Glory Road Page #10

Hey, there's a lot of ball on that, ref.

I know Lattin's out. But you can't do this

all by yourself. Just slow it down.

OK? Get everybody involved.

And Kentucky leads by eight

with ten minutes to play.

Ball! Ball, ball!

Bobby Joe Hill will fire one up

from 25 feet.

And he got it!

Check him! Check him!

Whoo!

Defense, now, defense!

Way to penetrate. That's what I want.

Ah, ha-ha!

Yes!

Cager's spun it off the glass.

and the Miners lead by three!

Time. Time! Time-out. Wildcats!

Coach Rupp calls time.

He's seen enough.

Miners lead at 64-61.

Just two minutes left.

All season, when you had nothing left.

you come up with it. And you had success.

You did it, you did it.

And that's how we got here, from your

efforts. From your efforts, we're here.

We are two minutes from a championship.

Lattin. I'm putting you back in.

Right now it's not about talent -

it's about heart.

It's about who can go out there

and play the hardest and the smartest.

This team's a special team.

Special team.

You're gonna win this game.

- You hear that?

- Yes, sir.

You're gonna win this game.

So go out there and make me a prophet.

They've been here before -

they won't give it to us.

We gotta go out there and we gotta take it!

Right? Take it! Take it!

I want you to go out there and take it!

One, two, three!

Take it!

Two minutes to go, and the Miners lead

Adolph Rupp and Kentucky by three.

Defense! Defense!

Four-two.

Louie Dampier guarded tightly

by Bobby Joe Hill.

He reverses his dribble and fires.

It's good!

There it is.

That was a big shot.

Miners look to answer.

Yes!

Wildcats into the front court.

needing a score.

Riley breaks free.

Set it up! Set it up!

Now who will answer the bell

for the Miners?

Artis passes it to Cager

at the foul line.

He slashes around Jaracz.

takes it right down Main Street.

So it comes down to this.

18 seconds remain.

Wildcats with the ball.

in need of a score

to keep their hopes

of a fifth national championship alive.

Kentucky looking inside for a mismatch

against the shorter Worsley.

Stolen away by Bobby Joe.

Desperation time now for Kentucky

in the final seconds.

Here's a miss by Kron.

Lattin has the rebound for Texas Western.

He gives it to Bobby Joe. Looking

at the clock, watching it count down.

Ten, nine, eight...

The Miners are on their way to victory.

Whoo! Whoo!

This is the greatest upset

in NCAA history!

Texas Western is

the new national champion!

Whoo!

National champion!

Mama. I'm a national champion.

I'm a national champion.

Whoo!

Where is he?

I can't see! Where is he?

I love you. Mama. Thank you.

You know. Kentucky's so big.

and Adolph Rupp's name was so big.

that. I guess.

that made it more significant.

The initial thought was.

"Do we really have a chance here?"

We felt their presence

at the beginning of the game.

when they came out

with this incredible effort and zeal.

I think the most significant...

It's when David Lattin made his dunk shot -

that's what really got us going.

And I went up, and he grabbed it.

and he just kept going up and up and up.

And he just dunked it

over the top of me.

He put it down with such ferocity

that it intimidated me.

And I did tell David before the game.

if he hadn't run over somebody.

that I wanted him to tear the rim off

a couple of times.

But those two steals by Bobby Joe Hill

broke our back

and reinforced what the reality was.

And the reality was this:

They were bigger and they were better

and they were more talented and they were

quicker. They were a better team.

Kentucky was kind of a tough team

to match up against.

See, that was a very, very quick team.

And I played the guys

that I felt we could win with.

We ran out there.

And what I saw was wall-to-wall people.

The reporter was white.

The cheerleaders was white.

The referee was white.

The camera people was white.

It was an atmosphere that could have been

real hostile for us if we allowed it to be.

I feel that this game was probably

the Emancipation Proclamation of 1966.

And it wasn't until history started to talk

about this game, you know, in that context.

that we realized we were part

of something that was bigger

than just five blacks and five whites.

Black ballplayers were thought of

as inferior.

You know, can't work under pressure. You

know, rip 'em a little bit, and they'll fold.

That was the way that a white person

was thinking back then.

that we couldn't compete

with the white players.

We experienced a lot of racism

during that season.

People would spit at you.

and fans would call us n*ggers, coons...

And the world looked at it

in that perspective -

the white team verses this black team.

For us.

We were playing for much more

than what they were playing for.

They were playing

for just another championship.

We were playing to prove that it doesn't

make any difference what color you were -

if you're given the opportunity.

you could do anything.

If I could turn back the hands of time.

I would have love to have gone over

to the Kentucky players

and shaken their hands.

Not to patronize them, you know?

And not to say.

"Thank you for giving me an opportunity."

You didn't give us this opportunity.

We earned this, see.

I'm proud to be part of this portrayal

of a great, great man in Don Haskins

and, you know, players

who simply cared about being great

and wanting to separate themselves

from the pack

and wanting to do something unique.

And to leave footprints in the sand.

They've done that, man.

They've done that.

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