Pat Summitt Head Coach Emeritus

[VAUConnFan]

Although this is not unexpected, I don't know why Tennessee wasn't planning for this all season. I can't believe Warlick is the best person for the job, I understand they want continuity, but it almost seems like they are going to try this approach for a year to see how it works...if I'm a recruit, no way am I getting near that.

She might not be, but after 27 years as an assitant, she has earned the right to prove she is not the best person for the job.

 

[CL82]

804–129.

That is 294 short. 8-9 more years. Geno can do it if he wants.

I had a similar reaction to this quote"

It's unlikely anyone will ever come close to matching Summitt's accomplishments in women's basketball, which has seen more parity in the past decade.​

Summitt's career ends with a 1,098-208 record, 16 regular season Southeastern Conference championships and 16 SEC tournament titles. She also led the 1984 Olympic team to a gold medal.​

During her time, Tennessee never failed to reach the NCAA tournament, never received a seed lower than No. 5 and reached 18 Final Fours.​

To quote another great Connecticut coach "It's Doable"

 

[Dove]

Here to just give a hat tip to Pat. She helped make for a great rivalry that fueled passion for chick hoops. Sounds like she's landing on here feet, tho.

 

[speedoo]

Tennessee was a Top 10 team. Hardly any cause for concern.

WAS is the key word. They won't be a top ten team again for a while, and for a lot of LV fans, etc., that is a huge cause for concern.

 

[alexrgct]

She might not be, but after 27 years as an assitant, she has earned the right to prove she is not the best person for the job.

Although that's an admissable perspective, the opposing viewpoint is that if she hasn't had head coaching opportunities elsewhere, what would make her the best candidate for one of the very top coaching opportunities anywhere? And yes, I'd have the exact same question for Chris Dailey in an analogous scenario. Either something didn't qualify her or she was happier being an assistant. Neither of those possibilities would give me a warm fuzzy.

 

[VAUConnFan]

They were a top 10 team because they were loaded with talented upperclassmen, many of whom will have graduated. They lost several winnable games to mediocre teams and were rarely competitive with good ones. Oftentimes, they looked out of sync, poorly conditioned, and unsure of what to do if their talent level and/or the Tennessee jersey didn't blow the other team off the floor. Moreover, they haven't had a committment in what seems like forever and have lost a prized committment during that same period. Tennessee has gone from being a top two program for three consecutive decades to being at risk of slipping significantly. I'd say there's cause for concern, and I'm not sure how a career assistant is the best person to manage it.

Tennesse is only four years removed from their last national championship and their last Final Four appearance. The Vols are not where they once were, but they have not fallen so far as to precipitate a housecleaning. If there were a number of up and coming women's programs knocking on the door, then I would be more inclinded to agree with you. Such is not the case. The only recent party crasher to continue partying has been Baylor.

 

[CL82]

I was going post on the checkerboard something along the lines that it was right decision, better for her to remembered in her prime, etc. but then I read the mean spirited thread there on Diana and figured- the heck with it.

So much for southern graciousness.

 

[UConnCat]

I was going post on the checkerboard something along the lines that it was right decision, better for her to remembered in her prime, etc. but then I read the mean spirited thread there on Diana and figured- the heck with it.

So much for southern graciousness.

Gracious thought on your part, but good call. Pearls before swine.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Although that's an admissable perspective, the opposing viewpoint is that if she hasn't had head coaching opportunities elsewhere, what would make her the best candidate for one of the very top coaching opportunities anywhere? And yes, I'd have the exact same question for Chris Dailey in an analogous scenario. Either something didn't qualify her or she was happier being an assistant. Neither of those possibilities would give me a warm fuzzy.

You caught the drift.

 

[doggydaddy]

Tennesse is only four years removed from their last national championship and their last Final Four appearance. The Vols are not where they once were, but they have not fallen so far as to precipitate a housecleaning. If there were a number of up and coming women's programs knocking on the door, then I would be more inclinded to agree with you. Such is not the case. The only recent party crasher to continue partying has been Baylor.

I'm not sure what they did 4 years ago has to do with the state of the program today.

Do you know who their returning players and their incoming recruits are? What they bring to the table?

I'd be glad to discuss it, but I don't think this thread is the right place for it.

 

[Phil]

Harry Perretta is now the longest tenured active D1 coach, having started in 1978.

 

[speedoo]

I was going post on the checkerboard something along the lines that it was right decision, better for her to remembered in her prime, etc. but then I read the mean spirited thread there on Diana and figured- the heck with it.

So much for southern graciousness.

I never even considered posting over there, because I was already aware of the thread bashing DT (and Geno). It's just a horrible group of people, with one or two exceptions.

 

[UConnCat]

I'm not sure what they did 4 years ago has to do with the state of the program today.

Do you know who their returning players and their incoming recruits are? What they bring to the table?

I'd be glad to discuss it, but I don't think this thread is the right place for it.

I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the 2013 recruiting class will be critical to the future success of the Tenn program. This likely explains the recruiting role carved out for Summitt in her new position. The feeling must be that Warlick and her staff aren't established enough to reel in the big-time recruits that the program needs.

 

[stamfordhusky]

From the GoVolsXtra article:

It’s Summitt’s understanding that she still can attend practice and talk to the players. She also said that she can call recruits, which will be of paramount importance. The Lady Vols currently have just six returning players on campus and three high school seniors signed for next season.

Under NCAA rules, she will not be allowed to call recruits (unless she is designated as one of their three allowable assistant coaches - which is extremely unlikely). Note that the Tennessee list of her permissible activities refers only to "on-campus recruiting".

 

[VAUConnFan]

I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the 2013 recruiting class will be critical to the future success of the Tenn program. This likely explains the recruiting role carved out for Summitt in her new position. The feeling must be that Warlick and her staff aren't established enough to reel in the big-time recruits that the program needs.

Agreed. Recruiting is always critical, but it would be foolish to pin a program's hopes on one recruiting class. Five years, to me, is an ideal parameter in which to gauge and evaluate.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Harry Perretta is now the longest tenured active D1 coach, having started in 1978.

Every D1 coach's job should be so secure.

 

[msf22b]

Doggy, I was just about to do just that, but pulled back. Thanks for the advice.

Godspeed to Pat, What a formidable career!

 

[doggydaddy]

Agreed. Recruiting is always critical, but it would be foolish to pin a program's hopes on one recruiting class. Five years, to me, is an ideal parameter in which to gauge and evaluate.

So, since the last NC and FF appearance, it's been 4 years. Can we use the 2012-13 season as the 5th?

Clearly, they have not been the program they have been in the past. And next year will be a problem for them, IMO.

 

[easttexastrash]

I don't think that Warlick can be judged on last year's performance. That had to have been the most unique coaching experience. She deserves more than one year under that circumstance before her performance can be properly assessed.

 

[easttexastrash]

I previously read that Pat had encouraged him to take a job if coaching was something that he wanted to do. He had also applied for the same position at Baylor.

 

[justML]

Although we knew it was coming, it's still hard to believe that we will never see Pat coach again.

Thinking of all the bitterness and anger most of us felt about Pat ending our rivalry ... doesn't this just prove that life is too short to waste on the unimportant stuff?

No one could have predicted it would end this way. So very, very sad.

 

[Huskymaniac]

He wasn't willing to break enough rules for Baylor so he ends up at Marquette.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Although that's an admissable perspective, the opposing viewpoint is that if she hasn't had head coaching opportunities elsewhere, what would make her the best candidate for one of the very top coaching opportunities anywhere? And yes, I'd have the exact same question for Chris Dailey in an analogous scenario. Either something didn't qualify her or she was happier being an assistant. Neither of those possibilities would give me a warm fuzzy.

It is always difficult to be a new coach following a legendary one.

Think of Summitt as Bill Guthridge, the longtime assistant (30 years) for Dean Smith. Guthridge took over for the three years after Dean Smith retired, before transitioning to the true successor (supposed to be Roy Williams, but he shockingly said no; after three years of Matt Doherty, Roy Williams decided to go back to UNC).

 

[easttexastrash]

He wasn't willing to break enough rules for Baylor so he ends up at Marquette.

Yeah, we take only the worst offenders. He wouldn't last a day in Waco.

Although we knew it was coming, it's still hard to believe that we will never see Pat coach again.

Thinking of all the bitterness and anger most of us felt about Pat ending our rivalry ... doesn't this just prove that life is too short to waste on the unimportant stuff?

No one could have predicted it would end this way. So very, very sad.

Yeah, unimportant stuff like phones calls and text messages.

 

[JS]

Think of Summitt as Bill Guthridge

Warlick?