Times are changing.
I'm Ed Sullivan, and this is Broadway.
I have a dream.
I am the greatest!
By the content of their character.
Hey, you guys are playing like girls.
Are you kiddin' me?
Hey, hey. Winnaker. do you want me to get you a skirt?
I'll get you a skirt if you keep playing like a girl.
There it is, there it is. Come on, set it up.
Bring it down, bring it down. Set it up! Set it up!
There it is. Pop the ball. Pop it in there, pop it in there.
All right, good. There it is.
Congratulations. Coach.
Unh!
- That's good. That's perfect. - OK, you do that.
Get your arm up. There it is. That's good, that's perfect.
You go like this.
Shush.
All right. Here you go.
- My dad can slam-dunk it. - Let me do it. Let me do it. Dad!
Great. All right. Mark, that's good. That's good ball-handling.
Brent, you ready? This is a bounce pass.
Ohh!
It's all right. You'll live.
- It wasn't me. It was Dad. - Traitor.
I'm not getting in trouble.
Catch it with your hands. not your arms.
Hello.
This is Don.
We know you blew out your knee. It's tough, giving up a dream, starting over.
but I'm glad to hear you're interested in a coaching position. Mr., Haskins.
McCarty here says you're a winner.
I sure appreciate that. Now, my style of coaching is one that...
You played for Mr.. Iba, so you know how to reign in these unruly boys.
Sir. I do believe in discipline. Now, my basketball philosophy is...
Mr., Haskins. You know, we're a small school and we can't pay very much.
So we're gonna need you to live in the men's dorm with your family
and keep those boys in line over there.
But your meals are free at the cafeteria.
And you got plenty of Texas sunshine. So... how's it sound?
If that's what it takes to coach Division I basketball, then...
ha-ha-ha, that's all right with me.
It's just a dusty old cow town.
Yeah, but if it's got a court with a roof and uniforms that match.
then I wanna coach there. I wanna play against the best.
I just wanted to thank you for bringing me on.
Us Aggies gotta stick together.
- You've been here a few weeks. - Yeah.
What you think?
It ain't much, but we can do something with it. Here we go. Ready?
This is where you're gonna be living.
Hey. Coach.
Ross Moore, team trainer and spiritual advisor.
We're gonna need some of that. This is my wife. Mary.
Hi. Mrs, Haskins. Come on in here.
- Hate to put you out. - Oh, no.
You ain't putting me out. Don't think about it.
I'm thinking about leaving this prize gator here for you.
- Makes a fine ceiling ornament. - Cool.
You hear that? I made up my mind.
That little boy love that gator. I'm gonna leave him there.
I've been checking the cupboard. It's a little bare.
We got Baudoin outta Albuquerque. 20 points a game last year.
Got us a Missouri boy. Fast and tough on defense - a kid named Armstrong.
David Palacio. he's the top prep scorer in El Paso.
Waiting on junior-college transfers.
And Jerry in Housing says on taco night, we get a real good crowd.
Taco night?
Taco night.
What's the budget for recruiting?
Ross says the budget's in the lights.
How can I have a winning team with no budget for recruiting?
Now, listen. Coach. Football is king here.
And basketball sucks hind tit.
I'll shake down the boosters for a few more bucks, get a couple more scholarships.
A few more bucks?
I gotta go find players. How can I recruit with one or two scholarships?
Do you forget where you come from, Don? Coaching high school girls.
Take a look around you. This ain't Kansas. Duke. Kentucky.
We're a poor school that counts every penny to pay for a river rat's dream
of a college education.
We're lucky to put a decent team on the court.
Well, decent don't cut it with me.
Duke's where you wanna go.
Hey, how you doing? Don Haskins. Texas Western.
How you doing? Don Haskins.
- See anyone you like? - What about number three over there?
Jason Stevens out of Chicago. 18 points a game.
Hasn't signed a letter of intent yet.
Jason!
Beating a dead horse there, Don.
- Jason, Don Haskins. Texas Western. - Western Union?
Texas Western, down in El Paso.
After the game. I'd like to talk to you about playing for me.
Play for you at Texas Western? Thanks. Coach, but I'm partial to winning.
How about that big ol' tall boy? Made All-Jayhawk Conference last year.
Gonna sign with Kansas.
You wanna talk to Bobby Joe Hill?
Son, you can't win playing nigger ball.
Sure, they can jump, but they can't lead.
Can't handle the pressure. Don't have enough intelligence.
That boy in particular. No-account smart-mouth.
Just tell me where I can find him.
Excuse me. I'm the basketball coach down at Texas Western.
- I'd like to talk to you about playing there. - No, thanks.
I'm done playing this game. They hardly put me on the floor tonight.
- I'm offering a full scholarship. - Uh-huh.
You sign me up like your token Negro. bury me at the end of the bench.
I'd rather hang it up. Do something else.
Be the next Smokey Robinson. I might even run for president.
You got a real talent, son. Why throw it away?
I'll tell you why. Ever since I was a kid. I only loved one thing - that was playing ball.
Do you understand what that's like. to have that ball in your hand?
It's like making sweet music with your game.
Only thing is. you don't wanna hear the song.
You talk a good game. Hill.
I didn't come here to find a player I could sit on the bench.
I intend to start you - start NCAA Division One ball.
What is it with you, mister? I've accepted it. What are you smoking?
I ain't smoking nothing, son.
Now, you just told me about a big old dream you have. I can let you play.
I can help you make your dream come true faster than a twister'll take your socks off.
You talk funny.
So do you.
You gonna let a black player play from the get-go?
I don't see color. I see quick. I see skill, and that's what you have.
And that's what I'm putting on the court.
So, what is this team, anyway?
All right, that New York recruiter. Hilton White.
He's got three boys up there now. They're just playground kids.
He said they could play with anybody.
Every one of these players you're looking at is colored, Don.
How many are you recruiting?
We need seven players on this team who can put it in the hole and rebound.
Now, if they're colored, well, fine.
Well, then now. Coach. let me try to paint you a little picture.
There are no coloreds playing Division One basketball in the South.
Not in the SEC, not in the ACC and not in the SWC.
But you go and put seven of 'em on our team.
Am I losing my hearing? Do I need a darn hearing aid?
No. Ross. I intend to win.
Shoot. You carrying on like Negroes gonna be the future of basketball.
Could you imagine that?
There are rules. Unwritten rules.
You play one at home, two on the road and three if you're losing.
Lord have mercy. Loadin' up on Negroes, that just ain't done.
You gonna put your career at risk. my career at risk and Moe's career at risk.
If that wasn't bad enough, we ain't even got enough gas money to get home.
Ain't it lucky you don't got to worry about that?
'Cause you'll be out on the first bus to New York tomorrow.
You're sending me there for schoolyard players? You gotta be out of your mind.
And who's paying for all this. if you don't mind me asking?
You wanna win, you gotta recruit. That's how the big boys do it.
It was a good game, man.
Hey, kid, you got a minute?
Mama baked a pie. One piece left. it's got my name all over it.
Hey, kid, you got a minute?
- You know that guy? - What? No.
Kid, you got a minute?
Run. Run!
Hey, Charlie!
Hey. Mama. You're not gonna believe what just happened to me and Alvin.
Almost got jumped by a couple of crackers.
I'm just dying for a piece of that...
-...pie. - Ma'am, this pie is so good.
it makes me mad at my mama.
This is Mr., Haskins. He come all the way from El Paso, Texas.
He want you to play basketball on a scholarship.
Texas? To get lynched?
Now. El Paso's not like the rest of Texas. It's, um... It's more cosmopolitan.
Pops already got me a good job at the factory...
- I always wanted an education for Harry. - They got schools here.
I don't feel comfortable sending my boy that far away
and trusting him to a stranger.
I know. I understand. I will look after him like he's one of my own.
- You ate my pie. - We're church people around here.
Are you?
I won't lie. I hadn't been to church in so long.
I can't remember which day of the week it falls on.
I'm ashamed to say I'm... I'm just a wretch.
Well...
We all fall short. And we're saved by grace.
- Tell me more about El Paso. - No. Mama. Mama, come on, now.
It's lovely, ma'am. It's right on the banks of the Rio Grande. It's a little oasis.
Nah.
- I got plenty of offers. - Yeah?
From who? Duke? Kansas?
- I'm playing for the Globetrotters. - It's probably for the best.
You're better off with the Trotters playing its team of patsies every night.
You can't get past an average defender in our league with that fancy dribble of yours.
Man, no offense, but that's bull.
Hey, brother, no offense. but without work.
I don't think you'd get past a beat-up old-timer like me.
Get past you?
I would go past you, through you. over you, under you, around you.
As a matter of fact. I'll spin you like a top.
eat your lunch, steal your girl and kick your dog at the same time.
Get past you.
- Come on. Orsten! - Hey, come on.
Do your thang.
- You fouling me. - You call that a foul?
My three year old calls that a love tap.
Ooh! Come on, man.
Hey, hold it, hold it.
You expect me to react to all that head-shake and body gyration?
It's activity without accomplishment.
You got the ball in front of you. You ain't going anywhere without it.
Try this. It's called a rocker step. You ready? Get in your stance.
OK?
The difference between me and you is I got the ball protected.
It looks like I'm starting to dribble. so you react, and when you do.
cross over, dribble right by you.
Try it. It's simple, but it'll make that pretty little shot of yours work.
First time. There it is.
Excuse me!
I'm looking for three guys. Uh...
Names of Nevil Shed.
Willie Worsley and Willie Cager.
They're colored boys. You know them?
- Did he say "colored"? - He said what I think he did.
Yeah.
And I don't think he was talking about no television set, neither.
He got a nice car.
These New York kids may be from the street, but they sure can play.
Little guard plays like a giant.
Forward runs like an antelope. Never seen anything like him.
- How long till you can have 'em out? - A week maybe.
How's it with Lattin? These boys play big, but they ain't big.
Hey!
You want me to fill this thing up?
I called his coach, but he run me off.
I still got one more roll of these dice. though.
And one more little thing, Don.
I had a little misunderstanding here.
Do you think you could wire me another hundred dollars?
Where on earth's this coach taking us?
I don't think we're even on earth anymore, brah.
- Say. Willie. - Yeah.
- You got a dime? - For what?
I gotta call my mama. Tell her I'm an astronaut.
Looks like we're the first black men on the moon.
What's this dead stuff on the side of the road?
Players from last year's team trying to crawl back to New York.
We driving into hell, plain and simple.
El Paso. Texas! Ain't no place like it.
Big ol' west Texas sun shining down about 330 days a year.
Yes, sir, you're in God's country now.
If this is God's country, obviously the good Lord don't want no neighbors.
Say, man. this place looks like Bonanza.
Hey, look, just smile at 'em and say "howdy."
Howdy.
To him you gotta say "hole-ah." Like this, see.
Hole-ah!
- Man, what this "hole-ah" mean? - It means. "Hello. Puerto Ricans."
You've signed some black players, Don?
That's right.
Seven of them?
I'm not sure that all the boosters are gonna like it. All right?
It's a little different than what they're used to.
You hired me to put a team together - that's what I'm doing.
No, Don.
I hired you to ride herd on the athletic dorm.
I've got a little more than I bargained for.
Those our new teammates?
Ross said things were gonna be different.
Doesn't look like he was kidding.
- I ain't never seen one of them before. - One what?
One of them - a colored.
You've gotta get off the farm more.
I'll have some of that and some of this and some of that.
- Save a brother some scraps. - Back off, midget.
Who you calling midget? You big-toothed clown.
Grab your red hat and lantern and get back on the front lawn.
I'll let you know when the full-sized men are done eating.
Easy, choppers. I seen Pontiacs with smaller grilles than those teeth of yours.
- Taco, nacho, burrito? - No. I'm looking for hot dog-o.
Taco, nacho, burrito?
No, no. Hot dog-o.
Hot dog-o.
Nacho?
What are you lookin' at? Ain't you never seen a black man before?
Yeah. I've seen plenty of folks like you.
So, are you from Harlem?
- You think all blacks are from Harlem? - Are all of you from Mayberry?
- Take it easy. He didn't mean nothin'. - Mind your business, man.
Hey, look, guys. My name's Togo Railey. I'm from El Paso.
Where y'all from?
Bobby Joe Hill, from Detroit.
Yeah. I'm Willie Cager. South Bronx.
Forward.
Jerry Armstrong. Eagleville. Missouri. All-State. 19 boards a game.
Starting forward.
Whoo!
- Go. Miners. - That's it. Jerry.
Harry Flournoy.
Gary. Indiana.
United Steel Mill day shift.
The starting forward.
Back to the cows. Jethro.
Come on. Flournoy, get that. Get it. Flournoy. Get it, get it!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Throw the ball, come on!
- Hey, hold the basket still, bite-size. - Orsten, shut your tusk! Cager! Cager!
Get off me.
Cager! Cager! Downtown. Willie, take it downtown!
Oh!
- You moved the basket! - Advantage black man, for once.
What? What, farm boy? What?
Hold up! Get over here!
This is just another example that knuckleheads
come in all sizes, shapes and colors.
You're pitiful. Pitiful!
Messing around down here like a bunch of kindergarten kids.
Now, you get this place cleaned up and try to act like you got some sense.
- You think you can do that? - Yeah.
You son of a gun. You got David Lattin to come here and play basketball.
It's David Lattin.
I used to read about him in the paper.
How in the world did you swing that?
Ooh-whoo!
Whoo-wee!
How you doin', brother?
Should have left your hand out. Might have gave ya a tip.
Man. I'll bust that big ox upside his head.
Worsley. You know it'd take three men your size
to rip that boy's picture in half.
My old man wants me working on that farm.
He thinks playing basketball is a waste of time.
I think different.
- You the new players? - Yeah, that's right.
- You don't look like much to me, guys. - Whoa, whoa. Easy, bro.
- You lookin' at the new Mighty Miners. - Mighty Miners?
You're at a hole-digging college. A commuter school.
Playing for a girls' basketball coach. The Mighty Miners. Ha-ha!
That's funny.
What is he talking about. girls' basketball coach?
You're here to learn fundamental. disciplined defensive basketball.
Now, that means discipline both on and off the court.
No girls.
No booze. No late nights.
Nothing besides fundamental basketball.
I speak, you listen.
I don't wanna hear "can't" or "won't" or "Coach. I'm bleeding."
I don't wanna hear anything except the basketball bounce.
You play basketball my way. My way's hard.
Especially if your guard's wearing a skirt.
What's the matter? You got mud on your feet?
Move those feet! Get down, get low, son! Come on, come on!
Now, we do not play defense standing up! Get your butt down!
Lower! Make it uncomfortable! There you go.
What's the matter, son? Your skirt bothering ya?
Come on, come on. Lattin, go hard! Lock him down.
You in my office!
Shed, what was that? You let him put his armpits in the rim.
Are you kiddin' me?
We do not back down here, ever!
You own this part of the court!
And. Lattin. I said no dunking.
Now, let's do it again, come on.
Nice shot, big man.
Excuse me. Wilt. Big ox.
Keep your hand out there a little longer. Somebody might give you a tip.
Shed, what's up? You looking like Lattin's shadow out here. Big guy like you scared.
Not as scared as you when I come after you with a fly swatter, ya leprechaun.
Don't touch my stuff, brother.
Leave that to the big boys.
Probably ain't even heard of the Panthers back in Indiana.
Man. I know about 'em.
It's one thing to know about 'em. It's another to live the life.
Well. I don't need a book to live a life.
Brothers! Mm. We crossin' the bridge tonight.
I hear Juarez is jumpin' with some fine gals.
What are you gonna do when you find 'em, fool? You don't speak Español.
- This don't need no translation. - Coach Haskins set the rules.
He has his rules. I got mine. Rule number one: Let's get into some trouble.
- Come on! - Willie Worsley needs the ladies.
- Better be some girls there too, brother. - You don't know what to do with 'em.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Peace, brother.
- You know we got practice in the a, m. - Well, good.
You stay here and you get a good headstart.
- I'm going back. Somebody come with me. - Hey, relax. Shed. Just smile.
Everybody try to look Mexican.
I'm six foot three.
Try to look like three Mexicans, then. How you doin'? All right.
- Worsley, you next. - No, no, no, no.
Elijah Muhammad and the Black Muslims say that liquor steals a man's mind.
Man. Elijah Muhammad never played for a crazy white man.
Excuse me, señor. Señor?
You mind fillin' this shot glass up with some cold water?
My man Worsley wants to take a swim.
Oh! Oh!
Seriously. I'm not busting my butt out there for him anymore.
They're using us. so I'm gonna use 'em right back.
Education is the key, guys.
Blah, blah, blah.
Hey, hey. Educate this.
- Hey, sweet thing. - Gracias.
What's your name?
Why do you need to know my name? You ain't gonna be usin' it.
You all business tonight?
Looks like a cold night in Mexico for you, boy.
Doing OK. Tina?
Hey, listen. I was just playing with you back there.
My name is Bobby Joe.
My friends call me Bobby Joe.
Tina. And I go to the same school you do.
And I'm not about to fall for that smooth-talking Negro routine.
- My mama warned me about you. - Your mama don't even know me.
She said watch out for pretty boys with big smiles, worn shoes.
and single dollars in their pockets.
Well, that's not me. I'm telling you, you got me all wrong.
Cómo estás. everybody?
What was that, son? I didn't get that.
How is everybody today? Feeling all right?
You OK, Bobby Joe?
Hey. I hear you speak Spanish, right?
- Sir? - I'm just wondering.
You looking a little tired. All that fancy footwork of yours tire you out yesterday?
Or was it something else?
Now, because some of you were bitten by the evil worm last night.
this morning, all of you are gonna run.
- The evil worm never bit me! - Hundred lines! Let's do it! Let's sprint!
Lattin, get to the baseline, son.
Y'all are gonna burn holes in your shoes today!
You look like you're running in mud, son! Are you kiddin' me? Are you kiddin' me?
Hill, get your butt down.
There's 31 days before the season starts. and you're gonna run every one of 'em.
Oh, that was pretty. Hey, that was real pretty.
Everybody see that behind-the-back? The circus has come to town.
- What are you doing? - I'm just playing my game.
We're playing my game here. All that other stuff's just insecurity.
Great players make simple, basic. easy plays. Showboating's just insecurity.
He didn't want us playing our game? Why'd he bring us here?
- Man. I'm sick of him riding my butt. - I don't need this, man!
- You know what I'm sayin'? - Yes, you do.
This ain't basketball. You killing us!
Well, from where I'm standing. you don't got much to bargain with.
What?
You wanna quit?
You quit right now. you'll quit every day the rest of your life.
Watch.
Don't worry. Gunsmoke wasn't that good tonight.
How was the practice?
That good, huh?
Come on! Move those feet! Move the ball, faster! Faster!
Get off me, farm boy.
- Quit your crying. Harlem. - I told you I wasn't from Harlem!
Knock it off! Knock it...
Knock it off! Knock it off! Knock it off! Knock it off!
You'd done that in a game. it'd be a technical foul for fighting.
Both of you'd be ejected. Probably cost us the game, son.
Baseline, everybody. Y'all gonna run 'cause of their selfishness.
Two weeks before the game. and you still don't listen.
Class, make sure can you identify all the minerals in your boxes.
I'll be passing around to your stations. so if you have any problems, let me know.
This team does not play playground ball.
We play fundamental, disciplined defensive basketball.
Togo? Hey, show Mr.. Cager how to make a shot.
There you go.
- You want me to do that? - Mm-hm.
Come on. Coach. What about my stylin'? I got way too much style to do that.
You leave the styling for the barber shop. Just show me you belong in the NCAA.
OK, guys.
You're a smart kid. Harry.
But these grades ain't pulling the truck up the hill.
It's just that every class is about rocks. and I'm a black man. I don't do rocks.
Mm-hm.
You got two weeks to get your grades up. Or else.
- You hear me? - Yes, sir.
- How'd it go? - What's he gonna do?
He's already run our asses ragged.
She's a great girl.
Mm! What's that girl?
- Is she cute? - No.
- Yeah. - She's a cutie pie, but she's not cute.
Who can tell me the field classification of phaneritic rocks?
My son Harry can.
Yes, ma'am.
Granite, syenite and gabbro.
Can anybody tell me how they are formed?
Yes, ma'am. Harry can.
- By slow cooling plutons? - And what is a pluton?
Harry.
It is a deep-seated igneous intrusion with no visible floor.
Very good. Harry.
You know I love you, but...
Nah. I can't. I can't do that. Not again.
Please, baby. Don't make me do it again. Please.
Ah!
Don't ever enter when I'm entertaining a lady friend!
- I didn't know. - Check that vent!
I told you when that vent's open. it's too hot for you to come in here.
- Hey, man, cool down, man. - You dig?
OK. OK.
Shed.
- Come on, brother. - Here we go now.
Can't be good for his back.
Shed.
Have you even slept in your bed yet?
Hey, it's time for practice. You've been sleeping out here all night.
Rise and shine. Like you used to it.
Here, man. Go buy yourself a hot dog-o.
Gimme your base. Balls of your feet.
Get your arms up. Get your arms up. There you go.
I know I told you not to dunk, but if he's playing that weak, slam it down his throat.
You know what. Shed? You're like a duck. You wake up in a new world every day.
Waitress down at Dairy Queen's tougher than you are.
All right. Hey, move your feet. Come on, get back to the practice.
- Well, there's seven of them. - Actually, there's 12 in all.
Yeah, but seven of the other ones.
Coach...
You're going home.
Home? What are you talking about?
Too afraid to rebound and defend. You're too soft.
- That's why I'm sending you home. - Ah, come on! No!
The season's two days away. You can't send me home!
I can't have a big man that's afraid to play like one.
- No. - There's your ticket.
Coach. Please!
I'll never be able to look my daddy in the eye again! Coach!
Look at those moves! Look at how he slices the defense! He's unstoppable!
Look at that jump shot!
It's all good! Roy, it's all good!
The crowd goes wild. Roy.
You spilled a lot of sweat on this floor.
and it's gonna pay off.
Now. I know it seems I've been hard on you for no reason.
But I've been tough because I know how good you can be.
People outside this gym, they don't think we got a chance this season.
playing with players none of the big schools wanted.
But those people don't know you. I do.
You're talented. You're disciplined.
And you care about the guy standing next to you.
That's how we're gonna win. starting tomorrow night.
So let's go out there and let's play Texas Western basketball.
Let's make that mean something.
On three.
One, two, three.
Miners!
All right, all right.
- Let's go, quick. Come on. - Here we go.
- What are you still doing here. Shed? - I'm... I'm ready to play.
Well, you had your chance to be a man. Now, go on. Take your ticket and go home.
- Come on, man, let me play. - I can't. You might get hurt.
Let me play!
Come on, come on, come on! I don't care how tired you are.
That's the way to play.
Let me look at that. Come here and let me look at that! Hold on.
- I'm all right. - I know you're OK.
You're walking, but your nose ain't in good shape. You're getting blood all over.
- I'm all right. - Hold your head back. You're bleeding.
All right, let's play. Come on.
Quit hopping around like a jack rabbit. I said rotate in.
You a catcher now?
- Ain't nothing gonna stop me from playing. - He won't go to the doctor. Coach.
That's right. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay.
Just go get your nose taken care of. We're gonna need ya this season, all right?
There you go. Nevil.
Hi again, everybody. This is Judd Milton. the voice of the Miners on KTSM 1380.
Welcome. It's our home opener.
and we're hosting the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico State College.
This is a night of questions.
Will Don Haskins, the little-known coach of the Benjamin High School girls' team.
be able to lift the Miners to respectability?
- Let me see. - Let go!
- What? - Don't touch it, man.
Hey, man. Where were you?
It was a late night. if y'all know what I mean.
Are you ever gonna straighten up, man?
Somebody say something?
And now your Texas Western Miners!
At guard. El Paso's own David Palacio!
At forward, from Eagleville. Missouri. Jerry Armstrong!
At guard, from Detroit. Michigan. Bobby Joe Hill!
At forward, from Gary. Indiana. Harry Flournoy!
And in center, from Houston. Texas. David "Big Daddy D" Lattin!
Three of 'em. Wallace. They look like the damn Tuskegee Institute out there.
Just when did we become a colored school?
... your 1965 Texas Western Miners!
The Miners win the tip-off to start the season.
- Go. Hill. Set it up. Take your time. - Set it up!
Hey, protect the ball.
Not a good start for the Miners.
Hey. Hill, you notice your man just scored on you?
Mitch, over here, over here!
- Hill spins to the basket, puts it up for two! - Stop showboating!
Fundamental basketball. Hill. Watch your base.
You didn't have a base - that's how he went around you.
Coach Haskins trying to mold these guys into team players... Cager for two.
Cager, just lay the ball off the board.
Get your hand in his face, son! You gotta challenge that shot.
Right here, over here. Shoot it.
Where's the D? There ain't no D.
Hill wheelin' and dealin'. The ball's loose!
- That's why I don't want you showboating. - Let's go!
Hey. Armstrong. Hey. Flournoy. Are you kiddin' me?
Lattin, you're ankle-deep in the floor, son.
Drive that ball! There it is!
Hey. I saw it, son.
And the Miners lead by four.
They need one stop now.
Good defense. Armstrong! Good defense!
So the Don Haskins era begins in victory. A four-point win
over a less-than-impressive squad from Eastern New Mexico.
But the real story tonight -
Coach Haskins putting three Negro players into the starting lineup -
a move that's sure to stir things up both on and off the court this season.
- You've got all the moves, don't you? - Oh, yeah.
Tried it on a hundred girls?
Ah...
Maybe 50 or 60.
I'm tired of moving around. I just wanna stay in one place for a while.
Put down some roots for once. You got what it takes, Bobby Joe?
- Hey. Coach. I can't go no more! - I think you can go some more.
You got energy for all kind of nonsense instead of putting it in your team!
Instead of demonstrating some respect and being a leader!
I ain't got no team!
We ain't going nowhere! You telling us all the time how bad we are!
We know we ain't gonna win! What do I got to respect?
My old man drove a truck for the better half of his life.
Now, there ain't nothing wrong with that... other than the fact he hated it.
That's the only way he knew how to put food on the table
and give his kids a chance to do something they loved.
I love this game. I love this game.
I never was the greatest player.
But I busted my butt. and I outworked better players.
I ain't the smartest coach, but I bust my butt and I outwork smarter coaches.
And when I see the talent you got and I see you wasting it, ticks me off.
Now, if you couldn't get in the gym. if you didn't have the opportunity.
there'd be nothing for us to talk about.
but, son. I've been there. Times are different. You're in the gym.
And if you're in the gym, you step out on that floor, you better respect my father, me.
and you better respect yourself and play some basketball.
Midway through the first half. Iowa playing well.
Of course, that's to be expected. They're undefeated, number four in the country.
Iowa, always a contender in the Big Ten. And there's a bucket for the Hawkeyes.
Coach Haskins is not happy. It's an eight-point game right now.
Hey! Tighten up out there!
Stay on him! Stay on him!
Shed, box out! Shed!
- Count the bucket. - Shed, would you box out?
That's it! We got 'em now.
Texas Western struggling to score against this tough Hawkeyes' defense.
And there's a great block just before the half.
I've seen a lot of rough halves in basketball, but the Miners are struggling.
They'll go to the locker room down by 16 points.
Say it. Hill. Come on. Hill, say it.
We can't play like this! They're better than us at your game.
You need to let us loose!
Just stick to the plan, Bobby Joe.
You want fundamental basketball, right?
Iowa is just flat outplaying Texas Western. It's been a difficult game so far.
Ain't our night. Coach.
Hey. Hill. Time-out. Time, time, time!
Time-out, white.
Coach...
if you let us play our game.
All right. Hill, you play your game. And you play my game.
- You ready to play? - Yeah, let's do it.
And the Miners have a couple of baskets back to back.
Still, though, a huge deficit.
Orsten Artis with a steal. Bounce pass to Bobby Joe Hill. He drives it in for two!
Well, the Miners have really turned it up a notch defensively.
Now it looks like Iowa is the team that's struggling.
This full-court pressure by the Miners has the Hawkeyes rattled.
Go to the basket! Go!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
Whoo! Whoo!
The comeback is on. 59-48. Iowa still with the lead.
Come on, son.
Bring us home.
Defense! Defense!
There it is.
Yeah!
Down 16 at the half. Texas Western has clawed their way back into this game!
Miners trail by one with 15 seconds left in the game. They have a shot to win this.
Hill! Hill! Nine, nine!
Spread their D! Their D!
Hill goes down the middle. Looks right, nothing there.
Looks left. He's gonna try it himself!
He is swarmed by Hawkeyes. splits the defense, puts it up!
And it's good! Miners win!
Miners win! I'm seeing it with my own eyes and I still don't believe it!
The Miners take down perennial powerhouse Iowa.
number four in the nation and the first top-ranked team we have faced all year!
These Miners are for real!
You were playing tonight. not acting like a chump.
I'm never a chump. I was always a player.
My man.
Douse the fire and call in the dogs!
Whoever heard of Texas Western? Well, the Hawkeyes have.
- Y'all going to church? - Shh!
Shut up.
Why we got these honkies with us?
Yeah, what are you honkies doing here?
Hey, man. We got more in the car behind us too.
- What are you doin' up front? - Calm down.
Hey! Don't...
Ooh-ee!
Big Daddy's home, baby.
Hi.
Baudoin! Man, you something else!
I didn't think a white boy would eat chitlins! Pig intestines.
- What's your friend's name? - Uh...
- That's Big Daddy. - Hm.
I'm-I'm Little Daddy.
So I was wondering... Do you guys wanna be called colored or black?
- Do we look like a load of laundry to you? - Jerry, look.
Jerry, we black. OK?
- Black? - Yes. We black.
- I thought you were called the other one. - No, man. Black is bad, man. Bad.
That's what I mean, black is bad.
- Can I preach to him? - Preach on.
- No. Mayberry Jerry. "Bad" means good. - OK, now.
- No, no, no. "Bad" means bad. I know that. - No, no. Listen.
With Ellie Mae. Uncle Jed and Granny out on the farm. "bad" might be bad.
- Well... - But with us. "bad" is good. You dig?
- Say it, rev. - Come on.
- OK. "bad" is good. - Talk to me, baby! You're with me now.
OK.
So then what does "good" mean?
- Is that Billy Joe Royal? - Yeah.
His white ass wouldn't know the poor side of town if I dropped him off in it.
Ah!
- What you got? - Wait, wait. Check this out.
Y'all know this song?
Aw, man! Turn that down!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Now we're gettin' our groove on, baby.
Hey, hey.
You cats need to get with this.
- New Orleans! - New Orleans!
Whoo!
For 12 years. I've been a good friend to this school.
I support basketball, football. put up the money for the stadium.
Always had Texas Western in my heart.
We could never have done any of it without you.
But I got a little problem with Haskins and all the colored boys he's playing.
Now, he doesn't need 'em to win, does he?
Well, we're undefeated.
Whoo, man.
- It's blazin' out there. - I'm starving.
Hey, man. I gotta hit the john. Order me some huevos rancheros.
Man, will you save that for El Paso? I'm ordering us some pancakes.
Whatever you get, get me something with salsa on it. OK?
- I already know what I'm gonna order. - Hey, y'all, pass the menus.
Hey. Great game last night. Never seen anybody play like that.
Oh, good morning.
I need eggs. I need some sausage. Sausage.
Unh!
- It must be a New York thing. - That's cool.
Unh!
Are you guys ordering pancakes?
Don't get your black stink on me, boy.
- Hold on! - Give it a good scrub, huh?
Have a merry Christmas, though. And have a good day. All right?
Hey, man, you see them eggs up there? Man, them a little plastic.
- I don't know, man. - Man, you can't see it.
Shed!
Shed, what happened? Something's wrong.
What happened, son? Shed, what happened?
- Help me out here. - What's going on? You all right?
- Help him. - Who did this?
Anybody see 'em?
Son, get on this bus. Let's go. Look at me. Look at me. Get on the bus.
- Baudoin. - Who did this?
- We ain't going nowhere! - Get on the bus! Everyone get on there!
- That everyone? - Move.
- I could kill a honky tonight. - Ain't nobody killing nobody.
I'm gonna start carrying a knife.
You show a blade. they gonna pull a shotgun.
What are we supposed to do? Just take it?
Look, we can't all live the Dr. King rule. What you want us to do?
- Get slapped, turn the other cheek? - Hell, no. I'm saying we think.
When we go to the South. we gotta go in twos.
We're always on the lookout for each other. Don't turn your back on them crackers.
Shed, you ain't gotta be embarrassed. Could have happened to any one of us.
I tell you right now, they won't catch us alone no more. I promise you that.
They come after one of us. they gonna have to fight all of us.
Mary?
You're really late, Don. Don't come home late without calling.
You know, things happen to people...
- Lemme get your plate and I'll heat it up. - Honey, what is it?
- Lemme get it. It'll only take a minute. - Mary, just talk to me. What is it?
Hey, what is this?
Honey, what is this?
- This the first? - No. I...
I throw them away as soon as I get them.
- Why didn't you say something to me? - I don't know. I just...
My family's most important. How can I protect you if I don't know what's going on?
Don.
Basketball's been our whole life. But it's just a game.
I don't know if it's worth this.
No, neither do I.
This is more than just a game now. And I sure as hell can't quit on it.
Nothing ever bothered me before.
It's like things. they rolled right off my back.
I just didn't care.
Now I care. That scares the heck outta me.
I don't wanna want something I can lose.
Baby.
There's nothing you can't lose.
But no one can ever take your desire away from you. No one.
Ever.
You know, Scoops, man, sometimes I don't even feel like going back out there again.
Look. You can't let them take basketball away from you, man.
You can't let them win.
I just don't know how much more of this I can handle, man. I ain't like you, all brave.
Sweet Pea, as long as I known you. you been stronger than you think.
Hey, you OK, Scoops?