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Glory Road - 2 Stars (Average)

Basketball Coach Don Haskins does not have to break for his fable to appear. He is a branch of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Few present would remember Don Haskins. He was the trainer at Texas Western in 1966 when his 27-1 unit vie Adolph Rupp's 27-1 University of Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA honour.

Nothing too original roughly that, demur that Haskins would go the most primitive handler in NCAA times of yore to move into an all-African American roll when the Miners square off against Rupp's all-white Kentucky squad that obvious two players who would go well-known in the NBA pro league: Pat Riley and Louie Dampier.

Remember these names: Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, Orsten Artis, Willie Worsley and Harry Flournoy during February, Black History Month. They were the starting batting order for Texas Western when the Miners won the NCAA battle opposed to an all-white Kentucky team, 72-65.

I would high from Michigan State University two months after Texas Western won the title, and would not be mindful of only just how historic this circumstance was. My high university and body administrative district and path teams were merged. Kentucky would not even contribute African Americans hoops scholarships, and in that were many another another colleges and universities which excluded African American players in 1966.

There was a lot of malevolence in the South at that case. Heck, in that was a lot spite everywhere, but not in Don Haskins' will to win for Texas Western, legendary today as UTEP, the University of Texas at El Paso. Haskins was colour-blind and simply put the best ever players on the flooring to strive.

Haskins recruited the first-class players, nothing else mattered. Not even the stinking nurture and modification terrorization some Haskins and his players acceptable from die-hard, ignorant, fanatical Texas Western boosters and donors. They recite a not like air in Texas today, mega at the University of Texas.

Glory Road in 2006 retold the relation of Don Haskins and Texas Western. Josh Lucas contend the function of Don Haskins, Derek Luke contend Bobby Joe Hill and John Voight vie Adolph Rupp. It is not one of the unexceeded films of all time made, but the fiction of Texas Western is on par next to other large victories in sports history, together with the 1980 U. S. Hockey troop successful the Gold Medal in the Olympics. Contrary to the picture show version, the banner crippled was not as big an worried as was pictured. Texas Western had an supreme team, as proved by its No. 3 ranking the decisive position that twelvemonth. Haskins was not the eldest coach to cavort African Americans, Texas Western had African American players on its roll earlier Haskins arrived.

Haskins was the prototypal to enter upon an all-African American roll in the NCAA heading game, and it is also sincere that Texas Western was the firstborn academy in a Southern motherland to unify its fit teams. Good for Texas Western.

Glory Road had a fitting announcement of confidence for African Americans. At most minuscule one handler had the keystone to leap the optimum. Do not reflect for a sec that this was Don Haskins' one minute of glory, and that he was adventuresome but not an first-class basketball game trainer.

Since Glory Road was not as a great deal in the region of Don Haskins as several impressively talented, impressively accommodating and intensely spunky Texas Western players, let it be prearranged that Don Haskins:

1) Played three eld at Oklahoma A&M beneath Hall of Fame teacher Hank Iba and was Team Captain.

2) Was bound for 4th leave among the NCAA's best leading active coaches when he retired with 719 wins and 353 losings.

3) Had 33 champion seasons at UTEP in 38 eld of employment.

4) Led UTEP to no smaller quantity than 17 20-win-seasons, an NCAA term in 1966, 7 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championships, 4 WAC contest titles, and 21 postseason trips (14 to the NCAA playoffs and 7 NIT-National Invitational Tournament-appearances).

5) Changed academy basketball game ad infinitum by protrusive an all-African American unit resistant an all-white Kentucky squad in the NCAA tournament and champion the name.

6) Coached Hall of Famer Nate "Tiny" Archibald, NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, and Antonio Davis, and mentored impending coaches Nolan Richardson and Tim Floyd.

Glory Road is a picture for every court game admirer. It has a excellent communication and represents a wonderful mo in the evolution of hoops as we cognize and wallow in it nowadays.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley