Don Haskins

some of the players (amazon.com)

Don Haskins was a coach who changed the lives of basketball players. He changed THEIR lives by bringing different races together to play basketball. The other coaches thought that the team wouldn’t work together but they went to the NCAA championship basketball game & won.

some of the black players (Amazon.com)

Don Haskins was born on March 14, 1930 and grew up in Enid, Oklahoma. He learned to play basketball at the high school in Oklahoma. He then went to college and taught both guys & girls varsity basketball. Don Haskins said “ it’s not about race it’s about speed, & agility”. Don Haskins was a coach for thirty Eight years.

In 1955 Don Haskins became the head coach for Texas Western College also known as the University of Texas at El Paso. Don Haskins brought 6 black players to play with a white only team. Don Haskins didn’t let the players have mustaches or tattoos so he wasn’t just strict about basketball. Their team went to the NCAA championship and won. The nation was shocked when Don haskins played an all black team on the NCAA championship game & beat the number one team in the nation! The team was Kentucky. Don Haskins is my hero because he doesn't care about race or color.

Don shaking hands with the Kentuckys team coach (Amazon.com)