IRVING -- With seconds remaining in the first half of a Baylor basketball game two months ago, Rico Gathers showed why a future in the NFL might be more likely than one in the NBA.
The Bears had the ball out of bounds near Oklahoma's basket, looking for a quick catch-and-shoot. A three-quarters court pass to Gathers was executed perfectly. In one motion, the 6-6, 273-pound power forward out-jumped two defenders, caught the ball at its highest point, then quickly passed to an open teammate for a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Greg Gathers, Rico's brother and a former All-America defensive end at Georgia Tech, saw the play and immediately said to himself: "Man, he looked like a tight end going up and catching the ball."
Said Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew: "When you see that catch, you're like, 'Yeah, he can go down and get a touchdown.'
"At 6-6 and a half, you're not one of the best rebounders in the country unless you got a nose for the ball and a toughness to get it. I know the NFL has a lot of tough guys, too, but not a lot of them have that kind of wingspan and athleticism and size to go with it."
Sixty days after he made that catch in Norman, the Cowboys selected Gathers as a tight end with the 217th overall pick in the NFL draft.
Making a bold move
Entering his senior season last September, Gathers made what he calls "pretty much the first grown-man decision" of his life.
He purchased cleats and told his brother that he was running football drills for the first time since eighth grade.
His brother thought it was a joke. But after seeing Rico in action, Greg was convinced.
"I personally have to tip my hat to him," Greg said, "because it was a bold move."
Next came sharing the news with Drew. Gathers, 22, said he walked into Drew's office and explained that after the upcoming basketball season he was planning a run at the NFL.
"He thought I was crazy," Gathers said. "He probably thought I was coming in to talk about what to expect for the season. I had to be real up front with him about what was on my mind."
Even though Gathers hadn't played football since he was 13, Drew knew a return was always possible. NFL scouts had reached out to the Baylor coach to gauge whether Gathers might eventually have interest in the sport.
Gathers said the decision came down to the next 10 to 15 years of his life, what he considers his window as a professional athlete. He likes his chances of making it in the NFL as an athletic, pass-catching tight end more than his odds of having a long NBA career as an undersized power forward.
Basketball to football
Gathers averaged 11.2 points and 8.9 rebounds during his senior season, helping the Bears earn an NCAA tournament berth.
A 79-75 loss to Yale in their NCAA tournament opener on March 17 marked the beginning of Gathers' transformation to professional football player. Vann McElroy, Gathers' agent, set him up with longtime NFL tight ends coach Art Valero and former NFL safety Ryan Clark. They organized workouts for Gathers in Baton Rouge.
Both spoke highly of those sessions to Cowboys assistant offensive line coach Steve Loney.
UTEP basketball coach Tim Floyd did the same. Earlier in the year, Floyd gave Loney a list of three college basketball players who he thought had a chance to play in the NFL. Gathers' name was on it.
Loney got to see for himself during a private workout in April. Four days later, Gathers held a pro day in New Orleans. Personnel from 25 NFL teams were reportedly in attendance.
Gathers' best 40-time was reported at 4.75 seconds. He also posted a nine-foot, seven-inch broad jump and a 4.56-second short shuttle run. His 40-time would've placed him seventh among tight ends at this year's scouting combine. His broad jump would've been eighth among players at the position.
Two things stood out to Loney from that day: How much Gathers improved in less than a week and that a 280-pound Gathers had only 10 percent body fat.
"After the workout," his brother said, "it became a thing of he's not a basketball player trying to play football, he was more of a football player that was playing basketball."
'A good fit for us'
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Gathers got the call from the Cowboys while watching the final day of the NFL draft at his brother's home in New Orleans.
After talking with owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett, the phone was passed to offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
"You don't have three [seconds] in the key here," Linehan said. "You can stay in there as long as you want now, buddy."
The Cowboys did not have a seventh-round pick. They used their final selection on Gathers because they were afraid he wouldn't make it to free agency. It was either take him in the sixth or risk losing him to another team in the seventh.
Without any high school or college experience, Gathers' NFL success is extremely difficult to predict. The Cowboys haven't even seen him in pads.
But they also didn't want to gamble with losing a prospect who could potentially become the next Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates or Jimmy Graham, college basketball players turned All-Pro tight ends.
Of course, Gonzalez and Graham played football in college and Gates at least played in high school.
"I'm not saying he is going to be one of those guys, but he has the traits," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "The other thing is, he is a little thicker. I think he can be a 'Y' tight end for us as well, play [on the line], a little bit like Martellus Bennett was for us. Long arms, big hands, he's just a big man. We liked what we saw, and really feel like, with our situation, he is a good fit for us."
If nothing else, Gathers sees himself as someone who can immediately help in red zone situations, catching end zone jump balls over smaller defensive backs.
"I know one thing," Drew said, "if they're down seven with a second to go and they're throwing it up in the end zone, there's a good chance that guy is coming down with it."
There's much to learn
Loney and tight ends coach Mike Pope are in charge of turning this raw prospect into an NFL player.
Asked if he's ever taken on a project like this, Pope joked that he's been married twice, "so I've taken on some projects."
"This is going to be a new chapter in my book," Loney said. "To say I know what his chances are, I don't know that. But I do know physically that he has the tools that you would want to see in a player. The one thing he can't do is he can't get discouraged."
After the first rookie minicamp practice last week, Gathers said to Loney: "Boy, those plays come at you at a fast pace."
Pope noted that Gathers is used to playing with nine others on a basketball court, so it's going to take time to get comfortable with 22 players on a football field.
Gathers said he has recently received "good insight" about life in the NFL from conversations with Robert Griffin III, the former Baylor Heisman Trophy winner and Cleveland Browns quarterback.
The Cowboys plan to give Gathers every opportunity to succeed at tight end, hoping that Loney, Pope and 10-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten can get him headed in the right direction.
But both the Cowboys and Gathers have acknowledged that if tight end doesn't work out, a move to defensive end could be a possibility.
"If it was easy then everybody would be doing it," Gathers said. "I took this challenge last year in September, and I stuck with it. Now I'm here, and I'm ready to take whatever adversity comes my way, because I know there's a light shining at the end of the tunnel."
It's been done before
Rico Gathers is trying to make the transition from a forward at Baylor to tight end in the NFL. Here's how three prominent tight ends who also played college basketball fared in their rookie years:
Twitter: @jonmachota