Pat Summitt

[SmalltownHawk]

I'm not a huge girl's bball follower, but even I can feel the loss of an iconic coach like Pat Summitt. She grew that program to one of the best programs of the country, regardless of men's/women's sport. If you can coach long enough, well enough, to hover around, even surpass, some of John Wooden's records, you're an AMAZING coach. It's sad that her life has gone down this roads, be her battles that she has ahead of her are not ones that anyone wants to be engaged in.

I wish her luck in her battle and there will be a statue of Coach Summitt in Knoxville, TN in the very near future!!

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I was able to watch her coach what turned out to be her last game (Baylor beating Tennessee in Des Moines). I feel sad for her. Just a cruddy situation all the way around. I felt blessed to be able to see an iconic coach in person; on the flip side, felt bad knowing this would probably be her final season. She has done a great job raising her son. You can tell they have a close bond. She will be missed. And while it is sad to see a coaching legend leave the game before her time, it is more sad knowing the uphill battle she will face in the coming years.

 

[1hawkeye1]

I met her at a coaching clinic about 7 or 8 years ago. What a genuinely nice person she was! She really made an impression with me. Makes me sad to think what her future may hold.

 

[Foval21]

i read somewhere that when she started coaching she got 250 dollars a month and had to wash the uniforms herself. look how far she has come.

remarkable that this yrs senior class for her was the only one to never make a final four at least once (pretty sure i heard that somewhere).

i heard her at a coaching clinic and it doesnt matter men/women she knew basketball better than most and knew kids and how to push them better than most too.

 

[tm3308]

i read somewhere that when she started coaching she got 250 dollars a month and had to wash the uniforms herself. look how far she has come.

remarkable that this yrs senior class for her was the only one to never make a final four at least once (pretty sure i heard that somewhere).

i heard her at a coaching clinic and it doesnt matter men/women she knew basketball better than most and knew kids and how to push them better than most too.

C. Vivian Stringer was in the same boat. Women's basketball really hasn't been around all that long on the collegiate level. That's one reason why this generation of WBB coaches will go down as the best, because of the challenges they faced in the sport's infancy.

Summitt
Stringer
Geno

That's probably the all-time top 3, and they were all still active just 2 days ago. And I'd give them a real chance in any "greatest coaches" debate. Summitt and Stringer, in particular. There aren't many coaches I have more respect for than those two.

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

I think Stringers first college HC job was maybe unpaid.


Not to hijack the thread, but If you like women's basketball or just feel-good movies, watch "The Mighty Macs". One of those based on a true story heartwarming family movie. Immaculata College, an all-women's catholic school in Philly won the first 3 women's college basketball titles from 71-73 and was runner-up the next 3. Then Title XIV took affect and the large universities put money into their programs effectively making the small colleges unable to compete.

Here's the broadcast of the '73 title game First Nationally Televised College Women's Basketball Game - Immaculata vs. Maryland - Mighty Macs The Movie - Immaculata University

Interesting enough Summit began coaching TN the same year Cindy Rush took over the Immaculata program 1971

 

[FCAS]

i heard her at a coaching clinic and it doesnt matter men/women she knew basketball better than most and knew kids and how to push them better than most too.

Heard Bruce Pearl on the radio a few days ago talking about Summitt. Pearl stated that his players would occasionally get tips or advice from Summitt which they valued/respected as much as what they got from their actual coaches.

 

[Foval21]

i heard her at a coaching clinic and it doesnt matter men/women she knew basketball better than most and knew kids and how to push them better than most too.

Heard Bruce Pearl on the radio a few days ago talking about Summitt. Pearl stated that his players would occasionally get tips or advice from Summitt which they valued/respected as much as what they got from their actual coaches.

that doesnt surprise me because i would listen to summitt about basketball over pearl easily. she definitely knew more than he did.

 

[ssckelley]

Generally I tend to root against dynasties as you know damn well there is underhanded stuff going on in most (if not all) of them. But I have always respected what Summitt has done (and is still doing) for womens basketball.

It is sad to know what is going to happen to her and I hope they keep her out of the limelight like they did Reagan when her mind is gone. I lost one of my grandparents to this disease and I had a hard time visiting him when he got bad and I refuse to remember him like that.

 

[SmalltownHawk]

Maybe that is why I feel touched by this topic. I absolutely LOVE sports, and my grandmother passed away from this dehabilitating disease, just this year. For the last 5 years of her life you could see her mind leaving her, sometimes a day at a time. For the last 3 years it was VERY HARD to go visit her because she had no idea who you were, or where she was even at. Dimensia is an illness that dilutes one's self to a minute percentage of what they once were. As previsouly stated, I hope they keep her out of the limelight as well, when the time comes. Sad, sad deal overall.