Rebounding from tragedy

In the game of basketball, there are times when making a basket has nothing to do with how many points it's worth or who is winning or losing.

When Bo Kimble, a right-handed point guard for Loyola Marymount, shot his first free throw in the 1988 NCAA Tournament left-handed in honor of his teammate Hank Gathers who had died on the court the week before, it didn't matter if the ball went in the basket.

It was about more than just the game.

When Alabama women's basketball player Katie Hancock made a 3-point shot in the opening two minutes of her first collegiate game, it didn't matter that it put Alabama up 3-2 and gave them momentum against rival Auburn.

She wasn't thinking about the score or who they were playing when she made that shot. All she was thinking about was her brother Josh and how making that shot was in honor of him.

"You try not to think about a whole lot of things outside the game when you're playing, but Josh was going through my mind, and it was a good thought," Hancock said.

Josh, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, was killed in a car accident in April of 2007.

Similar to the way Kimble dedicated that free throw to his late teammate Hank Gathers, Katie Hancock dedicated that 3-point shot to Josh Hancock after the game.

The Hancock family grew up in Birmingham, where Josh was a high school baseball star. In 1998, the family moved to Tupelo, Miss., when Katie was 10 years old. That same year, her brother was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the Major League Baseball draft.

Even after making it to the big leagues in 2002, Josh always had enough time to check up on Katie. Despite the difference in age, the two of them formed a great friendship.

"We weren't that close when we were real little, but once I grew up a little, we became friends pretty quick," Katie said. "He was real supportive of me playing basketball. He was real proud of me, and I was real proud of him."

In 2006, while Katie was becoming a high school basketball star at Tupelo High School, Josh was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series that year.

"We went to the 2006 World Series when they won it," Katie said. "Josh took me and my brother down, and we got to go out onto the field when they were celebrating after they won, and that was pretty much the coolest thing ever."

Things couldn't have been better for the Hancock family then, but everything changed the following year.

On April 29, 2007, Josh, who was only 29 years old, was killed in a car accident on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. The tragic accident shook the Major League Baseball community as well as the nation.

The entire Cardinals team made the trip down to Tupelo to attend Josh's memorial service. At the service, Katie was one of many who spoke on his behalf and told stories remembering him.

"He taught us how to follow our dreams," Katie said at the service. "He taught my dad to be a best friend. He was a great man."

Just weeks before, Katie had made her decision to come and play basketball at Alabama after leading her high school to a state-runner up finish earlier that year. She had everything going for her, but in less than a blink of an eye, everything changed.

Still, Katie came to the Capstone in the fall just like any other freshman. She worked out with the basketball team, trying to earn playing time before the start of the season. However, in October, Katie was thrown yet another obstacle.

"We got rewarded for going hard all summer, and we were going to play Frisbee football," Hancock said. "I cut one way and my knee just snapped, and that was the end of it."

Katie tore her ACL in the pickup game, and it looked like she would have to sit out her freshman year at Alabama.

The one thing she had to lean back on after her brother's death was now gone. While the rest of the team was out there practicing, she had to be in the weight room rehabbing.

"You just wanted to help the team so much, but there were only a limited amount of things you could do," Katie said. "It was frustrating because I saw how much fun they were having, and I just wanted to be out there with them."

Katie continued rehab, and she was able to return to the lineup just three and a half months later, which was nothing short of a miracle.

"She is someone who has great competitiveness and great character," said head coach Stephany Smith. "Some of the things I knew she would bring to the table were her character, her fight and her work effort."

In her first game back, Alabama took on in-state rival Auburn at home. After Auburn scored first, Hancock got the ball on the wing and put up a three-point shot. When the shot went in, everything seemed right again.

She had dealt with Josh's death, her injury and fought all the way back to be in the position to make that shot.

Alabama lost to Auburn that day 62-48, and Katie only finished with six points, but none of that really mattered. The most important thing was that she was back on the court doing what she loved, and she had her brother to thank for that.

"Looking back, losing Josh has made me resilient and strong-willed," Hancock said. "I know that he would've wanted me to work as hard as I did, and that was kind of the motivating factor behind all this. He probably helped a little bit along the way."

Since her return, Katie has started all nine games she has played in and is averaging six points a game for the Tide. The former walk-on from Tupelo has come a long way to be where she is now.

"As a coach, when you have the opportunity to coach people like that, you cherish it," Smith said. "It's rewarding to us as coaches because of everything she brings to us on and off the court."

As she continues her basketball career at Alabama, her brother Josh will not be forgotten. While every shot she makes may not mean as much as that first one did, in some way he will always be remembered.