Legendary former Chicago basketball player and coach Tim Bankston was found fatally shot in a South Side home on Wednesday, July 29. He was 60.
Bankston was a standout player at basketball powerhouse Simeon High School in the 1980s and went on to coach T.F. North High School in nearby Calumet City. Police told ABC7 Chicago that he was found at a friend’s home and that the friend is the one who discovered him.
His death has been ruled a homicide and police told the Chicago Tribune that they have not made an arrest. No other injuries were reported.
Relatives told ABC7 they believe the shooting happened the night before.
“My dad is a part of me. I have his name. I can carry his legacy,” his son, Timothy Bankston Jr., said.
Tim Sr.’s sister, Karolyn Wright, added, “He was such a beautiful spirit, such a great brother, more than just a basketball coach. More than just a basketball legend. A family man.”
Tim was a member of Simeon’s 1984 state championship team, a group whose accomplishments were marred by the shooting death of team member Ben Wilson that year.
Wilson, who was 17 when he died, was regarded as one of the top high school prospects in the country. His death was the subject of the 2012 ESPN documentary Benji: The True Story of a Dream Cut Short.
“Ben Wilson, him…It’s a lot of ball players up there,” teammate Sean Wright reflected. “They’ll all touch hands again and welcome him home.”
After high school, Tim went on to play one season at Bradley University and two more at Loyola University Chicago.
In addition to his family, Tim is survived by countless players he coached and mentored at T.F. North.
“He was not just beloved; he was a mentor that countless alumni credit for being the overriding influence that made them into the positive, productive members of communities that they are today,” a statement from Thornton Fractional High School District 215 read.
“Not a bad bone in his body,” Wayne Montgomery, one of his former players, added to the Chicago Tribune. “He was so much more than just a coach. A mentor, a friend, a teacher. He touched so many lives.”
Montgomery, now 35, lost his father at a young age and said that Tim had become like a surrogate father to him.
“He gave me those things that maybe my mother couldn’t,” Montgomery said.
According to the Tribune, Tim preached “honesty and discipline,” prioritizing academic success and teaching Montgomery the value of a firm handshake.
He was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
