Continuity mistake: After Texas beats Kentucky, Willie Cager runs up into the stands to hug his mom and it looks to be a very long hug but in the very next shot he is seen on the floor with the rest of the team and he is holding the ball in the air.
Continuity mistake: During the Kentucky game, in the second half, Shed passes the ball to Artis, then Artis passes it to Cager and Cager spins it off the backboard. Well on the bench you see Shed cheering for Cager, while the announcer is announcing what just took place. (01:41:10)
Continuity mistake: Shed throws the dollar back at the teammate who gave it to him, but in the shot that shows the hall floor, the dollar is nowhere to be seen.
Continuity mistake: Before the final game starts, the ref shakes the hand of the Kentucky coach. But they are shaking with their LEFT hands. It appears the film was reversed as the ref's pocket is also on the wrong side - it is on the right side of the shirt instead of the left, where you would usually find a shirt pocket. Later in the film, you can see the same ref with no pocket on the right side of the shirt.
Answer: Yes. He really did integrate them to teach them to work as a team and give them guidance to help them off the field (such as with school work). His coaching method shown in the film is also accurate. Coaches screaming at the players, mocking them, and being what we would say is "harsh" with them was common coaching practice in the 70s that no-one would have batted an eye to. Especially in the south. Coach Boone would have especially been under pressure to show his players he meant business due to the concern that some of them might not take him seriously as a new black coach. If he had been seen as "easy", the team may not have been motivated to do as well as they did.