A Great Story That Disney Apparently Didn't Think Was Good Enough

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2014)

There are certainly a few things to really like about this movie. I really like sports movies and this one certainly delivers on sports action, that for the most part, looked realistic.
I thought Josh Lucas did an excellent job as Don Haskins, although his actually resemblance to Coach Haskins is minimal. All of the acting was decent. The movie moves at a pretty good clip and keeps you interested.
And it's a great story about a great team...except apparently someone didn't think the story was good enough, because they took this really good story and changed it until it barely resembles the true story.
Yes, Texas Western won the NCAA title that year with an all African- American starting lineup and they did beat an all white Kentucky team in the finals and those two teams were coached by Haskins and Adolph Rupp. But after that, the movie is closer to a work of pure fiction than it is fact.
You just have to wonder what kinds of discussions go on when these projects are being developed. Yeah, it's a great story, but we really need to change it around, make up a few things, and you know what...why don't we just make most of it up.
There was one scene in the movie that portrayed the Miners traveling to East Texas State for a game and showing an extremely hostile, racist crowd. The only problem with that scene is that Texas Western didn't play East Texas State on the road that season, they played them at home in the 2nd game of the season.
I'm not saying that what was portrayed never happened, but it certainly didn't happen that season, which (oh by the way) was not Haskins 1st year at TW (it was his 5th season) and (oh by the way) the seven players featured in the movie were not all brought in during the same year (during the championship season, two were seniors, two were juniors, and three were sophomores).
The facts of the Kansas game in the regional finals were equally ignored for the sake of who knows what. At least they got Jo Jo White's name correct.
If it weren't for the mis-truths, made up stuff, etc., I probably could have given this a 7. It is a decent movie. But why make up a bunch of stuff when the original story was good enough as it was.