As the condition of legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt worsens, take a look back at some of her accomplishments at coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
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The disgusting Alzheimer’s disease that robbed her of her memory could never take away her pride. UConn coach Geno Auriemma passed Summitt after she retired.
We are in the process of finalizing the details of a public celebration of her life which will take place in one of her favorite places, Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tears have already been shed across the country, but they should revel knowing she is going to a better place.
“Nobody will ever impact the game of basketball like she has”, Singleton said. We try to do that. “That’s how she built her program to where it is”.
Amid reports of Summitt’s failing health, her family issued a statement Sunday asking for prayers and saying that the 64-year-old Summitt is surrounded by the people who mean the most to her.
Her death comes as Summitt’s family said they were “preparing for the worst” as her early onset dementia progressed. She cast an enormous shadow on women’s basketball and her beloved Lady Vols.
“Pat was the first one to offer to cook and have a meal at her house”, Ezell said. “I was completely unaware until I saw the stuff this morning. It made me really sad”. CT never would have been CT. She began her coaching career at Tennessee in the 1974-75 season, when her team finished 16-8. She forced the hand. Her basketball family is hurting right now. Tennessee – the only school she coached – won NCAA titles in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996-98 and 2007-08. She chose the Huskies. I ask that you respect the privacy of that time. She came to Tennessee from Deland, Fla., an inland city near Daytona Beach that left her unprepared to stay in step with Pat’s melting stares and harsh words when needed.
“I had no idea, but when I heard that it hurt so much”, Williams said. “It didn’t matter that I was a girl, either”, she shook her head with no humor. Summitt is the only person to have two courts used by NCAA Division I basketball teams named in her honor: “Pat Head Summitt Court” at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and “The Summitt” at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Cash smiled remembering a story how Summitt came and spoke at Cash’s athletic awards banquet when she was in 10th grade.
“Pat was always calling to check on me, but I didn’t know about that phone call”, Williams said.
Summitt was known for her intense demeanor, imposing presence and intimidating glare, often directed at players who had drawn her ire.
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Taurasi echoed that sentiment recalling the first time she saw Summitt in person.
