Tim Bankston, slain basketball star-turned-coach, celebrated at TF North
Well over a hundred people gathered Saturday to pay tribute to Tim Bankston, a former South Side basketball star at Simeon who became a boys basketball coach at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City.
Last month, Bankston was found fatally shot inside a home in Auburn Gresham. Police haven’t announced an arrest in the case.
“I refuse to let the darkness of your death dim the radiant light of how you lived,” his daughter, Cherice Starkey, 40, told the crowd.
Mourners filled TF North’s auditorium for the service before a brief fight among students broke out.
Principal Brian Rucinski, who was Bankston’s assistant coach for 12 years, said Bankston’s positive influence extended beyond the basketball team.
“Coach Bankston touched every kid that walked through these halls,” Rucinski said. “Every single student. In this building alone, coach Bankston impacted well over 50,000 students.”
Mourners pray during basketball coach Tim Bankston’s memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
People file into the Thornton Fractional North High School auditorium for basketball coach Tim Bankston’s memorial service on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
A display commemorates Simeon’s 1984 championship season during Tim Bankston’s memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Cherice Starkey, daughter of basketball coach Tim Bankston’s daughter, speaks during his memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Mourners hug during Tim Bankston’s memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Members of the Thortnton Fractional North High School basketball team speak during basketball coach Tim Bankston’s memorial service in Calumet City on Saturday,.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Sean Wright (left), a former Simeon High School teammate of Tim Bankston, hugs a Thornton Fractional North High School basketball player during Bankston’s memorial service in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
Sean Wright, former Simeon High School teammate of Tim Bankston, speaks during Bankston’s memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
A picture of Tim Bankston is displayed at his memorial service at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City on Saturday.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times
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