Don Haskins died yesterday at age 78. He was one of the biggest social pioneers in the history of college basketball. I’m writing about him because of his obvious link to Kentucky basketball. In 1966, Haskins led Texas Western to the national championship game against Kentucky. It was five black players vs. five white players. I could go all day about the myth of Adolph Rupp being a vehement racist and the context of the game, but that would be inappropriate. I could talk about how uneducated East Coast sportswriters refer to the game as the Brown v. Board of Education of college sports, but once again, this is about Don Haskins, and in the end, his team beat Kentucky. That game opened a lot of doors socially for black athletes and gave them opportunities across the country that they hadn’t enjoyed before, and Haskins deserves credit for that. He deserves credit for looking for the very best players available, regardless of race. It wasn’t like Texas was a squeaky clean and tolerant culture in the 1960s either. It was a risky move, and Haskins pulled it off.

Something else I can admire about Don Haskins was his longevity at Texas Western, later UTEP. Haskins stayed in El Paso for 38 seasons, which is phenomenal. In those 38 seasons, Haskins won 719 games, which is also phenomenal. It isn’t like UTEP ever became a program like Kentucky or Kansas or North Carolina, but the Miners did become a serious mid-major threat in March. His last tournament appearance was in 1992, and I actually have it on tape. The 9-seed Miners beat Evansville in the first round, then shocked top seed Kansas in typical Haskins fashion: hard-nosed defense and physical play. That’s the game I have on tape, and in that game, UTEP made the heavily favored Jayhawks look soft as pillows.

I bring up the style of play for a reason. The second successor to Haskins at UTEP was Billy Gillispie, who led El Paso to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. Hard-nosed defense and physical play – does it sound familiar? It’s clear that Haskins influenced all of the men who followed him as head coach of the Miners. Check out these quotes from Coach Gillispie from the piece that Andy Katz wrote on Haskins today.

In 2004, Gillispie was the first coach to take the Miners to the NCAAs since Haskins in 1992.
“I was blessed to be a first-time head coach in El Paso because Coach Haskins loved and cared so much about the university and the city,” Gillispie said of his two-year stint at UTEP before he left for Texas A&M and then last season for Kentucky, where he remains the head coach. “He wanted to help, but he never wanted to intrude. He gave me unbelievable help. He was a great sounding board. He was a great friend and mentor.”

“Coach cast such a bright rainbow around the university and the city,” Gillispie said. “It didn’t seem like a day went by that someone didn’t mention the 1966 championship. I can’t imagine any person being more beloved to a university and a city than him. That’s always been his school and his city and it always will be.”

Don Haskins might not be the greatest coach in the history of the game, but he certainly was great. However, I think it’s easy to make the argument that Don Haskins is the most important coach in the history of the game because of 1966.

He will definitely be missed.

Almost a week ago, news leaked that the UK basketball museum was closing due to a large debt it couldn’t overcome.

The museum wasn’t part of the University, but UK did donate up to $100,000 a year to help the museum out. Before closing, the museum was housed in the Lexington Center, which connects to Rupp Arena. Now, the museum is closed, the exhibits and donated items are being returned and UK athletics is saying they will somehow create something in the Joe Craft Center, although nothing like museum. No final word on what the new creation will be.

And then I went and read Jerry Tipton’s basketball notebook that the Herald-Leader publishes every Sunday. In the notebook, Tipton talks about what he thinks UK will do to honor the late Mr. Wildcat, Bill Keightley. Tipton says that UK hasn’t decided what to yet, but Tipton suggests making the “K” on the jerseys black, or placing a big “K” on the court in front of Keightley’s chair.

Of course, a lot of people are saying they should leave that chair empty. And that’s a good idea, as are Tipton’s. But here’s a better one: Create a smaller, more interactive UK basketball museum in the Joe Craft Center. Then name it after Bill Keightley.

In essence, The Bill Keightley UK Basketball Museum.

The museum could have a huge exhibit around the man who has seen more UK basketball games than anyone else. It could be the feature exhibit and surely would gather a crowd to see it.

Of course, the new museum in the Craft Center would have be to be interactive, but anyone who has stepped foot in the Craft Center knows technology isn’t new to the building. Naming the museum after Keightley and making him the centerpiece of a new venture would be a fitting tribute and a good way to preserve the great tradition of UK basketball. Then, all the other exhibits that made up the UK basketball museum could be updated, made interactive and placed around the Keightley exhibit.

If the Craft Center doesn’t have enough room, build another floor. Or move the exhibits around Memorial Coliseum as part of a tour of both the Coliseum, the Craft Center and the Museum. There are ways to make this happen. And if donors know that the new museum will be in Keightley’s honor, that may help sideline any costs.

Coaches have come and gone, leaving their mark. While most think Adolph Rupp and UK Basketball, true fans put Bill Keightley right beside Mr. Rupp. Rupp has the arena named after him. Let’s give Mr. Wildcat the building where all of the UK basketball history will reside.

I can think of no more fitting a tribute.

Everyone knows that recruiting in today’s sports world is almost a sport itself. Fans foam at the mouth for even the smallest bit of knowledge (Daniel Orton’s facebook page said he loved the Elite Camp! YAY!).

So when I ran across the SI.com article talking about the history of recruiting and some of the silly things that still go on, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share it.

Here’s an especially interesting part about UK Basketball and Coach Rupp:

the late 1940s, SEC basketball coaches groused about Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp’s recruiting style. Rupp didn’t like to beat the bushes to find players, so he asked the best players to come to him. According to a 1950 Time magazine story, “each year dozens of slat-shaped aspirants from all over the U.S. trek to Rupp’s office in Lexington, many of them at their own expense, to try out for Rupp’s team.” The NCAA eventually banned tryouts for prospects in Divisions I and III.

Now, I know that the Elite camps and other programs run by different Universities (including UK) aren’t technically tryouts, but come on. A kid impresses during a camp, he obviously gets a scholarship offer. The best schools get the best players to come to these camps. Looks like a loophole was found.

Just an interesting read on a Monday….