#Glory roadmovie movie

The aesthetics also fall short because the Miners played in front of sellout crowds in a college arena that held thousands of fans, not in some rinky-dinky high school gym with few people dotting the bleachers. In fact, the nucleus had been on campus for a while, winning 18 games the year before while qualifying for the NIT in 1965.

#Glory roadmovie movie

The movie erroneously paints a picture of a team of new recruits that takes a while to gel during that 1966 season. Haskins deserves plenty of credit for how he recruited and utilized his Black players – especially guys like Bobby Joe Hill from Michigan, Harry Flourney from Gary, Indiana, Houston’s David Lattin and Willie Worsley, a 5-foot-6 phenomenon out of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, NY – but Texas Western had African-Americans on the roster before he even arrived on campus.Īs a matter of fact, when Haskins was unloading the moving truck into his El Paso home after taking the job, one of the team’s players that he inherited, Nolan Richardson, who would go on to become a legendary national championship-winning coach at the University of Arkansas in the 1990s, showed up to welcome and help him get situated. They weren’t some unheard of team that came out of nowhere, as Haskins had led them to two previous NCAA Tournaments. Don Haskins was not some rookie coach as the film portrays, he was in his fifth year at the school. In 2006, the movie Glory Road, depicting the significance of this game, was released.Īs with most Hollywood sports biopics, although based on actual events, there are many inaccuracies in the movie. The victory, according to sportswriters, analysts and prognosticators was a “watershed event” because it encouraged other predominantly white schools to recruit African-American players, ending years of shameful and evil segregation. The Wildcats were coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp aka “The Baron Of Bluegrass” and led by All-American guards Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. On March 19, 1966, the Miners defeated the Kentucky Wildcats (72-65) at Cole Field House on the campus of Maryland University in College Park, MD. The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). The Miners roster consisted of seven African-Americans. The Miners made history by winning the 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, becoming the first team with an all-Black starting lineup to win an NCAA National Championship. The team was coached by Hall of Famer Don Haskins. Those were ugly times and the film dramatically captures it.The 1965-66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now known as the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). Racial slurs are constantly hurled at the players, along with food, fists, and death threats. It depicts a time that most people have no concept of. It’s in this sense that Glory Road really succeeds. Director James Gartner does not shy away from the bigotry the team faced. While Glory Road is primarily the story of the black players, it would have been more interesting to have the white characters explored as well. They are seen, but heard and are given nothing to do. After a while, the white players become just faces in the crowd. What it could have done better was define these characters. And the film does not gloss over the antagonism between the different races as they come together. The white players on the team do get some screen time. It reinforces their bonds and contributes to their success on the court. While the film focuses primarily on racial themes, the players are seen facing these obstacles together. The chemistry between the lead actors is also very good. Director James Gartner really captures the frenetic pace and excitement of the games. It has some of the best editing I’ve ever seen in a sports film. This film delivers the message and is entertaining to boot. Similar films have addressed this issue, but failed to illustrate what those times were really like for black athletes. Glory Road does an excellent job recreating the racial injustice of that era. Derek Luke co-stars as star point guard and team leader Bobby Joe Hill. Led by an upstart coach, Don Haskins (Josh Lucas), the team faced extreme intolerance throughout their championship run. It’s the story of how the 1966 Texas Western Miners won the NCAA Basketball Championship with an all-black team.

Glory Road has its share of clichés and is fairly one dimensional character-wise, but nonetheless surprises as an absorbing film.