Posts Tagged ‘Could’
Glory Road – 2 Stars (Average)
Basketball Coach Don Haskins does not have to wait for his legend to happen. He is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Few today would remember Don Haskins. He was the coach at Texas Western in 1966 when his 27-1 team played Adolph Rupp’s 27-1 University of Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA title.
Nothing too unusual about that, except that Haskins would become the first coach in NCAA history to start an all-African American lineup when the Miners squared off against Rupp’s all-white Kentucky team that featured two players who would become 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 lineup for Texas Western when the Miners won the NCAA championship against an all-white Kentucky team, 72-65.
I would graduate from Michigan State University two months after Texas Western won the title, and would not be aware of just how historic this event was. My high school and college cross-country and track teams were integrated. Kentucky would not even offer African Americans basketball scholarships, and there were many other colleges and universities which excluded African American players in 1966.
There was a lot of hatred in the South at that time. Heck, there was a lot hatred everywhere, but not in Don Haskins’ will to win for Texas Western, known today as UTEP, the University of Texas at El Paso. Haskins was color-blind and simply put the best players on the floor to compete.
Haskins recruited the best players, nothing else mattered. Not even the lousy treatment and death threats both Haskins and his players received from die-hard, ignorant, bigoted Texas Western boosters and donors. They sing a different tune in Texas today, especially at the University of Texas.
Glory Road in 2006 retold the story of Don Haskins and Texas Western. Josh Lucas played the role of Don Haskins, Derek Luke played Bobby Joe Hill and John Voight played Adolph Rupp.
Glory Road is not one of the best movies ever made, but the story of Texas Western is on par with other great victories in sports history, including the 1980 U. S. Hockey team winning the Gold Medal in the Olympics.
Contrary to the movie version, the title game was not as big an upset as was depicted. Texas Western had an excellent team, as evidenced by its No. 3 ranking the final polls that year. Haskins was not the first coach to play African Americans, Texas Western had African American players on its roster before Haskins arrived.
Haskins was the first to start an all-African American lineup in the NCAA title game, and it is also true that Texas Western was the first college in a Southern state to integrate its athletic teams. Good for Texas Western.
Glory Road had a good message of hope for African Americans. At least one coach had the backbone to play the best. Do not think for a moment that this was Don Haskins’ one moment of glory, and that he was courageous but not an excellent basketball coach.
Since Glory Road was not as much about Don Haskins as some very talented, very tolerant and very brave Texas Western players, let it be known that Don Haskins:
1) Played three years at Oklahoma A&M under Hall of Fame coach Hank Iba and was Team Captain.
2) Was tied for 4th place among the NCAA’s most winning active coaches when he retired with 719 wins and 353 losses.
3) Had 33 winning seasons at UTEP in 38 years of coaching.
4) Led UTEP to no less than 17 20-win-seasons, an NCAA title in 1966, 7 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championships, 4 WAC tournament titles, and 21 postseason trips (14 to the NCAA playoffs and 7 NIT-National Invitational Tournament-appearances).
5) Changed college basketball forever by starting an all-African American team against an all-white Kentucky team in the NCAA tournament and winning the title.
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 film for every basketball enthusiast. It has a great message and represents a great moment in the evolution of basketball as we know and enjoy it today.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Anyone who loves college basketball should act now to get their hands on Florida Gators basketball tickets, as this team that’s being led by a core of talented players may be setting itself up for one of the greatest single-class runs in the history of the sport.
Whether the Gators’ recent dominance on the national landscape continues for years to come is immaterial at this juncture, as with each passing week, fans everywhere are reminded why this team is unquestionably the best in the land. Below we’ll look at several reasons for the Gators’ ascent to the top of the mountain in their sport, and we’ll also look at their prospects for a repeat NCAA title this spring.
A Superstar Coach
It’s hard to believe that Gators’ coach Billy Donovan has already been stalking the sidelines in Gainesville for more than 10 years. Donovan came to Florida as one of the proverbial coaching “prodigies” in the industry, but the fact is that some of these future stars work out while others do not. Donovan had only two years of head-coaching experience prior to his stint at Florida, and he was only 32 years old when he came aboard.
All he’s done is taken everything he learned from the likes of Rick Pittino and established the Gators as a national force, and that began long before last season’s championship run. Donovan led the Gators to the Final Four and into the title game in 2000, and his in-game coaching is as renowned as his recruiting. Basically, Donovan rarely gets out-coached, and in the turbulent world of college hoops, Donovan’s ability will assure that Florida Gators basketball tickets will always be hard to find.
The “’04′s”
The current group of Gators is led by what is shaping up to be one of the greatest recruiting classes of all time, and they have even dubbed themselves the “04′s,” as that’s the year each of them came to Gainesville. The class of Cory Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green present a dynamic nucleus of players with unbelievable skills and loyalty. Any of these players could’ve moved on to the NBA after last season’s title, but they all decided to return, and that’s good news for the fans in Florida and bad news for anyone who faces the mighty Gators from this point forward.
Overall, this team is loaded, mature, motivated and ready to stake their claim on basketball history. They are tournament-tested and can beat you in any of several ways. Therefore, you need to get your Florida Gators basketball tickets now, as you could be witnessing one of the greatest runs in college basketball in the past 20 years.
Anyone who loves college basketball should act now to get their hands on Florida Gators basketball tickets, as this team that’s being led by a core of talented players may be setting itself up for one of the greatest single-class runs in the history of the sport.
Whether the Gators’ recent dominance on the national landscape continues for years to come is immaterial at this juncture, as with each passing week, fans everywhere are reminded why this team is unquestionably the best in the land. Below we’ll look at several reasons for the Gators’ ascent to the top of the mountain in their sport, and we’ll also look at their prospects for a repeat NCAA title this spring.
A Superstar Coach
It’s hard to believe that Gators’ coach Billy Donovan has already been stalking the sidelines in Gainesville for more than 10 years. Donovan came to Florida as one of the proverbial coaching “prodigies” in the industry, but the fact is that some of these future stars work out while others do not. Donovan had only two years of head-coaching experience prior to his stint at Florida, and he was only 32 years old when he came aboard.
All he’s done is taken everything he learned from the likes of Rick Pittino and established the Gators as a national force, and that began long before last season’s championship run. Donovan led the Gators to the Final Four and into the title game in 2000, and his in-game coaching is as renowned as his recruiting. Basically, Donovan rarely gets out-coached, and in the turbulent world of college hoops, Donovan’s ability will assure that Florida Gators basketball tickets will always be hard to find.
The “’04′s”
The current group of Gators is led by what is shaping up to be one of the greatest recruiting classes of all time, and they have even dubbed themselves the “04′s,” as that’s the year each of them came to Gainesville. The class of Cory Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green present a dynamic nucleus of players with unbelievable skills and loyalty. Any of these players could’ve moved on to the NBA after last season’s title, but they all decided to return, and that’s good news for the fans in Florida and bad news for anyone who faces the mighty Gators from this point forward.
Overall, this team is loaded, mature, motivated and ready to stake their claim on basketball history. They are tournament-tested and can beat you in any of several ways. Therefore, you need to get your Florida Gators basketball tickets now, as you could be witnessing one of the greatest runs in college basketball in the past 20 years.