Don Haskins Quotations

I see five black guys on the first-team All-SWC team.

I played for the best coach who ever lived, Henry Iba. I wasn't intimidated by Adolph Rupp.

I really did not think a thing about playing five black players to start the game; they were our best players and deserved to start. But if I knew all the misery it was going to cause me in the weeks following the game, I'd have thought long and hard about it. The players from Kentucky were gracious about it, but many of their fans and people from other parts of the country did not want to see it.

It's not about talent, it's about heart. It's about who can go out there and play the hardest. They're not going to give us anything, so you've got to go out there and you've got to take it.

I spent 18 months, off and on, with the script writer. I might as well have not spent one second with him.

The worst time of my life was the next two weeks that we won the championship and thousands of hate letters started coming in. And it really didn't dawn on me what this was all about until that time.

They made it a big deal after the Kentucky game. That particular night, believe me, I'm not thinking about that. We got home, and all of that was a total shock to me.

That left a lasting mark on me. Here was a person who bled the same color as I did, yet he was treated differently. That's why it was very, very easy for me to treat all of my players the exact same regardless of what they looked like.

I walk now and try to take care of myself, but I wished I had done some things a lot earlier. People need to take care of themselves and they need to start it at an early age.

I'm glad they got it done. I'm happy for the players; I'm happy for the fans, even the ones who weren't around at the time.

I remember some black leaders said I was an exploiter.

I remember a lot of name calling. If I didn't turn around, they didn't get to turn around. Whatever was said was said to deaf ears.