| If someone were to tell you that basketball | | | | |
| was created for white athletes and black | | | | Disciplined defense |
| players were both unable to understand the | | | | |
| game or play well you would not only think | | | | One thing that distinguished Haskin's |
| that person is a racist, you would think they | | | | coaching from other colleges was his stress |
| were absolutely insane. The thought that any | | | | on discipline and defense. When you look at a |
| race would be unable to play a sport is based | | | | film of the 1966 championship game, you think |
| on racial stereotypes and not founded in any | | | | that it would be exciting and full of |
| sort of educational or real-life | | | | offense. In fact, one of the stereotypes of |
| understanding. | | | | black players was what they had no patience |
| | | | or control to manage the game and had to be |
| However, in the 1960s, college basketball was | | | | balanced out with white players to keep |
| dominated by such thoughts. Teams had black | | | | focus. Not only was that categorically |
| players on the roster, but usually only | | | | untrue, but Haskin's emphasis was not on |
| played one or two per game. All this changed | | | | scoring as many points as you can before the |
| in 1966, when small Texas Western College | | | | buzzer. The team went on to the court to play |
| from El Paso, Texas won an NCAA championship. | | | | a defensive game. His five-man defense kept |
| What made that team so special? Don Haskins, | | | | most opponents down to a limited number of |
| coach of Texas Western, started five black | | | | points scored against them. Texas Western's |
| players and used them throughout the game. | | | | wins were never high-scoring games, but his |
| His all-black team managing to beat | | | | defense changed the way that NCAA basketball |
| powerhouse Kentucky, changed the game of | | | | teams played the game. |
| basketball forever. | | | | |
| | | | Independence |
| Race relations | | | | |
| | | | Years later, Texas Western College went on to |
| Don Haskins continually maintains that he did | | | | become the University of Texas at El Paso and |
| not look for five black players, but looked | | | | incorporated into the Texas university |
| for five good players to start his basketball | | | | system. In 1966 Texas Western was an |
| team in the NCAA championship. It was a | | | | independent college of the mines. It |
| marker in time, because previously no team | | | | certainly should have been no match for a |
| had ever played an all-black starting lineup | | | | powerhouse basketball program like Kentucky. |
| in a championship game. In fact, only earlier | | | | The win helped all small schools to realize |
| that year Don Haskins was the first to play | | | | that a basketball program was worth investing |
| on all-black starting lineup ever. The game | | | | in. Although the conventional wisdom of the |
| marked a turn in time as people began to | | | | time was the big schools like Kentucky, Duke |
| understand basketball was about athletic | | | | and Indiana have a lock on basketball |
| discipline and prowess, not the color of | | | | success, small independent colleges with |
| one's skin. It took a few years for other | | | | dedicated coaches and good players would be |
| colleges to catch up, but soon many colleges | | | | able to make the grade. |
| were recruiting from both black high schools | | | | |
| and white high schools. Integration made its | | | | Once, basketball was a sport dominated by |
| way through college basketball when Texas | | | | white coaches, white athletes and outdated |
| Western showed sports had no race. | | | | racist ideas. |