Don haskins biography el paso texas western

That's what Coach was about. Nolan Richardson, the man who grew up in El Paso, played for Haskins and followed his footsteps into the Nasimith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has his own reflections. Goals popped up on garages all over West Texas. Little did he know that. But he changed the whole culture. After a pause, Richardson said, "He gave us still what is the most prideful thing in El Paso.

What could be No. It remains the only men's national basketball championship in Texas and it remains a constant source of pride for this old city by the border, a chest-thumping opportunity to thumb a nose or two to those who might seem to ignore this proud old border city as a piece of Texas. Nevil Shed, who played on that team, said, "Someone else might win one someday.

But, even if they do, we will always and forever be the first.

Don haskins biography el paso texas western

That championship dance was more than just a celebration of good basketball, more than even a national championship. Haskins started five African-American players and played seven against all-white Kentucky. That game is widely credited for breaking down racial walls in southern university athletics and it earned that '66 band of brothers their own spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Haskins, for his own modest part, always said simply, "I was just playing my best players. El Paso Independent School District board member and former city representative Susie Byrd was one who supported the naming of a new school after Haskins. But the national championship game meant a lot more to this community. Coach Haskins' leadership at the university put El Paso to the forefront as a civil rights leader.

It's something everyone in El Paso should be proud of. And we should always honor that legacy where we stand shoulder to shoulder, regardless of race. It was a Landmark Night. Glory Road. Main Content. The Bear. Don Haskins' Photo Album. Don Haskins. Head coaching record [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Bibliography [ edit ]. References [ edit ].

Archived from the original on Retrieved Los Angeles Times. El Paso Timespage 4A. External links [ edit ]. Links to related articles. UTEP Miners men's basketball head coaches. Tommy Dwyer — Jack C. Vowell — George B. Powell — No team — E. Stewart — Mack Saxon — No team — J. Johnson M. Johnson K. Jones S. McGuire Meyers R. Miller Moncrief Monroe Moore C.

White Wilkens Woodard Wooden. Brown Cash Catchings C. Cooper M. Jackson G. Johnson B. Malone McClain B. McCracken J. He was my hero. So, naturally, I said yes. After a pause, Brent added, "My dad had a great sense of humor and he really liked to help people. Steve Haskins said, "Look at that story of him helping that family he found stranded out by Van Horn.

He got their car fixed, put them up in a hotel, gave them some money and sent them on their way and never told a soul That was pretty amazing. Of course, most people knew him as The Bear, this fierce competitor, this menacing force on the sidelines. The man who started five African-American players against the all-white Kentucky squad.

Haskins played only seven players in that game — all African Americans. He would forever say, "I was only playing my best players. But, after that, southern universities began to recruit African American athletes. And, following that, African American students began to attend those same southern universities. It was a wonderful and long overdue chain reaction.

Haskins played a couple of years of AAU basketball after college and then began his coaching journey as head coach of Benjamin High School in west Texas in Haskins coached for the next six years in small town Texas — Benjamin inHedley from and Dumas in — before coming to El Paso as the head coach at Texas Western. We had our four boys and we were happy.