European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 04, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse It Page 20 b the stars and stripes thursday april 4, 1991 All Black team s title in 66 by Steve Wilstein Indianapolis apr an All Black starting team can t win the Mcaa a a Black team will crack under a Black players Lack disc a even if an All Black starting five could win White fans pay to see the Absurdity of those notions is obvious now when 14 of the 20 starters on the 1991 Mcaa final four teams were Black when College and pro basketball Are dominated by Blacks and the sport is booming at the Box office. A a but times and ideas were different 25 years ago just a few years before this years seniors were born when a Black team beat a White team for the first time in the Mcaa championship game and started the quietest of social revolutions. In one swoop tiny Texas Western s rout of no. 1 Ken Tucky destroyed myths about Black players and hastened the end of segregated sports teams in the South a though it would be years before the players realized the significance of the event. A a indeed the Impact of the game hardly registered amid the tumult of those civil rights women a rights anti Vietnam marching Days a most of the players on Texas it Western a the school changed its name the next year to the University of Texas Elk Spaso step a came from the inner cities of new York Detroit Gary ind., and Houston. But. They did t see themselves leading a civil rights Campaign. A we did no to look at it As Black is. While a said Harry Flournoy a Texas Western Forward who recently attended a reunion in Elpaso with teammates a we a a a looked at it More As us having an Opportunity to get recognition. If we would have looked at it As Black is. White i done to think we would have done As Well As we did. To be honest i., done to think the players of significance on Kentucky steam looked at it that Way either. Otherwise they probably would have lost by 20 or 30.&Quot despite the racially charged times the game was played without rancor or name calling. A both teams showed a lot of respect for each other a said David a big daddy a Quot Lattin Texas westerns Lattin fierce Cen Ter who went on to a nine year pro career and now is an Saver Tising executive in Houston. Kentucky Star Forward Pat Riley who later became More famous As the los Angeles lakers coach told sports Illus rated. A i think there was a Streak of arrogance in both teams that Pight. But we competed the Way we both were taught a hard fair cleanly. We had respect for one another ill always remember the game As the ultimate of what sportsmanship and character Are All at a time when Oscar Robertson was arguably the Best guard in the Aba Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell were the top centers and Elgin Baylor perhaps the Best Forward no one should have doubted that a team playing Only Blacks could win an Mcaa title. Yet the idea seemed Radical to some folks. One of those was Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp who reportedly vowed a no five Blacks Are going to beat Texas Western coach Don a a bears Haskins repeated those words to his players just before the game Ana told them it was up to them to prove Rupp wrong. A the was taking risks a Flournoy said of Haskins then 36. A at that time the thinking was of win with an All ack starting lineup. People said Blacks weren to organized enough to handle pressure that might come up. They would crack under the pressure. He got a lot of letters of that nature from other coaches. A plus the fact that they figured if you did it that Way you fill up the Arena. They said nobody is going to go see an All Black team play. A Haskins a self described a Young Punk a ignored the warnings and used the Best players he had to build a team along the lines of the aggressive defense and deliberate offence he Learned under Henry Iba at Oklahoma a amp a in the 1950s. Haskins took the miners to the Mcaa tournament in 1963 and 1964 with the help of Black players a Jim a bad news Barnes and Nolan Richardson currently the coach at Arkansas a then stepped up his recruitment in the Urban playgrounds of the North. Going into the 1966 tournament Haskins had a 106-26 record. Yet several of his players 1966, including o-foot-9 s m _ spark plug Bobby Joe Hill of Detroit never even heard of Texas Western before Haskins con a Vinced them to go there. The school had a Small per cent age of Blacks a mostly ath cites a among the nearly 5,000 students and the City of Elpaso file,.1966 Bobby Joe Hill with Mcaa trophy in 1966his steals helped Cut Down Kentucky in title game a scr was predominately White. But the players from the North Felt comfortable at the school and sensed Early in the 1965-66 season that they had the makings of a very Good team. Attendance was Low at first not because the first seven players on the team were Black but because fans did no to realize How Good the team was becoming. That changed after Texas Western manhandled Iowa the nations third ranked team 86-68 in a Christmas tournament. Suddenly the miners were a hot ticket in Elpaso and big news around the country but instead of blowing away at their opponents the miners barely beat them winning game after game by the Slimmest of margins. A they would t do More than they had to a Haskins complained of his players. A this could drive you a they drove other teams crazy with Quick hands on defense _ stealing the Ball and causing turnovers in a Way similar to univ this year. A. All the close games though left doubts about the miners at playoff time. O a people were saying we did no to play anybody our record was sort of a facade and we really weren to that Good a. Flournoy said. A we had to show people that we were that a Krupp a a As the wildcats were affectionately called because no starter was taller than 6-foot-5, featured Quick Neil and accurate shooting. After beating Duke in the semifinals they seemed ready to Brush aside the upstart no. 3 miners and give Rupp his fifth National title. Haskins after watching the Duke Kentucky game decided to play three guards a Hill Orsten Artis and Willie Worsley a along with Lattin and Flournoy to counter Kentucky s zone and Speed. Flournoy was injured Early in the game and was replaced by Neville a a Shadow shed and later with Willie Cager. Haskins had warned his players that they easily steal the Ball from Kentucky. Hill showed Quot contempt for such caution by swiping the Ball from Wildcat guard Tommy Kron Early in the game for an easy Layup. Ten seconds later Hill picked off a Louie Dampier dribble and raced away for an a a a a a. File 1.966 miners coach Don Haskins. Recruited in North other Layup that put the miners ahead 14-9., the game stayed close but the miners never lost control As they held rupps a greatest Bunch of shooters to 38.6 percent arid forced 18 turnovers to win 72-65, Texas westerns happiness was soon tempered by the Odd reaction it sparked a hate mail arid condemnation from Whites and Blacks. A a lot of Black organizations the More Radical ones said we were used we were puppets a Flournoy said. A i Felt really bad because i did no to feel that was the Case at Haskins said that next year a was about the toughest and Saddest time of my a we had death threats in Dallas in a game against smut he told sports illustrated. A scared sure we were All scared. A lot of Days i wished we had finished second. Obviously nobody thought five Blacks could win a National the legacy of the game though was profound. A segregated Southern school never again mounted a serious Challenge for the Mcaa title. Rupp retired six years later a he died in 1977 a having recruited Only one Black and without taking a Wildcat team past the second round. In the fall of 1966, Black players arrived As freshmen at North Carolina and Davidson. Within a few years virtually All the schools in the previously All a White acc Sec and Sec were recruiting Blacks. The miners who wrought that change did no to appreciate their Impact for a Long time. A Young Black players told me years., later that it gave them the Confidence that they could do whatever they wanted to do if they put their minds to it a said Flournoy now a sales representative for a food company in Southern California. A it also opened up schools that were closer to them that they could go to a Alabama Arkansas Tennessee a instead of travelling Cross country to schools that maybe they did no to want to go Riley said that when Bob Mcadoo came to the lakers he talked about How the Texas Western Kentucky game a changed everything How it opened up the world for Black kids in the a i guess i never really thought of it that Way that we were such a big part of history. The loss remains. In be never Felt emptier a said Riley. A it was the worst night of my basketball life but in a proud to have taken part in something that changed so Many other Peoples from Page 19 Milwaukee Bucks maced Dale elks guard on the injured its signed Adrian Daliey Forward 10 a contract for the remainder of the season san Antonio spurs activated Tony assert Birg Forward from Tjie injured list. Placed Dwayne Schintzius. Center writhe mired hot. Football National football league Cleveland Browns waived Mika Lansford . Green Bay packers signed Scott Jones. Defensive lineman. A Miami 0qlfhins-signed Don Smith running Back. Quot. A new York giants signed James milling wide receiver. Philadelphia eagles signed James Booty. \ safety. Released Al hams. Knead re. A a. Canadian football league Ottawa rough riders signed Jake Vaughan safety and Darren Joseph running Back. A a hockey a a National hockey league new York rangers signed Tony Amonte right Wing and Doug weight Center. Washington capitals called up Kent pay enter. Detente Ryan from Baltimore of the Ahl Tennis River Oaks Houston a tuesdays results from the River Oaks invitational tournament held Al the River Oaks country club tiebreakers unavailable. A first round single in Stensund Sweden Del. Jacco Entingh the Netherlands 6-7, 6-3. 7-5 Adas Kroon. Sweden Del. Steve Bryan Katy Texas. 6-2, 6-4 Nickias lit a Gren Sweden Dof Danie Visser. South Africa. 6-3. 6-2 Bruno Rosar Yugoslavia det. Broderick Dyke. Australia. 7-5, 6-7. 6-2 Andrei Medvedev soviet Union def. Mikael petors. Sweden 6-2, 7-6 Gabriel Markus Argentina def. Johan Keek South air Ca. 6-1,6-2. A. First round doubles i Alex Volkov soviet Union and Lars Goosson. Sweden Daf Magnus Gustatson and Christian Bergstrom Sweden 6-3, 6-4 Nickias Upgren and ult Stensund Sweden Del. Bruno Oresar. Yugoslavia and Martin Wolstenholme Canada. 6-4,64. Davis Tup world group a a. Flirt round. Quot. Best of 5 a -. To monday s result. Germany 5, Argentina 0 reverse singles Boris Becker Germany def. Martin Jaite Argent a. 6-1, 7-6 0-6 Michael starch Germany def. Jav a Fer Frana Argentina,6-7 10-12 ,6-1,6-1
