Was Coach Haskins actually a high school girls basketball coach before coming to Texas Western?
A. Well, yes. But the film implies he only coached girls. He actually coached both the boys’ and the girls’ basketball teams. Haskins took pride, though, in coaching the girls the same hard-nosed way he coached the boys. It was the identical approach he took toward racial differences on the basketball court. “I don’t see blacks or whites, or boys or girls,” he said. “I see players.” Q. Was he the first coach to introduce African-American players to Texas Western? A. No. The school had integrated in 1955. In fact, four blacks played on the team in 1961, the year Haskins was hired. Q. Was he as tough a coach as the film implies? A. Tougher. Much tougher. His players recall six-hour practices, no water breaks, and endless sprints. When the Texas Western Miners lost his first game as coach, Haskins was so disgusted he took his players directly to a nearby gym, where he made them practice until 5 a.m. In the delightful book Glory Road, co-written by sportswriter Dan Wetzel, Haskins is a bit
