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:

Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois

Stars:

Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols

2 wins & 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

In 1965, the coach of the high school girl basketball team Don Haskins is invited by the Texas Western Miners to be their coach. Despite the lack of budget, Haskins sees the chance to dispute the NCAA and moves with his wife and children to the college dormitory. He recruits seven talented and rejected black players to play with five Caucasian players and formed a legendary team that won the 1966 national championship against the powerful Kentucky.

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Plot Keywords:

national championship | texas | coach | ncaa | college | 

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Taglines:

The incredible story of the team that changed the game forever.

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Genres:

Biography | 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:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Camino a la gloria

Filming Locations:

Hotel Monteleone Hotel, 214 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,594,734, 15 January 2006

Gross USA:

$42,647,449

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,938,449

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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Josh Lucas gained forty-three pounds to play Coach Don Haskins.

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Goofs

In the semi-final game you can see the real lights (turned off) behind the ones that were actually used to film the shot. This shot was filmed in the Lakefront arena in New Orleans.

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Quotes

Coach Don Haskins: Jason, Don Haskins, Texas Western.
Stevens: Western Union?
Coach Don Haskins: Texas Western down in El Paso. Hey, after the game, when you get a minute I'd like to talk to you about playing for me.
Stevens: Play for you at Texas Western? Thanks, Coach, but I'm partial to winning.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, an inset shows several of the actual people involved (Don Haskins, David Lattin, Pat Riley, Orsten Artis, Willie Worsley, Harry Flournoy, and Nevil Shed) commenting about the championship game and its implications. Video of that game is also shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Pastor Mike Online: Man of Steel Coming to a Church Near You! (2013)

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Soundtracks

I'm on My Way to Canaan
Written and Performed by Mahalia Jackson
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Formulaic but still scores

In 1966, a coach of a girl's basketball team comes to Texas Western College and recruits seven black players to lead them to the top.

Right from the trailers and the posters, you probably know how "Glory Road" is gonna go: an underdog NCAA basketball team must face great odds to win the championship. It's a sports movie based from true events (read: based) with a Hollywood tag plastered over its forehead that features reluctant heroes overcoming their problems and giving it all for the game. Nonetheless, the movie achieves more than that.

While this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Disney movie plot is typical (remember the Titans?), the underlying socio-political theme effectively presents the ills of racism - a problem with no easy way out of (ask Paul Haggis). The key characters of the game are dealing with discrimination and the only way they can get back is to win. Of course, a little research told me that some of the details about the real events were changed for cinematic purposes. It's completely fine by me as long as the end product justifies the means. And boy it does. The performances are also good. Josh Lucas gives a terrific performance as Don Haskins, the head coach of the team that featured the first all-black starting lineup in US NCAA history.

"Glory Road" is a formulaic yet an enjoyable film. It's a movie that gives itself away as soon as one character says "I want to play, Coach!" Still it has charm and excitement that comes from seeing it for what it is. It's predictable, yeah, but it's not much different from seeing a replay of a game where your favorite team won.