Keith Larnell Gatlin (born December 23, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the High Point Panthers. He was one of the best players of the high school class of 1983, and committed to play college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins. After three seasons, Gatlin sat out one year during the 1986–87 season for academic reasons; he came back for his senior year in 1987–88. His 649 assists rank 3rd all-time for Maryland. After graduating from college, he went on to play professional basketball for 13 years, mainly in Europe: he led the German Bundesliga in scoring in the 1997–98 season and was named an All-Star in Greece, Germany, and France. After a 9-year experience as head coach of Wesleyan Christian Academy he was named assistant coach at High Point University.
High school career
Gatlin was born in Newark, New Jersey but later moved to the state of North Carolina: he lived in Grimesland, North Carolina and attended D. H. Conley High School in Greenville. He soon entered the varsity basketball team, playing since 1980. Under coach Shelley Marsh he became the best player of the team, and in his junior year he averaged 22 points per game.
His senior year was his most successful: he averaged 25.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2 blocks and 2.5 steals. His team finished the season with a 22–4 record. Gatlin was considered one of the top guards of the 1983 class, and at the end of the year he was named the North Carolina player of the year, was selected in the Parade All-America Second Team and earned a spot in the McDonald's All-American Game. In the 1983 McDonald's All-American Boys Game he scored 8 points, shooting 3 for 6 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. He also played in the 1983 Capital Classic in Atlanta, Georgia where he scored 18 points on 5 for 12 shooting and 8 for 8 from the foul line.
In his career at Conley he scored 1,612 points, with a 56% field goal percentage and shooting 92% on free throws, and he also averaged at least 6 assists per game in each season he played.
College career
Gatlin was heavily recruited during his high school career, and received offers from 210 colleges; he committed to Maryland in October 1982, choosing to major in radio and television. He chose to wear jersey number 3 and in his freshman year he started 9 games out of the 32 he played, averaging 6.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 23.7 minutes per game: he recorded a season-high 19 points vs. Georgia Tech and 10 assists in the ACC championship final versus Duke, during which Maryland won the 1984 ACC men's basketball tournament. He ranked 6th in the ACC in assists, leading all freshmen in the conference.
In his sophomore season Gatlin was named a starter by coach Lefty Driesell, and he improved in all statistical categories: in 30.6 minutes per game he averaged 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists. His 221 assists for the season were a new Maryland single-season record: during the game against Wake Forest on February 24, 1985 he surpassed former record holder John Lucas II, who had totalled 178 assists in the 1974–75 season. On January 30, 1985 vs Virginia he had 13 assists, which became the new single-game record for Maryland. On February 28, 1985 he scored a then career-high 28 points against Clemson with remarkable efficiency: he shot 14 for 15 from the field. He started 35 of his 37 games.
Gatlin returned his junior year with a more important role within the team, since coach Driesell believed he was one of the key players for Maryland. He averaged career-highs in points (10.2), rebounds (2.7) and assists (6.4); he had one of his best performances against North Carolina on February 20, 1986: in the final moments of the game, which went to overtime, he scored 2 free throws, securing Maryland's lead for a score of 75–72, and with 0:07 remaining he threw an inbound pass off the back of Kenny Smith, got the ball back and scored a layup, bringing the final score to 77–72.
After the death of Len Bias, which happened after the end of the 1985–86 season, the Maryland program was in turmoil and several players were suspended for skipping class and having poor grades: Gatlin was one of them. He was suspended for academic issues and missed the entire 1986–87 season, which was supposed to be his senior year in college basketball.