notes

References

External links

Bo Kimble's stats
a
Basketball-Reference.com
* ttp://lmulions.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/history.html LMU Men's Basketball History 1989-90 Elite Eight Teambr>NBA Draft Busts #8
at SI.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimble, Bo 1966 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Basket CRO Lyon players Hartford Hellcats players La Crosse Bobcats players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball players New York Knicks players Rapid City Thrillers players Shooting guards USC Trojans men's basketball players Yakima Sun Kings players