Last night I got a text from Travis telling me that Coach Haskins had passed away. He had really been struggling with his health in recent months, and I guess that I knew that it wouldn't be too long before he succumbed to it, but nonetheless, it hit me pretty hard. I have been blessed to have had some really extraordinary people in my life. My Dad, Coach Thomsen, Coach Iverson, Coach Knight, Larry, Dave, Coach Haskins. These people are as close to "heroes" as I have. In different ways, they have shaped me as the person that I am. More than that, none of them could possibly imagine the impact they have on me.
During my time in El Paso, and since, Coach and I became as close as two people who share the same birthday, but 44 years apart, could be. The times having a couple of drinks at the most hole in the wall places (Rosa's Cantina, Sassy's, and a couple of places I never caught the name of), the drives in the truck, the breakfasts and lunches, the phone calls. I will really miss the phone calls. The past 5 years, since I moved back to Indiana, we had a lot of those. I struggled with the fact that in the past year they had gotten less and less frequent. We talked a lot about basketball, but we talked about so much more, too. We talked about everything under the sun. I remember the excitement he shared with me in a conversation we had right after our kids were born. He was more a teddy bear in the years that I knew him than the intimidating person I had thought he was before spending time with him.
It would be impossible for me to write what Coach meant to me, what he meant to the sport of basketball, what he meant to the city of El Paso, or really what he meant to the world. I would recommend that anyone that hasn't seen it rents the movie "Glory Road." They made that movie about him. He told me it is about 80% accurate. You'll learn a lot about life in that movie. I was really, really blessed to learn some of those things from him personally.
Maybe the best college basketball coach to ever walk the sidelines, he did more with less than probably anyone ever has or will. He stood for loyalty, humility, and doing things through hard work and a team concept. He is in the Basketball Hall of Fame, they have named awards after him, and made a movie about him, but he would never talk about it. He stayed in El Paso when he could of went any number of places and made a lot more money and received a lot more notoriety. That wasn't him, though. I was at the gym this morning, and on the local news they ran a short story about him, but at the bottom of the screen it said, "Dennis Haskins dies at 78." I wanted to call the station right then and tell them to get it right, but in a way it was typical. He was a man that never wanted to stand out or be recognized, never wanted the spotlight. He broke barriers and changed lives, but never wanted the credit.
I last saw Coach last summer, August 16th, 2007. We traveled to El Paso for Travis and Kasia's wedding. Kim, the kids, and I went a couple of days early and I was a guest on his weekly radio show. It was a lot of fun, and is a lasting memory of a cherished time. We laughed and had a great time, as we always did.
I know that there will be so many people embrace his wife, Mary. She is such a special lady, and someone who was so kind to Kim and I when we were there. She is as sweet as there are, and my prayers are with her and the rest of the family.
During my time in El Paso, and since, Coach and I became as close as two people who share the same birthday, but 44 years apart, could be. The times having a couple of drinks at the most hole in the wall places (Rosa's Cantina, Sassy's, and a couple of places I never caught the name of), the drives in the truck, the breakfasts and lunches, the phone calls. I will really miss the phone calls. The past 5 years, since I moved back to Indiana, we had a lot of those. I struggled with the fact that in the past year they had gotten less and less frequent. We talked a lot about basketball, but we talked about so much more, too. We talked about everything under the sun. I remember the excitement he shared with me in a conversation we had right after our kids were born. He was more a teddy bear in the years that I knew him than the intimidating person I had thought he was before spending time with him.
It would be impossible for me to write what Coach meant to me, what he meant to the sport of basketball, what he meant to the city of El Paso, or really what he meant to the world. I would recommend that anyone that hasn't seen it rents the movie "Glory Road." They made that movie about him. He told me it is about 80% accurate. You'll learn a lot about life in that movie. I was really, really blessed to learn some of those things from him personally.
Maybe the best college basketball coach to ever walk the sidelines, he did more with less than probably anyone ever has or will. He stood for loyalty, humility, and doing things through hard work and a team concept. He is in the Basketball Hall of Fame, they have named awards after him, and made a movie about him, but he would never talk about it. He stayed in El Paso when he could of went any number of places and made a lot more money and received a lot more notoriety. That wasn't him, though. I was at the gym this morning, and on the local news they ran a short story about him, but at the bottom of the screen it said, "Dennis Haskins dies at 78." I wanted to call the station right then and tell them to get it right, but in a way it was typical. He was a man that never wanted to stand out or be recognized, never wanted the spotlight. He broke barriers and changed lives, but never wanted the credit.
I last saw Coach last summer, August 16th, 2007. We traveled to El Paso for Travis and Kasia's wedding. Kim, the kids, and I went a couple of days early and I was a guest on his weekly radio show. It was a lot of fun, and is a lasting memory of a cherished time. We laughed and had a great time, as we always did.
I know that there will be so many people embrace his wife, Mary. She is such a special lady, and someone who was so kind to Kim and I when we were there. She is as sweet as there are, and my prayers are with her and the rest of the family.
I wanted to share this article with you. It was written this morning by Dan Wetzel, a columnist for Yahoo.com, who shared a similar relationship with Coach. He is a good friend, and I thought he did a great job of painting a picture of what Coach was all about.
Coach would end every conversation you had with him by saying, "Adios." Unfortunately, I guess it is my turn to say, "Adios, Coach, Adios. I will miss you tremendously."
Coach would end every conversation you had with him by saying, "Adios." Unfortunately, I guess it is my turn to say, "Adios, Coach, Adios. I will miss you tremendously."
Appearing as a guest on Coach's radio show on August 16th, 2007. A treasured memory.
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