"" turned out to be my closest friend,"" Barksdale said. ""We went to London and won all 12 games and got the gold medal."" But he had to brush off indignities just about every step of the way. . . Later, coach Rupp told Barksdale, ""Son, I wish things weren't like that, but there's nothing you or I can do about it."" Barksdale agreed. He lived by a very simple philosophy. He wasn't interested in protest; he was interested in playing basketball. He had faced prejudice before, and he knew that he would face it again.