Notes on a Scorecard - March 7, 1990

The NBA’s director of scouting, Marty Blake, says Hank Gathers would have been a first-round selection in the draft. . . .

“Exactly how high he would have gone, I don’t know,” Blake says. “This is a year when you can’t even pick a player of the year in college basketball. There are no Ewings, Robinsons, Mannings or Ferrys. The NCAA tournament and the postseason all-star games are going to decide a lot. But several teams that figure to pick in the 16th to 27th slots were interested in Hank.” . . .

Blake disagrees with the notion that his “tweener” height of 6 feet 7 would have worked against Gathers, the Loyola Marymount center who died Sunday after collapsing during a West Coast Conference tournament game against Portland. . . .

“He would have been a good NBA player because of his great desire and intensity,” Blake said. “He was a 6-7 guy who played like he was 6-9 or 6-10. How big was Wes Unseld? Six-seven. Give me a player, not a size or a position.” . . .

Gathers, a prolific rebounder blessed with great hands, most likely would have played small forward in the pros. . . .

Blake also forecasts Bo Kimble, the Loyola Marymount guard, as a first-round selection. . . .

Long ago, I circled March 7 on my calendar: The Kings vs. the Canadiens. Little did I suspect that the Kings would be in fourth place in their division, Montreal in third place in its, and both possessors of three-game losing streaks. . . .

Remember the Flying Frenchmen? Montreal has the worst power-play percentage in the NHL, a feeble 13.8%. . . .

And how about a team motored by Wayne Gretzky allowing as many goals--282--as it has scored?. . . .

George Allen underwent surgery for a hernia nine days ago but was back on the job at Cal State Long Beach the next day. . . .

Allen on his first recruiting class: “I thought we had a pretty good draft.” . . .

Allen on spring practice, which begins April 16: “We’ll do a lot of evaluating and concentrate on basic fundamentals and conditioning. I have to get to know my players because we don’t have any preseason games before we play at Clemson in September.” . . .

Hollywood Park expects Sunday Silence to run in the Californian on June 3 and the Gold Cup on June 24, before the $1-million invitational race against a field including Easy Goer on Aug. 4 at Arlington International. . . .

Eagle Rock High is sponsoring the third annual Eagle Rock Relays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Occidental College, long one of the finest track and field facilities in Southern California. . . .

All conference basketball tournaments should be eliminated, and the NCAA tournament thrown open to every Division I school. . . .

It’s foolish even to try picking a Final Four. But it was last year, too. None of the four--Michigan, Seton Hall, Illinois or Duke--won its conference race. . . .

Top-ranked Oklahoma doesn’t have a player on the All-Big Eight first team selected by Associated Press and only one, Skeeter Henry, on the second team. . . .

Ron Harper still leads the Clippers in three-point field goals with 13. . . .

The Clippers had two of the best three-point shooters in the league in Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce but sent them and Terry Cummings to the Milwaukee Bucks for Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings and cash on Sept. 29, 1984. . . .

One of the nicest comeback stories in the NBA is New Jersey Net center Sam Bowie, who ranks ninth in the league in rebounding. . . .

Michael Jordan is attempting more field goals than last season despite the Chicago Bulls’ desire for more balanced shot distribution. . . .

Chip Engelland, formerly of Palisades High and Duke, led the World Basketball League (6 feet 5 and under) All-Stars in scoring during a recent tour of Italy against rivals of all shapes and sizes. . . .

Under NCAA rules, a recruit can be given one souvenir program at a game he is attending, but not two. . . .

Now that Mario Lemieux is out of the lineup, I’m no longer studying the Pittsburgh Penguins’ scoring summaries. . . .

Most underrated boxing movie of all-time is John Huston’s “Fat City.” . . .

Not even counting his $10-million bonus, NBA Commissioner David Stern’s annual salary of $3.5 million is nearly double those of baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NHL President John Ziegler combined. . . .

This year, March Madness is that being dispensed by the baseball owners and players.