Don Haskins
Don Haskins
Donald Lee Haskins, nicknamed "The Bear", was an American collegiate player and basketball coach. He played for three years under coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M. He was the head coach at Texas Western Collegefrom 1961 to 1999, including the 1966 season when his team won the NCAA Tournament over the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp...
deaf name remember turn whatever
I remember a lot of name calling. If I didn't turn around, they didn't get to turn around. Whatever was said was said to deaf ears.
coming dawn hate letters life next thousands time until weeks won worst
The worst time of my life was the next two weeks that we won the championship and thousands of hate letters started coming in. And it really didn't dawn on me what this was all about until that time.
glad happy
I'm glad they got it done. I'm happy for the players; I'm happy for the fans, even the ones who weren't around at the time.
bled color easy exact lasting left looked mark players regardless treated
That left a lasting mark on me. Here was a person who bled the same color as I did, yet he was treated differently. That's why it was very, very easy for me to treat all of my players the exact same regardless of what they looked like.
basketball country player
I really did not think a thing about playing five black players to start the game; they were our best players and deserved to start. But if I knew all the misery it was going to cause me in the weeks following the game, I'd have thought long and hard about it. The players from Kentucky were gracious about it, but many of their fans and people from other parts of the country did not want to see it.
best-coaches coaches intimidated
I played for the best coach who ever lived, Henry Iba. I wasn't intimidated by Adolph Rupp.