Glory Road

by D. Haskins

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jackson Smock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book that I am reading is called Glory Road by Don Haskins. Don grew up in Enid, Oklahoma. He was friends with a kid named Herman Carr. Herman Carr was black and back then, segregation was still going on. I bet it would be hard to be friends with him if nobody accepts your friendship. He went on to play at Oklahoma A&M under legendary coach Henry Iba. Don got to play, but Herman didn´t because he was black and wasn't allowed to go to Oklahoma A&M because he was black. Don said that it was the worst and best 4 years of his life, because it was physically torture to him, but he became a great player and a better person. He went on to coach at Texas Western University (now UTEP). In 1966, he started 5 black players and he was the first coach ever to do that. I bet it would be hard to get all of that hate from white people who were mad the Texas Western started 5 black players. They were undefeated going into their last regular season game against Seattle. Don hated playing there because the refs were so biased against TWC. They ended up losing the game because the refs blew it for them. If I was Don, I would be so angry at the refs. That year, they made it all the way to the national championship game. They played against historic program Kentucky and one of the greatest coaches of all time Adolph Rupp. Don heard a rumor the Rupp said ¨I ain't losin´ to a bunch of coons.¨ Don used that as motivation for his team. They ended up upsetting Kentucky to win the national championship. I really enjoyed this book because it told me a lot about Don Haskins' life and what college basketball was like in the 1960s-1990s. I would rate this book 4.5/5.

[Shemar Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Glory Road is about a coach by the name of Don Haskins and it is about him growing up and becoming the man he became. He came out of a poor family, and then was interested in basketball. After being interested in basketball he became a player then great coach. He is known for having one of the greatest moments in college history. He was inducted into the hall of fame and the arena was named after him. Also in the book they're very strong connections with the players."

Quote: “You’ll play basketball in way. My way is hard."
-Don Haskins
"The dignity is inside of you, nobody can take something away from you, you don't give them" -Don Haskins

"I'd sit in tiny apartments on broken coaches, even on floors, sometimes and talk to players, moms and dads like it was no big thing, because to me it was no big thing" -Don Haskins

Who might enjoy the book and why:
Anyone would enjoy this book because it has to do with history. Especially if you are a big college basketball fan because, it is part of college basketball history. Any age would be able to read this book. I think it could also be read by someone who just loves history in general because it talks about civil rights. Also not to mention the starting lineup is all black.

Recommendations:
I recommend this book to ages 13 and up maybe 11 or 12 because any earlier ages would think the book is boring and not enough excitement. Teen boys I recommend the most because college sports are a big thing. Also a lot of people are big into the NCAA tournament and this was a great changing moment in college basketball history.

Likes/Dislikes:
The things I liked about the book was how detailed it was. Also I like history a lot and basketball is my favorite sport so I enjoyed it a lot. What I disliked about the book was how poor some of the people that really affected me and made me more motivated. Also I didn’t like the civil rights racist parts but they were important.

[Blake Wilkins]

I really liked this book because it showed how a new face in college basketball learned to overcome adversity. He was a very good coach because he focused on the fundamentals of the game. The reason why this autobiography was written was because people wanted to know the story of when Don Haskins started five black players in 1966. It was the first time five black people started a college basketball game. This book tells what the team had to go through with segregation being a huge thing at that time. I highly recommend you to read this because I really enjoyed reading about all of the things the team had to overcome. It was also cool how Coach Haskins was very strict on playing fundamental basketball but the team liked to play a different way. The team was really good at playing their way so it was cool to see how Coach Haskins mixed the play style of his way and his team's way together to win games.

[Quinton Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Road is an amazing autobiography by Don Haskins that really captures what he was about, both as a coach and as a man. The book opens with Haskins briefly writing about his childhood through his high school years. Haskins doesn't waste much time before he moves on to talk about his college basketball playing days. His stories always seem to be humorous while showing the significance of his time in college. Right after that, he talks about a couple of coaching jobs he got right out of college at two small-town high schools. Haskins seems to take great pride in those teams, both the men's and women's teams that he coached. Before long he starts writing about his time at Texas Western College (now known as UTEP) and some of his teams there. This is clearly the main subject of the book, as any reader can tell he takes pride in his accomplishments at Texas Western. He gives insight on the ins and outs of NCAA basketball in those days that you can't seem to find anywhere else. He tells the reader everything from how his practices worked to some of his odd, yet hilarious, recruiting stories. Towards the end of the book, he talks about some of the cultural significance of his teams and the backlash that came with it. Then in his final chapters, he talks about his retirement and his family.


Glory Road is one of the favorite books I've ever read. I loved the insights he gave into college basketball in his day. I also enjoyed how he never really seemed to try to prop himself above anyone else throughout the book. Another part I enjoyed is the humor that he incorporates throughout the book. The only thing that I might change is some of his language can be obscene, although it is not bad very often. I would recommend this book to any college basketball fan high school age and above. The only reason I would put any restriction on this book is due to the language that is used in spurts throughout the book.

My favorite quote in the book comes while Haskins is talking about his time as a girl's high school coach, he states, "I didn't even think of them as girls, just players." This really shows the essence of Haskins as a man, and as a coach. He is well known to be the first coach to integrate big-time college basketball, and the quote goes to show that he really didn't care if you were male, female, white, black, green, yellow, or blue, if you were on his team you were just another player.

[Jaden Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Road was inspired by a true story of Texas Western's Coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas), who led the first all-black starting lineup team to the 1966 NCAA national basketball championship title. Coach Haskins has a lot going against him. First, Texas Western has a poor basketball program, and second, he cannot recruit good white players to the team. Coach Haskins goes to Northern cities to recruit talented black players from the streets to play for his team. The black players must adjust to his coaching, and not play street basketball. Coach Haskins doesn't see color when he evaluates the skill of all of his players, and chooses who plays in the game. With courage and determination, Coach Haskins changed basketball history, when his underdog team beats the powerhouse Kentucky Wildcats.After Texas Western upset Kentucky they said lot it was the game that changed America forever. I really enjoyed the book because I played basketball and still play it.I think anybody would like this book if they like basketball or not.

[Simon Acosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was Glory Road by Dan Wetzel. I chose to read this book because, I wanted to read a book about basketball and I wanted to learn more about the 1966 Texas Western basketball team and about Don Haskins and how he came to be. This team goes thru a lot of adversity. It’s starts about by the team getting a lot of hate mail, because of the teams starting five was black, during a time when college basketball was almost completely segregated. Coach Haskins didn’t care about what the color of your skin as long as you competed and you did what he told you to do. During the 1966 NCAA tournament Texas Western was pretty much the underdogs of the whole tournament, no one thought at all that they were going to make it to at least the final four. Kentucky the number one ranked team were the most favorites to win the whole tournament. I would definitely recommend this book to any sports fan that wants to read a book about basketball.

[Jack Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

first off this book was one of the best books ive ever read it showed how fighting the color barrier is possible and a all African Americans are something it gave the sport world hope i recommend this book to a person that loves basketball or sports and wants a real true story of a team that did it.

[Bryanm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone interested in any sports especially if you are in love with the game of basketball, this is the book for you. Throughout the whole story the reader is provided with information of what it’s like first hand to be a coach in high school then at college. In the early years of college as a player for the university of Oklahoma A&M and under the coaching of Mr. Iba for four years. The high school coach Don Haskins is called up to be the new novice head coach at Texas Western also known as UTEP. In that time, Texas was big on racism towards black players playing on a team over white players because the fans saw it as a sign of showboating or taunting. Therefore he will have to overcome the odds of racism, money issues, and other teams in the state of Texas to bring home a national championship to the city of El, Paso. As the plot gradually evolves, the impression of Don Haskins (Main Character) is thought out to be just an ordinary player but, as a coach his whole demeanor changes. Wanting perfection, making his players dress properly, and being hard minded is a complete opposite for him which is why he is compared to being like his former coach Mr. Iba. With that being said those characteristics are what gets his team a chance to play for the national championship which is favored to be won by the power house team of Kentucky. By looking at the front and back cover you can realize that this is a biography by how the book is written and how the author uses the pronouns I, me, and my. Also, how the author expounds on what he is thinking and how he reacts helps this statement. A book that is similar to Glory Road would be Friday Night Lights another sports book that deals with high school athletes’. In which, have to deal with racism throughout the town of Texas and manage to maintain their schools stature of being an invincible State championship team even without key players during the season due to injury.

[Austin Griest]

This book covers the life of Don Haskins mainly from 1955 to 1970, but brief periods all the way from about 1950 to 1990. Don wrote this book because of the significance of winning a championship game, starting five black players. He was the first coach to start five black players,and winning a championship with that was very significant.There are a few events that I found exciting and you might be interested in. These include winning the championship game, the call they got that said someone was going to shoot them, and when the ball of Don's foot fell off during a college basketball practice. Overall, I would rate this book an 8/10. There were some parts that were so full of dates that it was really confusing, and hard to tell what happened when. I liked the book overall because there was a lot of interesting and exciting stories leading up to the championship game, where Don makes history by starting five black players. It was interesting getting to know the stubborn and short-tempered, but passionate and hardworking coach. Then the story leads out from there, to his election into the hall of fame, and his retirement. Once again, I thought that this book was well-written for the most part, and I liked the determination of Don, and seeing how he impacted the game of basketball. I would recommend this book to basketball fans or coaches who are interested in the history of the game of basketball.

[Brandon Youngkrantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Road by Don Haskins was a very good book. I enjoy how it tells about each of his teams and his players of the teams. I also enjoy how it has some of his old players talking about stories about him in the book.

This book is about coach Don Haskins and how he makes this no name Texas college a big time success. In the book it talked about each of the stories of the players. It also talked about how he had connections to recruit players throughout the book. In the book it also talked about his pool gambling problem and how he doesn't make much money as a coach. Throughout the book it talks on how he coaches his players so hard that he often doesn't give them water breaks. In the beginning of the book it talks about getting coached by an Oklahoma Coach named Henry Iba. He says throughout the book that he learned how to coach from him and that is why he coaches so hard. During this book he often overcomes people sending very mean letters and low money for recruiting.

I recommend this book to people that like books about older sports teams and older players.

[Abel S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Road was such an inspirational book it taught me to never give up and never judge a book by it cover.That what I think the theme is.I know this book fit me well because the theme was really easy to find out. I think the book was a hard book it was definitely the hardest book I ever done.Some of the things that were hard about the book was the way they talked and the the letter and the start of every chapter.That had a lot of hard things in it,but now that I'm done with it I feel really proud of my self for branching out from little kid books like Diary of a Wimpy kid and thing like that.

[Ben Daghir]

Unbelievably powerful book, especially from the perspective of true grit and sacrifice.

Haskins tells it how it is, and this book came at a great time for me.

[Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much language for me.