Almost everyone here knows what happened that year; (then) Texas Western beat Kentucky in a landmark
game that inspired a generation of young black Americans to go to college. But suppose that game had
never been played? As it turns out, the odds are nearly 15 to 1 against it, the odds that one of Duke's four
star players would be sick in the semifinal game with Kentucky, thereby changing the outcome. So, I wrote
a book about how Duke guard Bob Verga's illness affected millions of Americans lives by changing the 1966
finals game everybody saw. Written by a former 1970s North Carolina civil rights leader, a number of chapters
are worth a look, including Chapter 3 about what Texas Western faced, Chapter 4 about the Civil rights
movement, and Chapter 10 about what if for Black America if Duke had played the game instead of
Kentucky. That's "The Bob Verga Shift"! Check it on my web site.
game that inspired a generation of young black Americans to go to college. But suppose that game had
never been played? As it turns out, the odds are nearly 15 to 1 against it, the odds that one of Duke's four
star players would be sick in the semifinal game with Kentucky, thereby changing the outcome. So, I wrote
a book about how Duke guard Bob Verga's illness affected millions of Americans lives by changing the 1966
finals game everybody saw. Written by a former 1970s North Carolina civil rights leader, a number of chapters
are worth a look, including Chapter 3 about what Texas Western faced, Chapter 4 about the Civil rights
movement, and Chapter 10 about what if for Black America if Duke had played the game instead of
Kentucky. That's "The Bob Verga Shift"! Check it on my web site.