Glory Road (2006)

In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.

Director:

James Gartner

Writers:

Chris Cleveland, Bettina Gilois

Stars:

Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Lucas	...	Don Haskins
Derek Luke	...	Bobby Joe Hill
Austin Nichols	...	Jerry Armstrong
Jon Voight	...	Adolph Rupp
Evan Jones	...	Moe Iba
Schin A.S. Kerr	...	David Lattin
Alphonso McAuley	...	Orsten Artis
Mehcad Brooks	...	Harry Flournoy
Sam Jones III	...	Willie Worsley
Damaine Radcliff	...	Willie 'Scoops' Cager
Emily Deschanel	...	Mary Haskins
Al Shearer	...	Nevil Shed
Red West	...	Ross Moore
Kip Weeks	...	Togo Railey
Mitch Eakins	...	Dick Myers

Storyline

40 years ago, Don Haskins went on the recruiting trail to find the best talent in the land, black or white. 7 blacks and 5 whites made up the legendary 1965-66 Texas Western Miners. They were mocked and ridiculed for their showboating and flaunting of black players on the court. Yet, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, Haskins and his Miners came together as a team united to reach the National Championship game against powerhouse Kentucky.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | college basketball | coach | college | basketball | 

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Taglines:

Winning changes everything.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for racial issues including violence and epithets, and momentary language

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caminho Para a Glória

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$16,927,589 (USA) (13 January 2006)

Gross:

$42,643,187 (USA) (5 May 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Texas Western Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Washington Wizards guard Kirk Hinrich was offered a part in the movie, but had to turn it down due to schedule conflicts.

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Goofs

The movie makes it seem like Willie Cager misses almost the entire second half of the season with his heart condition. In reality Cager played in 27 out of 29 total games for the Miners that season.

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Quotes

Coach Don Haskins: You got a real talent, son, why throw it away?
Bobby Joe Hill: I'll tell you why. Ever since I was a kid I've only loved one thing. That was playing ball. Do you understand what that's like, having that ball in your hand... It's like, It's like making sweet music with your game, only thing is you don't wanna hear the song.

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Connections

Featured in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Josh Lucas (2006)

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Soundtracks

"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honeybunch)"
Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.)

User Reviews

Excellent story with some artistic license

I was a Texas Western graduate in 1966 and attended the school all four previous years that Don Haskins ("the Bear") coached the basketball team. Of course, Coach Haskins came to TWC in 1961 and built his team over 5 years, not in one year as the movie tells it. I went to every home game in 1965-66 and remember every one as if it were yesterday. I watched all of the away games that were televised, including all of the games the Miners played in the NCAA tournament. Even though the producers of "Glory Road" took considerable artistic license, the story is mostly true. Here are some facts. The Miners blew away fourth ranked Iowa during a holiday tournament that season. It wasn't even close as the movie depicts it. The great comeback was against New Mexico in the "Pit". When Hispanic guard David Palacio came in to play in the second half, the team seemed to settle down and came from a 20 point deficit to win in overtime. The incredibly close game, and probably best game in America that year between the true best college teams in America was the Regional final between third ranked TWC and fourth ranked Kansas (not #1 Kentucky and #2 Duke in the final four semifinal), when Jo Jo White made that last second basket in overtime with his foot on the base line. The Miners went on to beat Kansas 81-80 in double overtime. Then the Miners beat Utah in the first game of the final four. If white player Jerry Armstrong hadn't defended against Utah's great Jerry Chambers, a black player, the Miners probably wouldn't have made it to the championship game against Kentucky. Chambers was beating every defender badly, including Lattin, Shed, and Flournoy, until Armstrong was put in to cover him. Chambers finished with 38 points, mostly in the first half and was the tournament's MVP.

Coach Haskins is beloved by every El Pasoan, whether living in the city now or not, and is a true American treasure. It's wonderful for the rest of the country and the world to finally learn about "the Bear" and his great 1966 Miner team that El Paso has known and loved for 40 years. It's much more than a basketball story, it's a story about tolerance and what hard work and discipline can do through the leadership and determination of a great coach and human being.

The acting was superb, especially Josh Lucas' performance as "the Bear". His performance was spot on. The young actors playing on the team were outstanding. The early tensions shown between the black and white players in the movie did not exist according to the real players on that team. The book "Glory Road" is a must read, because it tells the true story told by "the Bear", Don Haskins, himself. I also recommend David Lattin's book "Slam Dunk to Glory". The producers should have shown the real life characters, including Coach Haskins, Pat Riley, and some of the actual 1966 players earlier in the credits, because most of the audiences leave the theater without knowing they're going to be interviewed. I thought that was the most interesting part of the movie. The movie and the story deserve a perfect 10. I hope it wins some awards.