CHICAGO () — Family members, friends and former teammates are mourning Tim Bankston, a former Simeon High School basketball standout who later coached at T.F. North High School, after police and relatives said he was found fatally shot inside a home.
Bankston, 60, was found with a gunshot wound to the stomach inside a residence near 77th Street and Emerald Avenue, police said. Relatives said the home belonged to a friend, who discovered Bankston’s body.
Family members said they believe the shooting likely happened the night before Bankston was found.
His sister, Karolyn Wright, described Bankston as “such a beautiful spirit.”
“He was such a beautiful spirit, such a great brother, just a – more than just a basketball coach. More than just a basketball legend. A family man,” Wright said.
Outside the home where Bankston was found, loved ones and community members gathered to remember the life he lived and the legacy he leaves behind.
“My dad is apart of me. I have his name. I can carry his legacy,” said Timothy Bankston Jr., Bankston’s son.
Charles Bankston, Bankston’s brother, also reflected on the painful loss.
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“This hurts like everything I could never imagine in my life. I didn’t cry like this when my mama had died. But, the love that I have for him, it will be everlasting,” he said.
Sean Wright, a former Simeon teammate, described what he said happened when the friend returned to the home.
“His friend had been out and came back and found that the door of the house was open in the back,” Wright said.
Wright continued: “seen my brother’s feet and said he immediately bent down, shook him, to see if he was okay or what. He said he was cold.”
Bankston was a South Side basketball standout who led Simeon High School to a state championship in 1984 during his senior year. That same year, teammate and fellow basketball star Ben Wilson was shot and killed.
Reflecting on Bankston’s death, Wright said, “Ben Wilson, him, Kenny (sp?). It’s a lot of ball players up there. They’ll all touch hands again and welcome him home.”
It remains unclear how long Bankston’s body was inside the home before it was discovered. Police have not announced any arrests in the case.
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