Published: September 25, 2005 12:38 am         

Don Haskins is coming to town

By Scott Fitzgerald Staff Writer



Don Haskins is coming to town.

Enid's native son who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 1997, and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Aug. 9, 1999, and is the main subject of an upcoming Walt Disney Pictures movie, "Glory Road," has confirmed through relatives he is coming to Enid.

"The Bear," or "Dandy Don" as he was known growing up in Enid, will attend an Enid Public School Foundation Hall of Fame banquet beginning at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in the recently built Enid High Food Court.

He and Dr. Wynn Mabry, a retired U.S. Air Force major general who was Chief of the Air Force Medical Operations Agency 1996 to 1999, will become the 12th and 13th inductees in the public school foundation's hall of fame.

"Those who are honored are those who have graduated from Enid High School or made a significant impact on Enid Public Schools or in their chosen fields," said Enid Public Schools spokeswoman Amber Graham Fitzgerald.

Banquet tickets are $50 and available from Enid Public Schools or foundation board members. The public schools phone number is 234-5270.

Earlier the same day, beginning at 11 a.m., Haskins will be honored at a city of Enid Parks Department dedication of outdoor basketball courts located west of the Cherokee Terrace Apartments and north of St. Mary's Regional Medical Center.

Referred to as the South 6th-East Maine basketball courts, city of Enid Park System, park board members approved renaming the park Don Haskins Basketball Courts during their May meeting.

Also in the works are negotiations with Walt Disney Pictures to get a special showing of "Glory Road" in Enid at Dickinson Theaters in Oakwood Mall.

Enid High School boy's basketball coach Shawn Schenk said he has talked with Walt Disney executives about the possibility of getting a special showing here of the movie that includes scenes depicted in Enid, but a final word has yet to come from the corporate office.

Studio executives and publicity people have announced a tentative release date for the movie on Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Day weekend.

A movie poster began appearing in August.

University of Texas at El Paso officials announced last month they are working with Disney to get a premiere showing of the movie.

The movie stars Josh Lucas as Haskins and centers around the 1966 Texas Western (now University of Texas, El Paso) basketball season that ended with an NCAA championship game victory over the University of Kentucky Wildcats and coach Adolph Rupp, who is played by Jon Voight.

Many historians and writers said the game single-handedly did more for racial equality in college sports than any other event as Haskins started five black players against Rupp's all- white team.

According to studio executives, the movie is said to open with a young Don Haskins playing one-on-one with a black friend, Herman Carr, of Enid, who is played by James Aaron.

Growing up in Enid, Haskins was known as "Deadeye Don" and was known for his baseball prowess in addition to his miraculous play on the hardwood that included a full-court length heave for two points in the 1948 district tournament championship game between Enid High and Stillwater in Convention Hall.

Alan Livingston, current executive director at Hedges Regional Hearing Center, remembers Haskins' exploits in high school.

"He (Haskins) worked on a jump shot during the summer of '47. We (younger kids) would rebound for him. He was a fantastic basketball player and really developed the art of the jump shot," said Livingston, who graduated from Enid High in 1955.