No. I don't respond negatively to the idea (though I'd lean against) so much as to some of the reasons advanced for it in this article.
The "winningest and best" is only half true. She's not the best and hasn't been for a long time. She is/has been a great recruiter and master motivator. She was outstanding at coaching certain aspects of the game (defense, rebounding) but never, at her best, was as brilliant overall as Geno especially, and a few others.
And she has no special claim to association with the National Championship either directly (Geno will equal and then surpass her record on that in the not so distant future) or by general weight of accomplishment (latter point more arguable).
And the final thing that sticks in my craw is the "Geno waged a war of words to which she didn't respond." His "war" was never serious, just some "smart remarks" that were uppity at worst. She wasn't equipped for any number of reasons to respond in kind, which would've been entertaining. But she did respond, in ways that were not to her credit.
I can see this thread getting to be a problem and will have to watch it. But we can give Ms. Summit all due credit without exaggerating her skills or rectitude as this writer does.
Really interesting perspective.
I gave Pat credit for making the game "athletic", which has maybe had some bad consequences in terms of injury rates, and so forth.
I'm also no way, no how interested in seeing the women's game mimic or become the men's game, so I've enjoyed the differences when teams like Stanford or UConn have been successful.
All over the country, the women's game is suffering from attendance drops, poor referee pools, and a dropoff in many high school programs as girls get hooked into other sports such as soccer or volleyball. I am hoping the new generation of women's basketball coaches can get momentum going forward again, and I think that may be out of the reach of the older coaches like Pat or Tara VDV or McGraw.
I probably would NOT want the Trophy named for her, but maybe some other award that would be pertinent to coaches.
