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Glory Road - 2 Stars (Average)

Basketball Coach Don Haskins does not have to linger for his fairy tale to go on. He is a bough of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

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

Nothing too peculiar roughly speaking that, excluding that Haskins would turn the oldest instructor in NCAA long-ago to launch an all-African American card when the Miners square off hostile Rupp's all-white Kentucky squad that obvious two players who would change state famous 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 roster for Texas Western when the Miners won the NCAA challenge against 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 cognisant of lately how past this thing was. My high arts school and academy administrative district and course teams were integrated. Kentucky would not even offering African Americans basketball scholarships, and nearby were various otherwise colleges and universities which excluded African American players in 1966.

There was a lot of abomination in the South at that event. Heck, in attendance was a lot dislike everywhere, but not in Don Haskins' will to win for Texas Western, better-known nowadays as UTEP, the University of Texas at El Paso. Haskins was blind and simply put the most advantageous players on the horizontal surface to compete.

Haskins recruited the most advantageous players, nil else mattered. Not even the icky analysis and loss terrorization some Haskins and his players prescriptive from die-hard, ignorant, intolerant Texas Western amplifier and donors. They interpret a dissimilar melodic phrase in Texas today, specially at the University of Texas.

Glory Road in 2006 retold the romance of Don Haskins and Texas Western. Josh Lucas contend the role of Don Haskins, Derek Luke contend Bobby Joe Hill and John Voight compete Adolph Rupp. It is not one of the selected cinema ever made, but the history of Texas Western is on par beside otherwise serious victories in sports history, as well as the 1980 U. S. Hockey unit unbeaten the Gold Medal in the Olympics. Contrary to the flick version, the term halt was not as big an indignant as was delineate. Texas Western had an superior team, as evidenced by its No. 3 superior the closing place that twelvemonth. Haskins was not the oldest guide to cavort African Americans, Texas Western had African American players on its list previously Haskins arrived.

Haskins was the preliminary to set in train an all-African American card in the NCAA headline game, and it is likewise faithful that Texas Western was the freshman college in a Southern form to bring together its active teams. Good for Texas Western.

Glory Road had a perfect statement of anticipation for African Americans. At slightest one trainer had the keystone to let down your hair the good. Do not surmise for a mo that this was Don Haskins' one moment of glory, and that he was stouthearted but not an marvellous basketball handler.

Since Glory Road was not as so much in the region of Don Haskins as some really talented, highly tolerant and incredibly valiant Texas Western players, let it be familiar that Don Haskins:

1) Played iii years at Oklahoma A&M below Hall of Fame instructor Hank Iba and was Team Captain.

2) Was tied for 4th situation among the NCAA's most leading active coaches when he inactive with 719 wins and 353 losings.

3) Had 33 conquering seasons at UTEP in 38 eld of coaching.

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

5) Changed body basketball eternally by starting an all-African American squad hostile an all-white Kentucky squad in the NCAA contest and unbeaten the nickname.

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

Glory Road is a motion picture for both basketball game protagonist. It has a tremendous statement and represents a remarkable moment in the evolution of hoops as we cognise and savour it today.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley