Okla-homey
3/19/2010, 05:39 AM
March 19, 1966: Texas Western defeats Kentucky in NCAA finals
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2867/rupp1966.jpg
1966 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship team
44 years ago today in 1966, Texas Western College (Now known as UT-El Paso or simply UTEP) defeats the University of Kentucky in the NCAA men’s college basketball final at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. This marked the first time an all-black starting five had won the NCAA championship.
The top-ranked University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was favored in the final over the third-ranked Miners. Adolph Rupp, Kentucky’s coach from 1930 to 1972, recruited almost exclusively inside Kentucky, earning the nickname "The Baron of the Bluegrass."
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8398/rupp340x.jpg
Adolph Rupp
Like many other coaches of that era, Rupp neither recruited nor played colored players. Using exclusively white players, Rupp eventually established the most successful coaching career in college history: He had four national championships to his credit, one NIT title and was on his way to 876 wins, a record number upon his retirement in 1972.
Texas Western, had been led by Coach Don Haskins since 1961. Haskins, who inherited an integrated team, continued to recruit black players and taught his team the "swinging gate" defensive style he had learned as a player at Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State) under legendary coach Henry Iba.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2434/ruppdonhaskins1962.jpg
Don Haskins
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4416/ruppiba.jpg
Henry Iba
Haskins’ 1966 team was led by Bobby Joe Hill, a guard from Detroit, and Willie Worsley, a guard from New York City, while the Kentucky team featured guard Pat Riley, who went on to win NBA championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
In the NCAA finals, Texas Western took control in the first half and never relinquished the lead. Their tough defense disrupted the offense of the Wildcats, who showed signs of exhaustion after a hard-fought game against number-two Duke in the semi-final.
Western Texas’ journey to the 1966 NCAA championship was depicted in the 2006 film Glory Road.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/262/ruppcoachdonhaskins.jpg
In his time at Texas Western, Haskins compiled a 719–353 record, suffering only five losing seasons. He won 14 Western Athletic Conference championships, four WAC tournament titles, had fourteen NCAA tournament berths and made seven trips to the NIT. Haskins led UTEP to 17 20-plus win seasons and served as an assistant Olympic team coach in 1972.
Haskins was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a basketball coach. The 1966 team was nominated in its entirety to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and was inducted to the Hall on September 7th, 2007.
Haskins died at his home on September 7, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Mary; three sons Brent, David and Steve and three grandsons, John Paul, Cameron and Dominick. A fourth son, Mark, died in 1994.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2623/insane7zo.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2867/rupp1966.jpg
1966 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship team
44 years ago today in 1966, Texas Western College (Now known as UT-El Paso or simply UTEP) defeats the University of Kentucky in the NCAA men’s college basketball final at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. This marked the first time an all-black starting five had won the NCAA championship.
The top-ranked University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was favored in the final over the third-ranked Miners. Adolph Rupp, Kentucky’s coach from 1930 to 1972, recruited almost exclusively inside Kentucky, earning the nickname "The Baron of the Bluegrass."
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8398/rupp340x.jpg
Adolph Rupp
Like many other coaches of that era, Rupp neither recruited nor played colored players. Using exclusively white players, Rupp eventually established the most successful coaching career in college history: He had four national championships to his credit, one NIT title and was on his way to 876 wins, a record number upon his retirement in 1972.
Texas Western, had been led by Coach Don Haskins since 1961. Haskins, who inherited an integrated team, continued to recruit black players and taught his team the "swinging gate" defensive style he had learned as a player at Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State) under legendary coach Henry Iba.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2434/ruppdonhaskins1962.jpg
Don Haskins
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4416/ruppiba.jpg
Henry Iba
Haskins’ 1966 team was led by Bobby Joe Hill, a guard from Detroit, and Willie Worsley, a guard from New York City, while the Kentucky team featured guard Pat Riley, who went on to win NBA championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
In the NCAA finals, Texas Western took control in the first half and never relinquished the lead. Their tough defense disrupted the offense of the Wildcats, who showed signs of exhaustion after a hard-fought game against number-two Duke in the semi-final.
Western Texas’ journey to the 1966 NCAA championship was depicted in the 2006 film Glory Road.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/262/ruppcoachdonhaskins.jpg
In his time at Texas Western, Haskins compiled a 719–353 record, suffering only five losing seasons. He won 14 Western Athletic Conference championships, four WAC tournament titles, had fourteen NCAA tournament berths and made seven trips to the NIT. Haskins led UTEP to 17 20-plus win seasons and served as an assistant Olympic team coach in 1972.
Haskins was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a basketball coach. The 1966 team was nominated in its entirety to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and was inducted to the Hall on September 7th, 2007.
Haskins died at his home on September 7, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Mary; three sons Brent, David and Steve and three grandsons, John Paul, Cameron and Dominick. A fourth son, Mark, died in 1994.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2623/insane7zo.jpg