Don Haskins, coached historic hoops team

EL PASO, Texas - Don Haskins, credited with helping break color barriers in college sports in 1966 when he used five black starters to win a national basketball title for Texas Western, died yesterday at age 78.

Texas-El Paso spokesman Jeff Darby said the Hall of Fame coach died yesterday afternoon. He had no other details. (UTEP was previously known as Texas Western.)

"The word

unique

does not begin to describe Don Haskins," former Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said. "There is no one who has ever coached that I respected and admired more than Don Haskins. I've had no better friend that I enjoyed more than Don Haskins."

Mr. Haskins was an old-time coach who believed in hard work and was known for his gruff demeanor. That attitude was portrayed in the 2006 movie

Glory Road

, the Disney film that chronicled Mr. Haskins' improbable rise to national fame in the 1966 championship game against Kentucky. The movie, which was preceded by a book of the same title, sparked renewed interest in Mr. Haskins' career.

"The myth that surrounds Don Haskins in the movie

Glory Road

and what he did for black players is better said that he cared like that for all his players. To me that tells me more about the man than anything," Knight said. "There was never anyone like him before and there will never be one like him again."

Former Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said Mr. Haskins "had a tremendous impact on the college game. Anybody who's been around college basketball dating back to those days, they've seen how it changed after Texas Western won the national championship."

During his career, Mr. Haskins turned down several more lucrative offers, including one with the professional American Basketball Association, to remain at UTEP as one of the lowest-paid coaches in the Western Athletic Conference.

Mr. Haskins retired in 1999 after 38 seasons at the school. He had a 719-353 record and won seven Western Athletic Conference championships. He took UTEP to 14 NCAA tournaments and to the NIT seven times, and briefly worked as an adviser with the Chicago Bulls.

His health had been an issue in his final coaching years, often forcing him to remain seated during games, and his program struggled after twice being slapped with NCAA sanctions.

After his retirement, Mr. Haskins kept close ties with the Miners. The school's most recent hire, Tony Barbee, said he met with Mr. Haskins just after accepting the job.

"He is a guy who has forgotten more basketball than I will ever know," Barbee said.

Mr. Haskins played for Hall of Fame coach Henry "Hank" Iba at Oklahoma State, back when the school was still Oklahoma A&M. Mr. Haskins was later an assistant under Iba for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team in Munich.

As a coach, Mr. Haskins became a star early in his career by leading his Miners to the 1966 NCAA championship game, then making the controversial decision to start five blacks against all-white, heavily favored Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp. The Miners won, and shortly after that many schools began recruiting black players.

Mr. Haskins said he wasn't trying to make a social statement with his lineup; he was simply starting his best players.