Sure, UTEP slew a real dragon in its 15-point whipping of Oklahoma in the Sooners backyard. Enigmatic coach Tony Barbee finally earned a signature win.
But, in the glare of all the extra lights suddenly being trained on the Miners basketball team from around the country, a long shadow is fading. UTEP is losing an eminence that has accompanied the program for close to a half-century.
The legacy that was Don Haskins Basketball is disappearing.
Good thing, too.
The man Bobby Knight referred to as the "John Wayne of basketball" rode into the sunset over a decade ago, but his shadow has still been cast over the program he raised.
Comparisons that were inevitable but fading after The Bear's retirement were resuscitated when Barbee came to town.
But, think about it: other than Jason Rabe-did-what-he-shouldn't-have, Billy Gillispie and Doc Sadler had the styles of play (and accents) that reinforced the Haskins-ness of Minerball.
Tony Barbee exploded that with his up-tempo, dribble-drive ways, but took three years and the College Basketball Invitational to win 20 games in a season.
The Bear's shadow grew longer as Miner mainstays and media conjured memories of a coach who did more with less. Why couldn't Barbee?
Maybe because Barbee's push is to do more with more. But we dared to compare, and who compares favorably with a legend? Especially a retired legend.
It's undeserved, even if Barbee has seemed too prickly to embrace.
And it's unfair to The Bear. Don Haskins willingly gave up the mantel of his program. He wanted, and needed, rest after retiring in 1999.
He and those who helped him build the legend deserved to have the credits roll and the movie end. But no one in El Paso -- scratch that: all of us in El Paso have worked to keep the sun above the horizon, shining upon our hero.
How long has Haskins been riding into that sunset, anyway? Long enough to cause retinal damage, at least.
Long enough to hobble the present for the sake of the past, at most.
Except that it hasn't.
The crowds haven't been there. The passion, still lacking as fans have yet to be whelmed by UTEP and Conference USA.
But...
I saw the Miners upset Kansas in 1992. I saw the Fili and Omar Show. And, though I was in Albuquerque in the 1980's, I still saw plenty of Tim Floyd's recruits make UNM's Gary Colson pull at those curly gray locks.
I have watched 30 years of Miners basketball, and despite UTEP having only this Big Red Win right now, it must be said that Tony Barbee has recruited the single-most talented Miners lineup I have witnessed walk onto a court.
Derrick Caracter is a revelation. Arnette Moultrie is a lottery pick. Randy Culpepper is just sick. Then there's Christian Polk and Myron Strong and Jeremy Williams...when has this program ever been as deep and athletic?
And why the continued Barbee-bashing?
Perhaps it's Barbee's record that has fans turned off, but some perceive a lack of respect for El Paso and UTEP, too.
You can see "Mondays with Mike" during football season, but you don't see "Tuesdays with Tony".
Where's the Tony Barbee "I'm full of El Paso Pride" commercial?
All this is ignoring an obvious sign of respect. Though you better believe that Barbee is angling for another job, he is also stocking UTEP's pond with some awfully large fish where other Miners coaches just threw in a hook.
It is Tony Barbee's team coached Tony Barbee's way. The coach is unapologetic about demanding strong post play to fuel offense and defense. Anything else means the team is a sham, he has said.
Maybe this is what chafes at longtime UTEP followers used to quick guards, motion offense and gimmick defenses thrown in to excuse a lack of talent.
Except now there is no lack of talent. And no excuse -- this team needs to win.
As it does win, the sun will set and Haskins' shadow will fade. Bittersweet, but then those interested will be able to pick out the constellation Ursa Major in its proper place, in the night sky.
May the man, and his legacy, rest in peace.
Recent Comments