Here's George Will on 'Thunder Road':
Will-On "The Road"
Why state the obvious about this movie (that it takes liberties)? Why would it be different from any other picture?
Most of what he says is historically accurate, U of San Fran, the black all-americans, etc. The problem is he totally misses the point. It is not about TW starting 5 black players, it's about Rupp's refusal to recruit black players. This was all-white basketball's last stand. After Kentucky lost, it was obvious that allowing "race" to determine your recruiting policy was no longer a viable method of building a top program. Integrate or perish.
And could someone explain to me what is going on at the end of this piece? Is George conceding that racism existed in college basketball beyond 1950?! Or he is just content to state historical facts and let them hang without stating the significance?
Why ask such a stupid rhetorical question like, "What do you suppose that was about?" It was about race and limiting the effectiveness of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It was okay to have one Wilt Chamberlain. He was a freak. But after the all-white all-stars got beat, the cracker-white NCAA brass realized UCLA freshman Lew Alcindor would be eligible in '67. Alcindor could "slam dunk" without jumping. His enormous height and athletic advantage needed to be neutralized so grand white wizards like Pete Maravich could lead the nation in scoring while failing to qualify for the Tournament.
But George already knows all this.
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