The Amazing Case of Pat Summitt

On Wednesday, arguably the best college basketball coach ever retired years too early.  I know American non-Olympic sports culture focuses on men’s sports almost exclusively, but Pat Summitt, the coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols, should be remembered as perhaps the most influential women’s sports figure in history.

First off, Summitt was extremely successful.  Thirty eight years on the bench gave Summitt 8 national championships and 1,098 games won, the most of any coach across both spheres of college basketball, along with an amazing 18 Final Four appearances.  She does not own the championship record (John Wooden with 10) but Summitt created a juggernaut in her sport.  Many women’s programs strive to emulate the style of Summitt’s program at Tennessee.  As to that style, Rocky Top nation owes Summitt individually for building the women’s basketball team into the most dominant college program since women’s basketball became a sanctioned-sport for the NCAA.  Her beginnings explain much of her personal resolve.

Summitt started as a graduate assistant, suddenly promoted to head coach in 1974 when her predecessor quit.  She made $200 and washed the player’s uniforms herself (the team used proceeds from a donut sale to buy those jerseys by the way).  Summitt devoted herself to the team even as she trained for the 1976 Olympics.  In 1976, Summitt started winning in buckets, directing two 20-win seasons and winning the Association for Intercollegiate Women’s Athletics championship, the top title in the country at that time.  From there, you know most of the story.  Tennessee began pumping money into the program, using Summitt’s success as a catalyst for recruits and revenue.  Needless to say, her hard work paid off.

Most important about Pat Summitt, however, is her contribution to college basketball by putting the women’s game on the map.  Certain programs come and go in all sports (Delta State and Chayney State both played very well in 1980s women’s basketball, for example) but Summitt created the stable program of women’s basketball.  My post a few weeks ago detailed the lack of parity in the sport as a whole, but do you think UConn or Baylor would invest in their programs without the template for success provided by Summitt at Tennessee?  Other coaches probably would have emerged, but a young talented coach like Summitt who climbed the mountain of success so quickly proved women’s basketball could work and work well.  Former Tennessee men’s coach and Summitt friend Bruce Pearl said today to ESPN that Summitt proved women’s basketball could be fun and stylish, regularly drawing in 20,000 spectators and, eventually, television executives.

In addition, Summitt worked her magic in her own professional way.  Even if you know nothing about the Tennessee regime, new head coach Holly Warlick assisted Summitt for 27 years straight.  That’s 27 different Hunger Games books and, ultimately, 5 more years than I have lived.  Given Tennessee’s success, Warlick must have had her own opportunities to take over other programs, but stuck with Summitt.  Such loyalty belies the relationship Summitt strives to establish with her colleagues and players.  It helps so many in the basketball world, from Dick Vitale to Coach K to Bob Knight all attest to Summitt’s incredible attitude and character.

That made it all the more sad when Summitt announced she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia last year, a precursor to Alzheimer’s.  I watched her announcement via the internet and realized simultaneously at that point how well this woman performed for so many years and how little attention she received from the wider sports world while doing so.  How many folks knew Summitt won the most games of any college coach ever before today?  Her contributions to basketball are not meager by any stretch of the imagination and seem all the more incredible when the story of her first years comes out.  For many years, before the days of multiple powerhouse programs, Tennessee dominated the women’s basketball landscape, drawing any attention for women’s basketball to Knoxville.  And, most importantly, Summitt delivered in the limelight without scandal or compromise to her values.

Is she the best college coach ever?  Arguably, but I think probably not.  As I said three weeks ago, the lack of parity in the women’s game makes long-term success easier, so from a pure sports perspective someone like Coach K has the upper edge.  But don’t forget that every time you hear about women’s basketball, pro or college, Pat Summitt contributed to that.  She won all those games in a sport largely devoid spotlight or scrutiny for many years, and once that attention ramped up, she performed better.   A more aptly named persona might not exist in sports, and while we may not know it now, I bet more fans will miss Summitt in the coming years.

Bit #1: Early analysis of the Redskins schedule

The NFL released their official schedule on Wednesday night to the great pleasure of many.  For the Skins, however, the schedule looks awfully good for the first few weeks before degrading into a gauntlet for likely QB Robert Griffin III.  The first game against the Saints might sound awful, but given the penalties to the Saints coaches and likely suspensions for players, that and the Week 2 matchup against St. Louis look very winnable from here.  After that, however, the Skins will need to prove themselves.  The NFC East continues to be competitive, and add to that the perennially good Steelers and Falcons, the up and coming Panthers, the AFC North champs Baltimore Ravens, and the free agency winners Tampa Bay and that’s the Redskins schedule.  I’m already thankful for the matchup in Dallas on Thanksgiving, but considering they must play the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants three weeks in a row, the season might be over around then for Washington.

Bit #2: Too much attention on Tannehill

I thought a while ago this year’s class of misfits of QBs would scratch some heads.  Last week, Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M confused so many draft analysts that Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, draft analysts on ESPN, entered into a heated argument about how to evaluate Tannehill.  While I understand Tannehill seems to be vaulting up draft boards, I’m picking him as a draft bust in the NFL if taken in the top 15.  I have difficulty believing a former wide receiver could switch to quarterback in the NFL.  And yet, Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State, a great athlete having played both baseball and football, continues to fly under the radar.  I understand the concern about Weeden’s ripe old age of 29, but he has won more than Tannehill over more years and clearly has the maturity necessary to lead a team on the field.

Bit #3: Champions League fun

The semifinals began this week in Munich and London and delivered highly taut matchups.  Bayern Munich scored in the 90^th minute to defeat Real Madrid, a very big deal considering Munich’s alleged talent deficiency in this matchup.  The next day, Chelsea held on for a 1-0 win over Barcelona in London despite being vastly outplayed.  For fans, these wins were exciting and also guarantee tense atmospheres for the second legs in Spain.  Both Spanish teams need to win the next games to advance, but given the unconvincing wins by Munich and Chelsea, Barca and Madrid still hold the upper hands and should meet in the Final.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday, 2:45 on ESPN for the second legs.

Bit #4: Not looking good for the Caps

The Caps did not do well to lose Game 3 after fighting through to tie the game late, only to take a bad penalty and then give up a goal.  The man who took that penalty was Niklas Backstrom, now suspended for Game 4 for a mislabeled match penalty.  Without Backstrom, the Caps falter, failing to break out of their own zone without fits, much less set up goals.  Nikkie has been the man for the Caps this postseason, winning Game 2 but also providing stability for coach Dale Hunter at center, moving many depth players to their natural positions behind Backstrom.  That said, the Caps played great defense during every game of this series and have the ability to hold leads (unlike anyone in the Pittsburgh-Philly series, which is now the highest scoring first 4 games in playoff history) so I have a little more optimism.

Bit #5: Most underappreciated deal in recent NBA

With Kentucky’s press conference this week, the NBA Draft raised its head as something to look forward to during the summer.  At the same time, the Memphis Grizzlies are the trendy pick to make serious noise in the playoffs, but I remembered this week just how good the Grizz could be with Kevin Love.  Why would I think that?  Because the Grizzlies picked Love fifth overall in 2008, only to trade him for O.J. Mayo, the third pick of the Timberwolves.  While Mayo has played well as the shooting guard for Memphis, his utility does not come close to Love’s ability as a franchise changing player.  Love averages a double-double in his career (17.1 PPG, 13.7 RPG) and creates an awful matchup for any big man in the league.  Imagine him alongside Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol?  That’s a fearsome frontcourt.  While the “what-if” scenarios remain fruitless, they sure are fun to think about.

Bit #6: April 17, 1983 – Gretzky scores 7

On a night when the Penguins team scored 10 goals in a playoff game, Wayne Gretzky scored 7 goals by himself in one playoff game.  I normally wouldn’t post about this since I’ve already explained to you how good Gretzky was, but considering the “goaltending optional” series between the Pens and Flyers, it’s tough to believe one player existed who was able to score seemingly at will.  As an added benefit, go to this Wikipedia site and take a look at his many records.

Bit #7: April 18, 1966 – Bill Russell first black coach in basketball

That’s right one more Bit.  Bill Russell as a player was the greatest champion the NBA has ever known.  He dominated the boards, pulling down many rebounds and eventually grew the best old man beard in sports.  But Russell’s penetration into the coaching ranks of the NBA marked a demographic turning point for the league.  At about the same time Texas Western won the NCAA championship with five black players, Russell revolutionized the game of professional basketball, proving to many African-Americans that despite societal pressures they could find success in basketball.  The NBA has enjoyed the highest percentage of minority coaches compared to other pro sports and much of that starts with Russell.