Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds and Changed America Fore

After seeing the movie I had the impression that El Paso and Texas Western were as bigoted as, say, Selma, Alabama until Mr. Haskins came along. Among the many wonderful behind the scenes things you learn in this book, El Paso and Texas Western were in fact way ahead of the integration curve - desegregating their school clear back in the 1950s. Don Haskins grew up in rural Oklahoma and his best childhood friend and fellow basketball fanatic was black - really unusual for the times - and a tip off to the totally color blind nature of the warm and wonderful Haskins. And while the movie shows Haskins coming to El Paso and finding an all white team - in fact there were black players on the team and had been for years. Haskins special ingredient was his complete dedication to victory, regardless of the race of the players. As a result his landmark accomplishment of fielding an all black starting lineup was (as he freely admits) a side effect of all that ever should matter - having the best people possible - on the court or in life - in place to do the job. If you have only seen the movie, be sure to also read the book. The script liberties the movie producers took did a wonderful job of raising goosebumps in the theatre. But the correctness of the story as told in the book is a much richer experience.

In 1966 a little known team from far West Texas changed the sport of Basketball forever. This book is the story of the coach of that team, a coach who would go on to win more than 700 games and become a member of the Basketball hall of fame: Don Haskins. Having lived in El Paso for a majority of my life, and having been a fan of the Miners since the early 80's, I can say this book is one of the best I've ever read. The living legend tells the story of his life, from his days playing college ball at Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma St.) for the master, Henry Iba, to his days coaching high school boys and girls, all the way to the hall of fame. Of course, you get the story of the '66 team as well as the fall out and how it affected Texas Western College (which became the University of Texas-El Paso the next year) along with some great stories about Don's pool shark days and a wonderful introduction to the book by the one and only Bob Knight. If you only purchase one book this year, this book should be it. Finally the world will know what those of us in El Paso have known for years; Don Haskins wasn't only a great coach (possibly the best coach ever) he is a great human being.

I am from El Paso and an avid UTEP Miner fan. I'm not old enough to have been around in 1966, but I hear about it all the time. The book really was great and brought back memories for my parents. Great Job!! I really recommend this book for everyone, not just basketball fans!

Couldn't put this book down. Without knowing it, Coach Haskins and his Texas Western basketball team (UTEP) changed college basketball for the better by being the first to start five black players for the National Championship. I especially loved the connection Coach Haskins has to the community of El Paso, Texas.

This is more than a sports book. It is the story of a true eccentric, Coach Don Haskins. It is a can't-put-it-down book of how basketball was before college sports became to be all about money, fame and media analysts. The book is full of colorful descriptions and laugh-out-loud anecdotes. Rather than simply being a book about basketball statistics, it is a well-told story of success and triumphs that reveals the true characters of those involved in this color-blind basketball team. I highly recommend it for both the sports fan and the non-sports fan alike.