Times are changing.
I'm Ed Sullivan. And this is Broadway.
I have a dream.
I am the greatest!
By the content of their character.
Hey. You guys are playing like girls.
Are you kiddin' me?
Hey, hey, Winnaker, do you want me to get you a skirt?
I'll get you a skirt if you keep playing like a girl.
There it is, there it is. Come on, set it up.
Bring it down, bring it down. Set it up! Set it up!
There it is. Pop the ball. Pop it in there, pop it in there.
All right, good. There it is.
Congratulations, Coach.
Unh!
- That's good. That's perfect. - OK. You do that.
Get your arm up. There it is. That's good, that's perfect.
You go like this.
- Shush.
All right. Here you go.
- My dad can slam-dunk it. - Let me do it. Let me do it, Dad!
Great. All right, Mark, that's good. That's good ball-handling.
Brent, you ready? This is a bounce pass.
- It's all right. You'll live.
- It wasn't me. It was Dad. - Traitor.
I'm not getting in trouble.
Catch it with your hands, not your arms.
Hello.
This is Don.
We know you blew out your knee. It's tough, giving up a dream, starting over,
but I'm glad to hear you're interested in a coaching position, Mr. Haskins.
McCarty here says you're a winner.
I sure appreciate that. Now, my style of coaching is one that...
You played for Mr. Iba, so you know how to reign in these unruly boys.
Sir, I do believe in discipline. Now, my basketball philosophy is...
Mr. Haskins. You know, we're a small school and we can't pay very much.
So we're gonna need you to live in the men's dorm with your family
and keep those boys in line over there.
But your meals are free at the cafeteria.
And you got plenty of Texas sunshine. So... how's it sound?
If that's what it takes to coach Division I basketball, then...
ha-ha-ha, that's all right with me.
It's just a dusty old cow town.
Yeah, but if it's got a court with a roof and uniforms that match,
then I wanna coach there. I wanna play against the best.
I just wanted to thank you for bringing me on.
Us Aggies gotta stick together.
- You've been here a few weeks. - Yeah.
What you think?
It ain't much, but we can do something with it. Here we go. Ready?
This is where you're gonna be living.
Hey, Coach.
Ross Moore, team trainer and spiritual advisor.
We're gonna need some of that. This is my wife, Mary.
Hi, Mrs. Haskins. Come on in here.
- Hate to put you out. - Oh, no.
You ain't putting me out. Don't think about it.
I'm thinking about leaving this prize gator here for you.
- Makes a fine ceiling ornament. - Cool.
You hear that? I made up my mind.
That little boy love that gator. I'm gonna leave him there.
I've been checking the cupboard. It's a little bare.
We got Baudoin outta Albuquerque, 20 points a game last year.
Got us a Missouri boy. Fast and tough on defense - a kid named Armstrong.
David Palacio, he's the top prep scorer in El Paso.
Waiting on junior-college transfers.
And Jerry in Housing says on taco night, we get a real good crowd.
Taco night?
Taco night.
What's the budget for recruiting?
Ross says the budget's in the lights.
How can I have a winning team with no budget for recruiting?
Now, listen, Coach. Football is king here.
And basketball sucks hind tit.
I'll shake down the boosters for a few more bucks, get a couple more scholarships.
A few more bucks?
I gotta go find players. How can I recruit with one or two scholarships?
Do you forget where you come from, Don? Coaching high school girls.
Take a look around you. This ain't Kansas, Duke, Kentucky.
We're a poor school that counts every penny to pay for a river rat's dream
of a college education.
We're lucky to put a decent team on the court.
Well, decent don't cut it with me.
Duke's where you wanna go.
Hey, how you doing? Don Haskins, Texas Western.
How you doing? Don Haskins.
- See anyone you like? - What about number three over there?
Jason Stevens out of Chicago. 18 points a game.
Hasn't signed a letter of intent yet.
Jason!
Beating a dead horse there, Don.
- Jason, Don Haskins, Texas Western. - Western Union?
Texas Western, down in El Paso.
After the game, I'd like to talk to you about playing for me.
Play for you at Texas Western? Thanks, Coach, but I'm partial to winning.
How about that big ol' tall boy? Made All-Jayhawk Conference last year.
Gonna sign with Kansas.
You wanna talk to Bobby Joe Hill?
Son, you can't win playing nigger ball.
Sure, they can jump, but they can't lead.
Can't handle the pressure. Don't have enough intelligence.
That boy in particular. No-account smart-mouth.
Just tell me where I can find him.
Excuse me. I'm the basketball coach down at Texas Western.
- I'd like to talk to you about playing there. - No, thanks.
I'm done playing this game. They hardly put me on the floor tonight.
- I'm offering a full scholarship. - Uh-huh.
You sign me up like your token Negro, bury me at the end of the bench.
I'd rather hang it up. Do something else.
Be the next Smokey Robinson. I might even run for president.
You got a real talent, son. Why throw it away?
I'll tell you why. Ever since I was a kid, I only loved one thing - that was playing ball.
Do you understand what that's like, to have that ball in your hand?
It's like making sweet music with your game.
Only thing is, you don't wanna hear the song.
You talk a good game, Hill.
I didn't come here to find a player I could sit on the bench.
I intend to start you - start NCAA Division One ball.
What is it with you, mister? I've accepted it. What are you smoking?
I ain't smoking nothing, son.
Now, you just told me about a big old dream you have. I can let you play.
I can help you make your dream come true faster than a twister'll take your socks off.
You talk funny.
So do you.
You gonna let a black player play from the get-go?
I don't see color. I see quick, I see skill, and that's what you have.
And that's what I'm putting on the court.
So, what is this team, anyway?
All right, that New York recruiter, Hilton White.
He's got three boys up there now. They're just playground kids.
He said they could play with anybody.
Every one of these players you're looking at is colored, Don.
How many are you recruiting?
We need seven players on this team who can put it in the hole and rebound.
Now, if they're colored, well, fine.
Well, then now, Coach, let me try to paint you a little picture.
There are no coloreds playing Division One basketball in the South.
Not in the SEC, not in the ACC and not in the SWC.
But you go and put seven of 'em on our team.
Am I losing my hearing? Do I need a darn hearing aid?
No, Ross. I intend to win.
Shoot. You carrying on like Negroes gonna be the future of basketball.
Could you imagine that?
There are rules. Unwritten rules.
You play one at home, two on the road and three if you're losing.
Lord have mercy. Loadin' up on Negroes, that just ain't done.
You gonna put your career at risk, my career at risk and Moe's career at risk.
If that wasn't bad enough, we ain't even got enough gas money to get home.
Ain't it lucky you don't got to worry about that?
'Cause you'll be out on the first bus to New York tomorrow.
You're sending me there for schoolyard players? You gotta be out of your mind.
And who's paying for all this, if you don't mind me asking?
You wanna win. You gotta recruit. That's how the big boys do it.
It was a good game, man.
Hey, kid, you got a minute?
Mama baked a pie. One piece left, it's got my name all over it.
Hey, kid, you got a minute?
- You know that guy? - What? No.
Kid, you got a minute?
Run. Run!
Hey, Charlie!
Hey, Mama. You're not gonna believe what just happened to me and Alvin.
Almost got jumped by a couple of crackers.
I'm just dying for a piece of that...
...pie. - Ma'am, this pie is so good,
it makes me mad at my mama.
This is Mr. Haskins. He come all the way from El Paso, Texas.
He want you to play basketball on a scholarship.
Texas? To get lynched?
Now, El Paso's not like the rest of Texas. It's, um... It's more cosmopolitan.
Pops already got me a good job at the factory...
- I always wanted an education for Harry. - They got schools here.
I don't feel comfortable sending my boy that far away
and trusting him to a stranger.
I know. I understand. I will look after him like he's one of my own.
- You ate my pie. - We're church people around here.
Are you?
I won't lie. I hadn't been to church in so long,
I can't remember which day of the week it falls on.
I'm ashamed to say I'm... I'm just a wretch.
Well...
We all fall short. And we're saved by grace.
- Tell me more about El Paso. - No, Mama. Mama, come on, now.
It's lovely, ma'am. It's right on the banks of the Rio Grande. It's a little oasis.
Nah.
- I got plenty of offers. - Yeah?
From who? Duke? Kansas?
- I'm playing for the Globetrotters. - It's probably for the best.
You're better off with the Trotters playing its team of patsies every night.
You can't get past an average defender in our league with that fancy dribble of yours.
Man, no offense, but that's bull.
Hey, brother, no offense, but without work,
I don't think you'd get past a beat-up old-timer like me.
Get past you?
I would go past you, through you, over you, under you, around you.
As a matter of fact, I'll spin you like a top,
eat your lunch, steal your girl and kick your dog at the same time.
Get past you.
- Come on, Orsten! - Hey, come on.
Do your thang.
- You fouling me. - You call that a foul?
My three year old calls that a love tap.
Ooh! Come on, man.
Hey, hold it, hold it.
You expect me to react to all that head-shake and body gyration?
It's activity without accomplishment.
You got the ball in front of you. You ain't going anywhere without it.
Try this. It's called a rocker step. You ready? Get in your stance.
OK?
The difference between me and you is I got the ball protected.
It looks like I'm starting to dribble, so you react, and when you do,
cross over, dribble right by you.
Try it. It's simple, but it'll make that pretty little shot of yours work.
First time. There it is.
Excuse me!
I'm looking for three guys. Uh...
Names of Nevil Shed,
Willie Worsley and Willie Cager.
They're colored boys. You know them?
- Did he say "colored"? - He said what I think he did.
Yeah.
And I don't think he was talking about no television set, neither.
He got a nice car.
These New York kids may be from the street, but they sure can play.
Little guard plays like a giant.
Forward runs like an antelope. Never seen anything like him.
- How long till you can have 'em out? - A week maybe.
How's it with Lattin? These boys play big, but they ain't big.
Hey!
You want me to fill this thing up?
I called his coach, but he run me off.
I still got one more roll of these dice, though.
And one more little thing, Don.
I had a little misunderstanding here.
Do you think you could wire me another hundred dollars?
Where on earth's this coach taking us?
I don't think we're even on earth anymore, brah.
- Say, Willie. - Yeah.
- You got a dime? - For what?
I gotta call my mama. Tell her I'm an astronaut.
Looks like we're the first black men on the moon.
What's this dead stuff on the side of the road?
Players from last year's team trying to crawl back to New York.
We driving into hell, plain and simple.
El Paso, Texas! Ain't no place like it.
Big ol' west Texas sun shining down about 330 days a year.
Yes, sir, you're in God's country now.
If this is God's country, obviously the good Lord don't want no neighbors.
Say, man, this place looks like Bonanza.
Hey, look, just smile at 'em and say "howdy."
Howdy.
To him you gotta say "hole-ah." Like this, see.
Hole-ah!
- Man, what this "hole-ah" mean? - It means, "Hello, Puerto Ricans."
You've signed some black players, Don?
That's right.
Seven of them?
I'm not sure that all the boosters are gonna like it. All right?
It's a little different than what they're used to.
You hired me to put a team together - that's what I'm doing.
No, Don.
I hired you to ride herd on the athletic dorm.
I've got a little more than I bargained for.
Those our new teammates?
Ross said things were gonna be different.
Doesn't look like he was kidding.
- I ain't never seen one of them before. - One what?
One of them - a colored.
You've gotta get off the farm more.
I'll have some of that and some of this and some of that.
- Save a brother some scraps. - Back off, midget.
Who you calling midget? You big-toothed clown.
Grab your red hat and lantern and get back on the front lawn.
I'll let you know when the full-sized men are done eating.
Easy, choppers. I seen Pontiacs with smaller grilles than those teeth of yours.
- Taco, nacho, burrito? - No. I'm looking for hot dog-o.
Taco, nacho, burrito?
No, no. Hot dog-o.
Hot dog-o.
Nacho?
What are you lookin' at? Ain't you never seen a black man before?
Yeah, I've seen plenty of folks like you.
So, are you from Harlem?
- You think all blacks are from Harlem? - Are all of you from Mayberry?
- Take it easy. He didn't mean nothin'. - Mind your business, man.
Hey, look, guys. My name's Togo Railey. I'm from El Paso.
Where y'all from?
Bobby Joe Hill, from Detroit.
Yeah, I'm Willie Cager, South Bronx.
Forward.
Jerry Armstrong, Eagleville, Missouri. All-State, 19 boards a game.
Starting forward.
Whoo!
- Go, Miners. - That's it, Jerry.
Harry Flournoy.
Gary, Indiana.
United Steel Mill day shift.
The starting forward.
Back to the cows, Jethro.
Come on, Flournoy, get that. Get it, Flournoy. Get it, get it!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Throw the ball, come on!
- Hey, hold the basket still, bite-size. - Orsten, shut your tusk! Cager! Cager!
Get off me.
Cager! Cager! Downtown, Willie, take it downtown!
Oh!
- You moved the basket! - Advantage black man, for once.
What? What, farm boy? What?
Hold up! Get over here!
This is just another example that knuckleheads
come in all sizes, shapes and colors.
You're pitiful. Pitiful!
Messing around down here like a bunch of kindergarten kids.
Now, you get this place cleaned up and try to act like you got some sense.
- You think you can do that? - Yeah.
You son of a gun. You got David Lattin to come here and play basketball.
It's David Lattin.
I used to read about him in the paper.
How in the world did you swing that?
How you doin', brother?
Should have left your hand out. Might have gave ya a tip.
Man, I'll bust that big ox upside his head.
Worsley. You know it'd take three men your size
to rip that boy's picture in half.
My old man wants me working on that farm.
He thinks playing basketball is a waste of time.
I think different.
- You the new players? - Yeah, that's right.
- You don't look like much to me, guys. - Whoa, whoa. Easy, bro.
- You lookin' at the new Mighty Miners. - Mighty Miners?
You're at a hole-digging college. A commuter school.
Playing for a girls' basketball coach. The Mighty Miners. Ha-ha!
That's funny.
What is he talking about, girls' basketball coach?
You're here to learn fundamental, disciplined defensive basketball.
Now, that means discipline both on and off the court.
No girls.
No booze. No late nights.
Nothing besides fundamental basketball.
I speak, you listen.
I don't wanna hear "can't" or "won't" or "Coach, I'm bleeding."
I don't wanna hear anything except the basketball bounce.
You play basketball my way. My way's hard.
Especially if your guard's wearing a skirt.
What's the matter? You got mud on your feet?
Move those feet! Get down, get low, son! Come on, come on!
Now, we do not play defense standing up! Get your butt down!
Lower! Make it uncomfortable! There you go.
What's the matter, son? Your skirt bothering ya?
Come on, come on, Lattin, go hard! Lock him down.
You in my office!
Shed, what was that? You let him put his armpits in the rim.
Are you kiddin' me?
We do not back down here, ever!
You own this part of the court!
And, Lattin, I said no dunking.
Now, let's do it again, come on.
Nice shot, big man.
Excuse me, Wilt. Big ox.
Keep your hand out there a little longer. Somebody might give you a tip.
Shed, what's up? You looking like Lattin's shadow out here. Big guy like you scared.
Not as scared as you when I come after you with a fly swatter, ya leprechaun.
Don't touch my stuff, brother.
Leave that to the big boys.
Probably ain't even heard of the Panthers back in Indiana.
- Man, I know about 'em.
It's one thing to know about 'em. It's another to live the life.
Well, I don't need a book to live a life.
Brothers! Mm. We crossin' the bridge tonight.
I hear Juarez is jumpin' with some fine gals.
What are you gonna do when you find 'em, fool? You don't speak Español.
- This don't need no translation. - Coach Haskins set the rules.
He has his rules, I got mine. Rule number one: Let's get into some trouble.
- Come on! - Willie Worsley needs the ladies.
- Better be some girls there too, brother. - You don't know what to do with 'em.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Peace, brother.
- You know we got practice in the a.m. - Well, good.
You stay here and you get a good headstart.
- I'm going back. Somebody come with me. - Hey, relax, Shed. Just smile.
Everybody try to look Mexican.
I'm six foot three.
Try to look like three Mexicans, then. How you doin'? All right.
- Worsley, you next. - No, no, no, no.
Elijah Muhammad and the Black Muslims say that liquor steals a man's mind.
Man, Elijah Muhammad never played for a crazy white man.
Excuse me, señor. Señor?
You mind fillin' this shot glass up with some cold water?
My man Worsley wants to take a swim.
Oh! Oh!
Seriously, I'm not busting my butt out there for him anymore.
They're using us, so I'm gonna use 'em right back.
Education is the key, guys.
Blah, blah, blah.
Hey, hey. Educate this.
- Hey, sweet thing. - Gracias.
What's your name?
Why do you need to know my name? You ain't gonna be usin' it.
You all business tonight?
Looks like a cold night in Mexico for you, boy.
Doing OK, Tina?
Hey, listen. I was just playing with you back there.
My name is Bobby Joe.
My friends call me Bobby Joe.
Tina. And I go to the same school you do.
And I'm not about to fall for that smooth-talking Negro routine.
- My mama warned me about you. - Your mama don't even know me.
She said watch out for pretty boys with big smiles, worn shoes,
and single dollars in their pockets.
Well, that's not me. I'm telling you, you got me all wrong.
Cómo estás. Everybody?
What was that, son? I didn't get that.
How is everybody today? Feeling all right?
You OK, Bobby Joe?
Hey, I hear you speak Spanish, right?
- Sir? - I'm just wondering.
You looking a little tired. All that fancy footwork of yours tire you out yesterday?
Or was it something else?
Now, because some of you were bitten by the evil worm last night,
this morning, all of you are gonna run.
- The evil worm never bit me! - Hundred lines! Let's do it! Let's sprint!
Lattin, get to the baseline, son.
Y'all are gonna burn holes in your shoes today!
You look like you're running in mud, son! Are you kiddin' me? Are you kiddin' me?
Hill, get your butt down.
There's 31 days before the season starts, and you're gonna run every one of 'em.
Oh, that was pretty. Hey, that was real pretty.
Everybody see that behind-the-back? The circus has come to town.
- What are you doing? - I'm just playing my game.
We're playing my game here. All that other stuff's just insecurity.
Great players make simple, basic, easy plays. Showboating's just insecurity.
He didn't want us playing our game? Why'd he bring us here?
- Man, I'm sick of him riding my butt. - I don't need this, man!
- You know what I'm sayin'? - Yes, you do.
This ain't basketball. You killing us!
Well, from where I'm standing, you don't got much to bargain with.
What?
You wanna quit?
You quit right now, you'll quit every day the rest of your life.
Watch.
Don't worry. Gunsmoke wasn't that good tonight.
How was the practice?
That good, huh?
Come on! Move those feet! Move the ball, faster! Faster!
Get off me, farm boy.
- Quit your crying, Harlem. - I told you I wasn't from Harlem!
Knock it off! Knock it...
Knock it off! Knock it off! Knock it off! Knock it off!
You'd done that in a game, it'd be a technical foul for fighting.
Both of you'd be ejected. Probably cost us the game, son.
Baseline, everybody. Y'all gonna run 'cause of their selfishness.
Two weeks before the game, and you still don't listen.
Class, make sure can you identify all the minerals in your boxes.
I'll be passing around to your stations, so if you have any problems, let me know.
This team does not play playground ball.
We play fundamental, disciplined defensive basketball.
Togo? Hey, show Mr. Cager how to make a shot.
There you go.
- You want me to do that? - Mm-hm.
Come on, Coach. What about my stylin'? I got way too much style to do that.
You leave the styling for the barber shop. Just show me you belong in the NCAA.
OK, guys.
You're a smart kid, Harry.
But these grades ain't pulling the truck up the hill.
It's just that every class is about rocks, and I'm a black man. I don't do rocks.
Mm-hm.
You got two weeks to get your grades up. Or else.
- You hear me? - Yes, sir.
- How'd it go? - What's he gonna do?
He's already run our asses ragged.
She's a great girl.
Mm! What's that girl?
- Is she cute? - No.
- Yeah. - She's a cutie pie, but she's not cute.
Who can tell me the field classification of phaneritic rocks?
My son Harry can.
Yes, ma'am.
- Granite, syenite and gabbro.
Can anybody tell me how they are formed?
Yes, ma'am. Harry can.
- By slow cooling plutons? - And what is a pluton?
Harry.
It is a deep-seated igneous intrusion with no visible floor.
Very good, Harry.
You know I love you, but...
Nah, I can't. I can't do that. Not again.
Please, baby. Don't make me do it again. Please.
Ah!
Don't ever enter when I'm entertaining a lady friend!
- I didn't know. - Check that vent!
I told you when that vent's open, it's too hot for you to come in here.
- Hey, man, cool down, man. - You dig?
OK. OK.
Shed.
- Come on, brother. - Here we go now.
Can't be good for his back.
Shed.
Have you even slept in your bed yet?
Hey, it's time for practice. You've been sleeping out here all night.
Rise and shine. Like you used to it.
Here, man. Go buy yourself a hot dog-o.
Gimme your base. Balls of your feet.
Get your arms up. Get your arms up. There you go.
I know I told you not to dunk, but if he's playing that weak, slam it down his throat.
You know what, Shed? You're like a duck. You wake up in a new world every day.
Waitress down at Dairy Queen's tougher than you are.
All right. Hey, move your feet. Come on, get back to the practice.
- Well, there's seven of them. - Actually, there's 12 in all.
Yeah, but seven of the other ones.
Coach...
You're going home.
Home? What are you talking about?
Too afraid to rebound and defend. You're too soft.
- That's why I'm sending you home. - Ah, come on! No!
The season's two days away. You can't send me home!
I can't have a big man that's afraid to play like one.
- No. - There's your ticket.
Coach. Please!
I'll never be able to look my daddy in the eye again! Coach!
Look at those moves! Look at how he slices the defense! He's unstoppable!
Look at that jump shot!
It's all good! Roy, it's all good!
The crowd goes wild, Roy.
You spilled a lot of sweat on this floor,
and it's gonna pay off.
Now, I know it seems I've been hard on you for no reason.
But I've been tough because I know how good you can be.
People outside this gym, they don't think we got a chance this season,
playing with players none of the big schools wanted.
But those people don't know you. I do.
You're talented. You're disciplined.
And you care about the guy standing next to you.
That's how we're gonna win, starting tomorrow night.
So let's go out there and let's play Texas Western basketball.
Let's make that mean something.
On three.
One, two, three.
Miners!
All right, all right.
- Let's go, quick. Come on. - Here we go.
- What are you still doing here, Shed? - I'm... I'm ready to play.
Well, you had your chance to be a man. Now, go on. Take your ticket and go home.
- Come on, man, let me play. - I can't. You might get hurt.
Let me play!
Come on, come on, come on! I don't care how tired you are.
That's the way to play.
Let me look at that. Come here and let me look at that! Hold on.
- I'm all right. - I know you're OK.
You're walking, but your nose ain't in good shape. You're getting blood all over.
- I'm all right. - Hold your head back. You're bleeding.
All right, let's play. Come on.
Quit hopping around like a jack rabbit. I said rotate in.
You a catcher now?
- Ain't nothing gonna stop me from playing. - He won't go to the doctor, Coach.
That's right. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay.
Just go get your nose taken care of. We're gonna need ya this season, all right?
There you go, Nevil.
Hi again. Everybody. This is Judd Milton. The voice of the Miners on KTSM 1380.
Welcome. It's our home opener.
And we're hosting the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico State College.
This is a night of questions.
Will Don Haskins, the little-known coach of the Benjamin High School girls' team,
be able to lift the Miners to respectability?
- Let me see. - Let go!
- What? - Don't touch it, man.
Hey, man. Where were you?
It was a late night, if y'all know what I mean.
Are you ever gonna straighten up, man?
Somebody say something?
And now your Texas Western Miners!
At guard. El Paso's own David Palacio!
At forward, from Eagleville, Missouri, Jerry Armstrong!
At guard. From Detroit. Michigan. Bobby Joe Hill!
At forward. From Gary. Indiana. Harry Flournoy!
And in center. From Houston. Texas. David "Big Daddy D" Lattin!
Three of 'em, Wallace. They look like the damn Tuskegee Institute out there.
Just when did we become a colored school?
... your 1965 Texas Western Miners!
The Miners win the tip-off to start the season.
- Go, Hill. Set it up. Take your time. - Set it up!
Hey, protect the ball.
Not a good start for the Miners.
Hey, Hill, you notice your man just scored on you?
Mitch, over here, over here!
- Hill spins to the basket. Puts it up for two! - Stop showboating!
Fundamental basketball, Hill. Watch your base.
You didn't have a base - that's how he went around you.
Coach Haskins trying to mold these guys into team players... Cager for two.
Cager, just lay the ball off the board.
Get your hand in his face, son! You gotta challenge that shot.
Right here, over here. Shoot it.
Where's the D? There ain't no D.
Hill wheelin' and dealin'. The ball's loose!
- That's why I don't want you showboating. - Let's go!
Hey, Armstrong. Hey, Flournoy. Are you kiddin' me?
Lattin, you're ankle-deep in the floor, son.
Drive that ball! There it is!
Hey, I saw it, son.
And the Miners lead by four.
They need one stop now.
Good defense, Armstrong! Good defense!
So the Don Haskins era begins in victory. A four-point win
over a less-than-impressive squad from Eastern New Mexico.
But the real story tonight -
Coach Haskins putting three Negro players into the starting lineup -
a move that's sure to stir things up both on and off the court this season.
- You've got all the moves, don't you? - Oh, yeah.
Tried it on a hundred girls?
Ah...
Maybe 50 or 60.
I'm tired of moving around. I just wanna stay in one place for a while.
Put down some roots for once. You got what it takes, Bobby Joe?
- Hey, Coach, I can't go no more! - I think you can go some more.
You got energy for all kind of nonsense instead of putting it in your team!
Instead of demonstrating some respect and being a leader!
I ain't got no team!
We ain't going nowhere! You telling us all the time how bad we are!
We know we ain't gonna win! What do I got to respect?
My old man drove a truck for the better half of his life.
Now, there ain't nothing wrong with that... other than the fact he hated it.
That's the only way he knew how to put food on the table
and give his kids a chance to do something they loved.
I love this game. I love this game.
I never was the greatest player.
But I busted my butt, and I outworked better players.
I ain't the smartest coach, but I bust my butt and I outwork smarter coaches.
And when I see the talent you got and I see you wasting it, ticks me off.
Now, if you couldn't get in the gym, if you didn't have the opportunity,
there'd be nothing for us to talk about,
but, son, I've been there. Times are different. You're in the gym.
And if you're in the gym, you step out on that floor, you better respect my father, me,
and you better respect yourself and play some basketball.
Midway through the first half. Iowa playing well.
Of course. That's to be expected. They're undefeated. Number four in the country.
Iowa. Always a contender in the Big Ten. And there's a bucket for the Hawkeyes.
Coach Haskins is not happy. It's an eight-point game right now.
Hey! Tighten up out there!
Stay on him! Stay on him!
Shed, box out! Shed!
- Count the bucket. - Shed, would you box out?
That's it! We got 'em now.
Texas Western struggling to score against this tough Hawkeyes' defense.
And there's a great block just before the half.
I've seen a lot of rough halves in basketball. But the Miners are struggling.
They'll go to the locker room down by 16 points.
Say it, Hill. Come on, Hill, say it.
We can't play like this! They're better than us at your game.
You need to let us loose!
Just stick to the plan, Bobby Joe.
You want fundamental basketball, right?
Iowa is just flat outplaying Texas Western. It's been a difficult game so far.
Ain't our night, Coach.
Hey, Hill. Time-out. Time, time, time!
Time-out, white.
Coach...
if you let us play our game.
All right, Hill, you play your game. And you play my game.
- You ready to play? - Yeah, let's do it.
And the Miners have a couple of baskets back to back.
Still. Though. A huge deficit.
Orsten Artis with a steal. Bounce pass to Bobby Joe Hill. He drives it in for two!
Well. The Miners have really turned it up a notch defensively.
Now it looks like Iowa is the team that's struggling.
This full-court pressure by the Miners has the Hawkeyes rattled.
Go to the basket! Go!
The comeback is on. 59-48. Iowa still with the lead.
Come on, son.
Bring us home.
Defense! Defense!
There it is.
Yeah!
Down 16 at the half. Texas Western has clawed their way back into this game!
Miners trail by one with 15 seconds left in the game. They have a shot to win this.
Hill! Hill! Nine, nine!
Spread their D! Their D!
Hill goes down the middle. Looks right. Nothing there.
Looks left. He's gonna try it himself!
He is swarmed by Hawkeyes. Splits the defense. Puts it up!
And it's good! Miners win!
Miners win! I'm seeing it with my own eyes and I still don't believe it!
The Miners take down perennial powerhouse Iowa.
Number four in the nation and the first top-ranked team we have faced all year!
These Miners are for real!
You were playing tonight, not acting like a chump.
I'm never a chump. I was always a player.
My man.
Douse the fire and call in the dogs!
Whoever heard of Texas Western? Well, the Hawkeyes have.
- Y'all going to church? - Shh!
Shut up.
Why we got these honkies with us?
Yeah, what are you honkies doing here?
Hey, man. We got more in the car behind us too.
- What are you doin' up front? - Calm down.
Hey! Don't...
Big Daddy's home, baby.
Hi.
Baudoin! Man, you something else!
I didn't think a white boy would eat chitlins! Pig intestines.
- What's your friend's name? - Uh...
- That's Big Daddy. - Hm.
I'm-I'm Little Daddy.
So I was wondering... Do you guys wanna be called colored or black?
- Do we look like a load of laundry to you? - Jerry, look.
Jerry, we black. OK?
- Black? - Yes. We black.
- I thought you were called the other one. - No, man. Black is bad, man. Bad.
That's what I mean, black is bad.
- Can I preach to him? - Preach on.
- No, Mayberry Jerry. "Bad" means good. - OK, now.
- No, no, no. "Bad" means bad. I know that. - No, no. Listen.
With Ellie Mae, Uncle Jed and Granny out on the farm, "bad" might be bad.
- Well... - But with us, "bad" is good. You dig?
- Say it, rev. - Come on.
- OK, "bad" is good. - Talk to me, baby! You're with me now.
OK.
- So then what does "good" mean?
People put me down 'cause that's the side of town I was born in
- Is that Billy Joe Royal? - Yeah.
His white ass wouldn't know the poor side of town if I dropped him off in it.
Ah!
- What you got? - Wait, wait. Check this out.
Y'all know this song?
Aw, man! Turn that down!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Now we're gettin' our groove on, baby.
Hey, hey.
You cats need to get with this.
- New Orleans! - New Orleans!
Whoo!
For 12 years, I've been a good friend to this school.
I support basketball, football, put up the money for the stadium.
Always had Texas Western in my heart.
We could never have done any of it without you.
But I got a little problem with Haskins and all the colored boys he's playing.
Now, he doesn't need 'em to win, does he?
Well, we're undefeated.
Whoo, man.
- It's blazin' out there. - I'm starving.
Hey, man. I gotta hit the john. Order me some huevos rancheros.
Man, will you save that for El Paso? I'm ordering us some pancakes.
Whatever you get, get me something with salsa on it, OK?
- I already know what I'm gonna order. - Hey, y'all, pass the menus.
Hey. Great game last night. Never seen anybody play like that.
Oh, good morning.
I need eggs. I need some sausage. Sausage.
Unh!
- It must be a New York thing. - That's cool.
Unh!
Are you guys ordering pancakes?
Don't get your black stink on me, boy.
- Hold on! - Give it a good scrub, huh?
Have a merry Christmas, though. And have a good day. All right?
Hey, man, you see them eggs up there? Man, them a little plastic.
- I don't know, man. - Man, you can't see it.
Shed!
Shed, what happened? Something's wrong.
What happened, son? Shed, what happened?
- Help me out here. - What's going on? You all right?
- Help him. - Who did this?
Anybody see 'em?
Son, get on this bus. Let's go. Look at me. Look at me. Get on the bus.
- Baudoin. - Who did this?
- We ain't going nowhere! - Get on the bus! Everyone get on there!
- That everyone? - Move.
- I could kill a honky tonight. - Ain't nobody killing nobody.
I'm gonna start carrying a knife.
You show a blade, they gonna pull a shotgun.
What are we supposed to do? Just take it?
Look, we can't all live the Dr. King rule. What you want us to do?
- Get slapped, turn the other cheek? - Hell, no. I'm saying we think.
When we go to the South, we gotta go in twos.
We're always on the lookout for each other. Don't turn your back on them crackers.
Shed, you ain't gotta be embarrassed. Could have happened to any one of us.
I tell you right now, they won't catch us alone no more. I promise you that.
They come after one of us, they gonna have to fight all of us.
Mary?
You're really late, Don. Don't come home late without calling.
You know, things happen to people...
- Lemme get your plate and I'll heat it up. - Honey, what is it?
- Lemme get it. It'll only take a minute. - Mary, just talk to me. What is it?
Hey, what is this?
Honey, what is this?
- This the first? - No, I...
I throw them away as soon as I get them.
- Why didn't you say something to me? - I don't know. I just...
My family's most important. How can I protect you if I don't know what's going on?
Don.
Basketball's been our whole life. But it's just a game.
I don't know if it's worth this.
No, neither do I.
This is more than just a game now. And I sure as hell can't quit on it.
Nothing ever bothered me before.
It's like things, they rolled right off my back.
I just didn't care.
Now I care. That scares the heck outta me.
I don't wanna want something I can lose.
Baby.
There's nothing you can't lose.
But no one can ever take your desire away from you. No one.
Ever.
You know, Scoops, man, sometimes I don't even feel like going back out there again.
Look. You can't let them take basketball away from you, man.
You can't let them win.
I just don't know how much more of this I can handle, man. I ain't like you, all brave.
Sweet Pea, as long as I known you, you been stronger than you think.
Hey, you OK, Scoops?
Yeah, I'm fine, man.
Hey, man. Hey, tell me what's goin' on, man. You OK?
- Be ready, please. Thank you.
Scoops, you got a minute?
Says you got something called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
My heart's too big.
Ain't that something?
How long you known, Scoops?
Well, I...
I started fainting when I was in high school, Coach.
So my mom being who she is, she took me to the doctor.
They ran a few tests. That's how I found out. But it doesn't matter.
You're a fool. You're a dang fool. You could have died out there.
Coach, I'll die if I don't play.
Look, Coach. My whole life I only loved playing basketball.
That's it. But you see, I could never play in high school,
because I had to work to support my mom and my sisters.
But I never stopped playing in the street. Never. 'Cause to not play, Coach, man...
Man. That was like letting something just crawl up and die in me.
Far as this heart thing goes, I can still play.
My heart's good. This heart thing ain't nothing. I lived with it this long.
- That's why you gotta play me. - I can't do it.
- The doctor said I could. - I can't.
He said I could play a few minutes here and there. Why you won't let me?
I know what the doctor said, Willie.
But I can't take a chance with your life. I can't do that.
Now, you're still on the team.
We're gonna need you, Cager.
We're gonna need your courage.
We're gonna need that big heart of yours, all right?
- You got basketball on your mind, Hill? - Yeah, Coach. Nothing but.
Coach Haskins. Matt Pavelar, Dallas Morning News.
You're playing a lot of coloreds.
Are you concerned as to whether the Negro player can handle the pressure
at the national level?
My team plays defense, rebounds.
- What statement are you making? - I'm a coach. I don't make statements.
- Kentucky's here. - Thank you, Coach.
Coach Rupp. Coach Rupp.
Coach Rupp. Coach Rupp!
Coach Rupp, great game. Take us to the last 20 seconds. What'd you tell the boys?
I knew it was 20 seconds. I gave them a good play.
Something in our playbook we used for years. The boys performed it to perfection.
I'm gonna introduce myself.
...and I know you're gonna let me go.
- Figures. - Thank you, Coach.
- Coach. - No more interviews. Thank you.
Don Haskins. I'm the coach over at Texas Western.
Just wanted to introduce myself.
Congratulate you on another great year and...
- These your boys? - Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, my players.
Well, you had a fine season. See you down the road.
- Losers! - We don't want your kind!
Ignore all this trash! Just get out on the court.
Don't you come in here!
Look at all these stupid kids!
Let go of me, boy!
Don't listen to 'em. Come on, focus.
- That's easy for you say. - Don't listen to 'em.
In spite of a hostile crowd. The Miners have played well tonight
as they look to close out East Texas.
And there's a block. And a fast break opportunity for the Lions.
And Jason Stevens puts it up for two.
Could have been in a Miners' uniform if Coach had been able to recruit him.
I see Coach must be clearing the bench, huh?
And Stevens. With the hot hand here in the second half. Being guarded by Baudoin.
Coach sends his best.
This has been a hard-fought game on both sides. Miners lead by five.
Takes it in to Big Daddy. Who's pushed to the floor!
- Are you kiddin' me? - It is getting rough.
Let's see who the foul's on. They call it on Lattin! I can't believe this!
Lattin's gotta watch his temper here.
He's already fouled out of ten games this year.
Technical foul.
Just sit down. You never let your anger get the better of you.
- He stuck his knee out! - I know.
- Lattin's temper is gonna cost the Miners. - You gotta hold yourself together.
- He's sticking his knee out! - You hold yourself together.
Keep that anger inside you and I'll let you know when you can let it go, understand?
At the beginning of the season. No one could have imagined
that we would wind up where we are now:
Number four in the nation.
Close on the heels of powerhouses like Kentucky and Kansas.
Now. With two weeks to go before the NCAA tournament starts.
We're not a secret anymore.
Been this cold before.
Man!
Ross, Coach, hurry!
- Oh, man. - Moe, get us checked out.
Listen, we're gonna get on the bus and go to Seattle tonight, all right?
Get your stuff, pack up and let's get on the bus.
Hey, man.
You ever get scared?
When I was a kid in Houston...
a white gang strung me on a fire escape till I peed my pants.
I came back down and...
took nothing from nobody ever again.
Took it to every honky on the block...
till they left Big Daddy D alone.
But this is different.
This is worse.
This is the whole world.
- Everything all right, Coach? - Oh, what'd I get these guys into, Ross?
You did the right thing.
You think about what these boys had to overcome just to get here.
You think about how they've been degraded and humiliated,
just 'cause they black, by all these "civilized" folks.
- Shame on us.
WTSM. 1380 broadcasting live from Seattle. Washington.
Hi, Miners fans. Thanks for joining us at a packed house in the Pacific Northwest.
The question: Will the Miners. In the last regular season game here in Seattle.
Take the number-one spot in the NC 2A polls?
Adolph Rupp's fabled Wildcats dropped a nail-biter to Tennessee last night.
And that will allow the Miners. If they win here tonight.
To take the number-one spot in the nation.
Hey, Lattin, you didn't jump high enough to get toilet paper under your shoe.
The Chieftains go down for an easy lay-up.
Miners making it a little too easy for the Chieftains at this point.
Armstrong down low.
Armstrong's wide open. Flournoy looks down there. Will not pass the ball.
He wants to go it alone. Launches a 20-footer. It's off the mark.
Come on, man, I was wide open.
Hill, we're in orange tonight.
- Come on, Shed, meet the pass. - Don't worry about me.
The Miners are just playing flat.
Your guy just got by you, Hill.
There's no chemistry. No energy. It's every man for themselves out there.
They're not playing like a team. That jump was no good.
- Coach, you're in my chair. - I like the view better down here.
Eight minutes to play. And I hate to say this.
But it looks like our Miners have given up.
They've got only themselves to blame.
They didn't play together or find the open man.
And the Miners' perfect season is slipping away.
Ohh!
You stunk out there tonight!
Squeaky could have played better D than you did.
And, Shed, are you kiddin' me?
That was the same ol' weak, scared Shed out there.
Maybe you thought what used to be an undefeated record meant something.
That we could just waltz our way in the tournament.
- Maybe these crackers is getting to us. - Why you looking at me, Bobby Joe?
You a cracker, ain't you?
Coach, the more we win, the harder it is for us out there.
What do you suggest we do, Shed? Lose?
Give them what they want?
You think basketball is everything, Coach. And that's easy for you to say.
But you don't have rednecks in your face all the time.
None of you white boys get it because you don't have people breaking into your room
or shoving your head in toilets.
It's not us.
White is white, Green Acres, and that means you too.
Yeah, I'm white. And you've never been able to see past that! We're not like them!
Think we haven't had heat come down on us?
You're the ones out there skating by, while we're out there sweating blood.
You think it's easy being on this team? Taking a backseat to you every day?
We came here to play basketball, just like you guys!
Now it's like we don't even count. We're the minority!
I don't wanna hear that from you. I have been the minority every day of my life.
And you're crying because you spent the last few months in our shadows?
Welcome to the back of the bus, white boy.
I wish y'all would just sit back here and listen to yourselves.
It's worse than losing the game. You've all forgotten what you're doing here.
What do you wanna do? You wanna quit?
- They're trying to take our dignity from us. - Your dignity's inside you.
Nobody can take something away from you you don't give them.
Hey.
Hold your heads up.
You wanna shake off that hate?
It's your choice, Harry Flournoy. It's your choice, Jerry Armstrong.
Togo.
Cager, Hill, it's your choice.
Shut them up.
Win.
The NCAA Tournament gets off to a rip-roaring start
as the powerhouse Kansas Jayhawks take on the upstart Texas Western Miners.
Thank you for keeping us together.
Lord, we ask that you see us through, no matter what the obstacles.
No matter how high the mountains.
- Amen. - Amen.
Let's go, guys. Let's get this game.
While the Texas Western club has turned heads across the country with this roster,
it's safe to say that Haskins' experiment should end tonight.
- Coach? - You must be Mrs. Cager.
- Thanks for seeing me before the game. - I know you come a long way, so...
You have too. You know, you're all he talks about.
"Coach said this" and "Coach said that." So I said, "Let me meet this man."
Well, Mrs. Cager, your son's all a coach could ever ask for.
He's hard working, he's unselfish.
Tell you the truth, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Willie.
Mr. Haskins, I came to ask you to let him play.
Mrs. Cager, the thing is, his condition is just...
I know about it better than anyone.
This is his time.
These are the last games he'll ever play.
I don't care if it's just five minutes or five seconds.
Just... let him play.
Led by all-American JoJo White. The number-six Jayhawks are. With Duke.
The favorites to challenge Rupp and Kentucky for basketball's holy grail.
That's the all-American.
All press clippings.
- Think so? - He's all talk too.
Bobby Joe Hill will set up the Texas Miner offense in the front court.
Stolen! JoJo White.
Tremendous anticipation defensively by White.
Easy pass and a dunk, and a four-nothing Jayhawk lead.
You gotta protect the ball, Hill!
Ball in to Wesley.
He just overpowers Lattin.
Wesley trying to intimidate Lattin early on in the game.
Defense! Defense!
White extends the Jayhawk lead to five.
But more importantly now Kansas has all the momentum.
It looks like Haskins is going to go to his bench.
He's calling for Willie Cager.
Cager missed half the season with heart problems.
But the Miners sure could use a lift right now.
Now Cager from the top of the key.
It's good!
Hey, welcome home, son! That's a good play, Cager! Way to be out there!
- That's my son. - Plays good.
JoJo White into the front court. 22-footer.
It's good!
Bobby Joe Hill looking to answer for the Miners.
And he'll score!
And these two point guards are really putting on a show.
It's JoJo's turn. From the wing. He looks unstoppable!
And Coach Haskins calls time.
Y'all are paying so much attention to their jerseys that you're playing tight.
JoJo's having a big night, so I'm making a change. Armstrong, you're in for Worsley.
Now, if you can stop him, bottom line is we're gonna win this game.
- Don't worry. I'll take care of him. - Let's go to work.
On three.
- Let's go, team. - One, two, three!
Miners!
That's good D, son.
Lattin. Back door to Shed. And he'll lay it in for two.
Here in the second half. Armstrong has shut down JoJo White.
We need a stop! We need a stop!
Kansas scores. And they lead by two!
- Seven seconds! Push the ball! - Seven seconds!
No time-outs for the Miners!
Long inbound to Lattin.
Back out to Hill. To the basket!
Cager! He got it!
What a play!
He wasn't expected to play tonight. But he saved the season for the Miners!
Overtime! Hey, you got an overtime! Hey, get in here! We got an overtime!
And we'll play overtime to settle this one!
That's the way to go! That's it!
Just seconds remaining.
Artis. Up to Lattin.
It's good! And the Miners win! The Miners win!
They're calling it hanging on the rim! I can't believe it!
A foul called against David Lattin.
The basket will count and Kansas will shoot two free throws
to try to send the game to a second overtime.
JoJo makes both. And we're going to a second overtime.
All right, bring it in!
Oh. Is this a game for the record books!
We got a great mismatch, a little low.
So we're gonna swing in the ball and let him take his man one on one.
You got it? All right, let's do it.
OK, here we go. The winner moves on for the national championship.
Lattin. Cross-court pass to Artis.
He'll drive the baseline and score!
The Jayhawk defender really bit on that fake. And the Miners lead by one.
Kansas needs a basket to win. Where they going?
Everyone knows who will take this shot -
it's their all-American JoJo White.
Ball goes in to JoJo!
From the sideline!
It's good! Kansas wins! Kansas wins!
Wait a minute. Ralph! It looks like he stepped on the line.
I think the official's going to wave the basket off.
It's no good! And Texas Western's improbable story continues
with an 81-80 double overtime win over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Have you seen this? Have you read this already?
I read it.
It says, "The selfless support of Texas Western's booster Wade Richardsons,
which has made this breakout team's rise a true phenomenon in the sports world."
Well, they got you down, didn't they, sir?
Just forget all that stuff I said before.
I've been selling more dinettes than I've sold in the last four years combined.
You're 24 hours from the biggest game in college basketball. How do you feel?
You know, I've been here before.
It's been some time now, but I've had some success here
and I feel like I'm coming home, really.
I'm just glad to be here.
I'd like to ask you about your controversial win over Kansas.
There's no controversy. JoJo White stepped out of bounds. They lost, we won.
Coach Haskins, how do you plan on stopping Louie Dampier and Pat Riley?
Ask Coach Rupp how he plans on stopping David Lattin and Bobby Joe Hill.
Who?
You have to admit. Coach Rupp.
That the Negro player is changing the game of basketball.
Oh?
Well, as far as I know, basketball's about taking the basketball, putting it in the hoop.
And you can quote me. I don't think that's going to change.
That horrible man, playing those coloreds.
And where are you from, sweetheart?
El Paso, Texas. I'm married to that horrible man you were just talking about.
Coach Rupp, what do you think of their lightning-quick guard, Bobby Joe Hill?
He's a good boy. But there's lots of good boys out there this year.
Well. This good little boy led us to 23 and one.
Well, I think you understood my point.
My point is that we at Kentucky don't worry about the boys in other uniforms.
We play our game.
Don't pay them any mind. It's just how some people were raised.
Well, they weren't raised right.
I guess not.
But not everybody thinks like that.
My name is Esther.
Esther Rupp.
Nice to meet you. Mary Haskins.
Let's get this game over with so we can get back to Memphis.
Well, one thing's for sure - can't no five niggers beat five white boys.
Yeah. Just black trash, that's all they are. They think they belong here.
Harris. That's enough.
- Wait, I'm just getting started here. Hold it.
Maybe old Coach Rupp still has a thing to learn about basketball.
These boys are playing for more than just the championship.
When I came here...
I didn't wanna come.
I didn't wanna be a part of this.
But I was wrong, Don.
I was wrong.
You know, my dad called.
He said everybody in town's going to Thelma's Steakhouse to watch the game.
He said he was proud of me.
It was always just a game to me. But now it feels like a lot more than a game.
Yeah, I know what you mean, brother. Feels like my whole life.
My folks are driving down with Willie's parents.
My old man's coming too.
He was always a baseball fan. But I think he's finally liking basketball.
Bobby Joe. You hear me, man?
This ain't gonna be nothing. It's just a day at the playground.
Hello?
Take a look out there.
We can't win tomorrow night.
You're not a championship team.
You've been lucky so far, but tomorrow your luck's gonna run out.
To win at this level, you gotta have a...
intelligence inside you out on that court.
You gotta be able to think.
We just got too much of the wrong complexion.
You're athletes, sure.
But so are monkeys.
Mm-hm.
You can run. You can jump.
Maybe even hit the occasional outside shot with the right training,
but to compete against a real team...
Well, should I go on, or you as sick of this same old tired line of BS as I am?
I'm so sick of it, tonight I made a decision that we're gonna put a stop to it forever.
Lattin.
Flournoy.
Artis, Cager, Worsley, Hill.
Shed.
Five starters, two subs.
40 minutes, seven players.
I'm only gonna play the black players in the final game tomorrow.
Just you.
Togo, Armstrong, Palacio,
Myers, Baudoin.
I know how hard every one of you worked to get here. I don't wanna hurt any of you.
Coach. I can't lie.
I wanna play.
I do. We all wanna play.
But I just wanna say one thing.
Tomorrow night,
y'all go out there and show 'em how bad five brothers can be on the court.
OK?
Flournoy, if you don't get back and play defense, I'll be all over your black butt.
Good evening and welcome to the Cole Field House for the finals
of the NCAA Championship game
between the University of Kentucky and Texas Western College.
And here come the Miners.
When this tournament began. Virtually everybody
could have predicted one of our finalists.
But I don't think anyone could have predicted the other.
It's Texas Western College against the University of Kentucky
for the NCAA Championship.
A little mining college from out in West Texas.
A scrappy bunch with an unusual lineup going against basketball royalty.
The Baron of the Bluegrass and his four NCAA men's championships.
If there was ever more of a mismatch, I don't remember it.
Here's tonight's starting lineup for the Kentucky Wildcats.
At guard number 30, six-three, Tommy Kron.
The Cats are led by two great all-Americans.
First of all. Sharp-shooting Louie Dampier and the high-scoring Pat Riley.
These guys play with speed.
They play with poise and they play with intelligence.
And the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Adolph Rupp.
Now here's the starting lineup for the Texas Western Miners.
At guard. Out of Detroit. Michigan. Number 14. five-ten. Bobby Joe Hill.
At the other guard, number 24, five-six Willie Worsley.
At center. From Houston. Texas. Number 43. six-seven. David Lattin.
At forward. Number 44. six-five. Harry Flournoy.
At the other forward. Number 20. Orsten Artis.
And the coach of the Texas Western Miners. Don Haskins.
We have a David-versus-Goliath match-up.
Texas Western against Kentucky for the NCAA Championship.
You had a great season, Coach. You must be thrilled to be here.
- One, two, three. - Miners!
You three guards are in there to stop their fast break.
Make them have to walk it down the court.
You saw who they put on the floor. They're gonna try to run against us.
In an unprecedented move, Coach Haskins is starting five Negro players.
- That's a spit in the face. - A first in NCAA Championship history.
Now I want you to get angry. Go out there first time you get the ball and dunk it.
I don't care if you have to run someone over to do it.
We're faster. We can spit right back.
Send 'em a message. Get in there.
They're the one that got a chip on their shoulder, not us.
It ain't about nothing except basketball. One, two, three!
Miners!
Dampier's a great ball handler. You try to take it from him, he's gonna burn you.
- Come on, Coach. - Some say he's the best guard.
If I had a choice between him and you, I'd choose you.
That's good, 'cause you know he wouldn't have chose me.
The opening tap. Big David Lattin against Pat Riley.
And the tap is controlled by Texas Western.
Worsley gives it to Bobby Joe Hill. Now Hill rockets a pass into Lattin.
And he dunks it over Riley.
Aah!
Yeah!
- He was making a statement with that. - And Adolph Rupp looks disgusted.
Now Kentucky on offense for the first time. The ball in the hands of Louie Dampier.
Texas Western in a man-to-man. He gets it to Conley.
He's got a mismatch on Worsley. Backs him down and scores. We're tied at two.
Conley, that's gonna be there all night long.
The Miners work the ball into David Lattin. He spins outta the double team. Scores.
There it is. There it is.
It's six-seven. 240 pounds of a powerhouse in the middle.
Wildcats get the ball to the high post. Thad Jaracz has it.
- Slow it down. Set it up. - Lattin, get physical.
They cut off him. He puts it on the floor. Goes to the hoop.
And he is fouled and fouled hard by David Lattin.
That's a flagrant foul! You gonna call that, ref?
That's a flagrant foul! You want there to be a melee? Someone's gonna get hurt here.
I'll call the foul. Two shots.
A pair of free throws ties the game at 12.
But the Baron is not happy on the Kentucky bench.
Texas Western very disciplined against this Kentucky zone.
They work the ball down low to Lattin. He goes up for the shot.
No good. Offensive rebound. Flournoy. And he is down and hurt.
Stay down. Coach.
Ohh!
Where'd he hurt? Harry.
How'd you come down? Did it go out or in? Hold still.
Well, that's one less thing to worry about.
Cager, you're in.
And it looks like Flournoy has to come out of this game.
This will be a huge blow to the Miners if he can't return.
He's through for the night.
Oh. Boy. This will be tough because he's a great rebounder for Texas Western.
At six-five. He is one of the best. And it'll be a disaster if he can't continue.
Tough break, son.
Ten minutes gone in this fast-paced first half.
Kentucky with the ball and the lead. Here's a backdoor cut by Riley.
He goes up and is slammed to the floor.
And that'll be number three on Big David Lattin.
That really hurts the Miners because this big guy's been carrying Texas Western
with his strong inside play.
Now Don Haskins will have to take the very physical Lattin out of the game.
I can't let you foul out.
And it looks like Nevil Shed is replacing him. But they're giving up something here.
Riley's first free throw is good. And Coach Haskins wants a word with Bobby Joe Hill.
The Wildcats by four now with a chance to stretch their lead.
Here's Tommy Kron bringing the ball up for Kentucky.
Orsten Artis all over him. And here comes Hill!
He strips it away and he's going in for the lay-up!
What a pair of hands.
What a steal by Hill.
That happens when you don't talk to each other.
This time Louie Dampier with the basketball. He's played by Bobby Joe Hill.
He steps in and steals it again! Holy mackerel!
Bobby Joe Hill picked the lock on the Fort Knox hands of Louie Dampier.
And he's got back-to-back steals and lay-ups. And like that. We're tied again.
Time-out. Time-out!
- Kentucky wants time. - Time-out. White.
Yes.
Hey, those are two big-time plays, Hill.
- Are you scared? - No, sir!
I know someone who's not scared. Conley's not.
We don't teach scared at the University of Kentucky.
I need you standing there waiting for 'em when they come outta time-out,
like a force, like a wall!
Don't let that guy crowd you! Get him out of there.
This the national championship. Are you surprised? They come to play.
So we got to play back. We know how to play this game better than anybody.
Play the game. Let's go.
Over here!
Yeah!
Set it up, set it up.
Defense, defense! Watch Hill. Inside!
Whoa! Whoa!
That's it. That's what I want.
Whoo!
Inside of ten seconds to go. First half.
Jaracz with the ball. High post. Looking for Riley. Running off a screen.
Here's a shot at the buzzer.
It's good!
We're all a little shocked.
Texas Western is leading Kentucky at the half.
But the smart money has to be on Kentucky
'cause they were firing on all cylinders to end the half.
The Miners did have some big plays.
But must be concerned with the three fouls on David Lattin
as well as the injury to Harry Flournoy.
He will not return.
- Yo, hurry up, you late. - Close the door. Come on.
They're getting ready to start the second half.
... crowning a champion.
Don't let that cocky kid set a tent up under the basket.
If he gets position on you, it'll throw down every time. Get him out of there!
I'm putting you in with three fouls, Lattin. You gotta play smart and protect the paint.
He's trying to figure out how to get you to foul out, so keep your feet on the ground.
- Get a body on him. I want him outta there. - OK? You ready?
- Are you the University of Kentucky? - Yes, sir.
What has the Baron designed for his Wildcats?
- Come on, number ten. - Wildcats give the ball to Louie Dampier.
Get your hand up!
- Here's his long jump shot. - There it is.
And the Kentucky fans are on their feet.
Come on, get back!
The Miners feed it inside to Lattin. And Riley steals it away.
Now Kentucky looks to break. Tommy Kron on the point.
Feeds it to Riley. Who beats Lattin to the basket and lays it in for two!
Now. That is Kentucky basketball.
That's it, that's it.
Kentucky trapping outta their zone. And Kron takes it away from Worsley.
The Wildcats look to run again. Fast break ahead to Riley.
And that is back-to-back hoops for the all-American.
I don't know what Coach Rupp told his team at halftime. But they are on fire.
This is how the number-one team in the nation plays.
Here's Riley on the move to the basket. And Lattin fouls him again.
Foul. Miners, number 43!
And that will send the big center to the bench with his fourth foul.
That's aggressive play.
The Miners are hanging in. But that's gotta hurt on both ends.
Hey, there's a lot of ball on that, ref.
I know Lattin's out. But you can't do this all by yourself. Just slow it down.
OK? Get everybody involved.
And Kentucky leads by eight with ten minutes to play.
Ball! Ball, ball!
Bobby Joe Hill will fire one up from 25 feet.
And he got it!
Check him! Check him!
Whoo!
Defense, now, defense!
Way to penetrate. That's what I want.
Ah, ha-ha!
Yes!
Cager's spun it off the glass. And the Miners lead by three!
Time. Time! Time-out, Wildcats!
Coach Rupp calls time. He's seen enough.
Miners lead at 64-61. Just two minutes left.
All season, when you had nothing left, you come up with it. And you had success.
You did it, you did it.
And that's how we got here, from your efforts. From your efforts, we're here.
We are two minutes from a championship. Lattin, I'm putting you back in.
Right now it's not about talent - it's about heart.
It's about who can go out there and play the hardest and the smartest.
This team's a special team.
Special team.
You're gonna win this game.
- You hear that? - Yes, sir.
You're gonna win this game. So go out there and make me a prophet.
They've been here before - they won't give it to us.
We gotta go out there and we gotta take it! Right? Take it! Take it!
I want you to go out there and take it! One, two, three!
Take it!
Two minutes to go. And the Miners lead Adolph Rupp and Kentucky by three.
Defense! Defense!
Four-two.
Louie Dampier guarded tightly by Bobby Joe Hill.
He reverses his dribble and fires. It's good!
There it is.
That was a big shot.
Miners look to answer.
Yes!
Wildcats into the front court. Needing a score.
Riley breaks free.
Set it up! Set it up!
Now who will answer the bell for the Miners?
Artis passes it to Cager at the foul line.
He slashes around Jaracz. Takes it right down Main Street.
So it comes down to this. 18 seconds remain.
Wildcats with the ball. In need of a score
to keep their hopes of a fifth national championship alive.
Kentucky looking inside for a mismatch against the shorter Worsley.
Stolen away by Bobby Joe.
Desperation time now for Kentucky in the final seconds.
Here's a miss by Kron. Lattin has the rebound for Texas Western.
He gives it to Bobby Joe. Looking at the clock. Watching it count down.
Ten. Nine. Eight...
The Miners are on their way to victory.
Whoo! Whoo!
This is the greatest upset in NCAA history!
Texas Western is the new national champion!
Whoo!
National champion!
Mama, I'm a national champion.
I'm a national champion.
Whoo!
Where is he? I can't see! Where is he?
I love you, Mama. Thank you.
You know, Kentucky's so big, and Adolph Rupp's name was so big,
that, I guess, that made it more significant.
The initial thought was, "Do we really have a chance here?"
We felt their presence at the beginning of the game,
when they came out with this incredible effort and zeal.
I think the most significant... It's when David Lattin made his dunk shot -
that's what really got us going.
And I went up, and he grabbed it, and he just kept going up and up and up.
And he just dunked it over the top of me.
He put it down with such ferocity that it intimidated me.
And I did tell David before the game, if he hadn't run over somebody,
that I wanted him to tear the rim off a couple of times.
But those two steals by Bobby Joe Hill broke our back
and reinforced what the reality was.
And the reality was this:
They were bigger and they were better
and they were more talented and they were quicker. They were a better team.
Kentucky was kind of a tough team to match up against.
See, that was a very, very quick team.
And I played the guys that I felt we could win with.
We ran out there. And what I saw was wall-to-wall people.
The reporter was white. The cheerleaders was white.
The referee was white. The camera people was white.
It was an atmosphere that could have been real hostile for us if we allowed it to be.
I feel that this game was probably the Emancipation Proclamation of 1966.
And it wasn't until history started to talk about this game, you know, in that context,
that we realized we were part of something that was bigger
than just five blacks and five whites.
Black ballplayers were thought of as inferior.
You know, can't work under pressure. You know, rip 'em a little bit, and they'll fold.
That was the way that a white person was thinking back then,
that we couldn't compete with the white players.
We experienced a lot of racism during that season.
People would spit at you, and fans would call us niggers, coons...
And the world looked at it in that perspective -
the white team verses this black team. For us.
We were playing for much more than what they were playing for.
They were playing for just another championship.
We were playing to prove that it doesn't make any difference what color you were -
if you're given the opportunity, you could do anything.
If I could turn back the hands of time,
I would have love to have gone over to the Kentucky players
and shaken their hands.
Not to patronize them, you know?
And not to say, "Thank you for giving me an opportunity."
You didn't give us this opportunity. We earned this, see.
I'm proud to be part of this portrayal of a great, great man in Don Haskins
and, you know, players who simply cared about being great
and wanting to separate themselves from the pack
and wanting to do something unique.
And to leave footprints in the sand. They've done that, man.
They've done that.