RIP: Pat Summitt | Page 2 | The Boneyard

RIP: Pat Summitt

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RIP to the Greatest Women's College Basketball coach of all time.. Love Geno, but she set the bar...
 
Man, 64. Wow.

Rest in peace Pat. You made UConn women's hoops exciting. Even when you ditched us it was dramatic!
 
Took over a collegiate team at 22. I'd forgotten that. At that age, I thought organizing intramural and industrial league teams presented challenges.

And then she coached like crazy, practice by practice, game by game for 38 years, while directly helping grow a sport and avenue for growth for so many girls and young women. I've run into a number of her former players and I've always been struck by their dedication and gratitude to Pat Summit, which speaks volumes.

I've lost loved ones at early ages and it's a jolt, particularly when the person was so vibrant and life-affirming. This is why this disease is so deleterious...it saps the spirit. Condolences to her family, friends and fans. Keep the faith.
 
Growing up watching UConn-Tenn, I always saw her as a villain, but over the years I grew to appreciate her amazing coaching skill and leadership. She was a tough lady, a fierce competitor, and undoubtedly one of the very best of all time (men's & women's). You think about the sheer number of young people you can influence over a 38 year career, let alone the millions of other young girls you can inspire, the impact of her meaningful life is really incredible. As someone who's family has been personally effected by dementia/Alzheimer's, I'm grateful for her foundation's work in this area and really hope we can see a UConn/Tenn game for charity in the seasons to come. RIP
 
Perhaps we're supposed to mention Pat Summitt's legacy and impact on the game of women's basketball and women's sport. But I can only think of the day my mom died of Alzheimer's. It brings back the sadness. Those who loved Pat Summitt must be feeling such loss now. But at some point, passing is a mercy for the patient, and a relief from the oppression that the disease visits on her loved ones. If there is any blessing in this, it is that Pat Summitt suffered the ravages of the disease for less than five years after diagnosis. My mom went through this for a decade.

Pat Summitt is at peace now. Bless her.
 
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RIP Pat, You are an ICON!

Thanks for all that you did for the sport of Women's Basketball and for countless young ladies. You will be missed.
 
blakeon18 said:
I would not be a bit surprised if in 2017-2018 UConn and LadyVol played each other [maybe in MSG?] in a game to raise funds for research. This coming season is too close at hand.
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It would be fitting for ESPN, and MSG to start a yearly Pat Summit Classic to raise funds, Uconn, and Tennessee could be the host teams, and invite 2 top teams to play them each year.
 
blakeon18 said:
I would not be a bit surprised if in 2017-2018 UConn and LadyVol played each other [maybe in MSG?] in a game to raise funds for research. This coming season is too close at hand.
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Great idea!
 
RIP, Coach Summitt. What would Women's Basketball be like today if Tennessee had not taken a chance on a 22 year old kid and offered her the head coaching job?
 
Speechless and in shock. The end came so much faster than I ever thought possible. Condolences to her family, friends, loved ones, and the entire LV nation. She was a great pioneer and her passing marks the end of an era. She truly touched everyone in WCBB.
 
My deepest condolences to the family and to Lady Vol Nation! Pat Summit was a true Titan of the game and WBB would not be what it is today without her contributions to the growth and popularity of the game!
 
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My heart and prayers go out to the Summitt family, loved ones and VolNation. Pat was truly unique and we will not see her like again.
 
R.I.P. CPS. You were a trendsetter in the college basketball world. When I think of WCBB, thoughts of you will always come to my mind. No one had a more menacing stare (you meant business!!). Your legacy will live on 4EVER! Godspeed to the Summitt family and friends.
 
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With the passing of a legend, this is a truly sad day for women's basketball. Here's hoping and trusting that she's in a better place.
 
Listening just now on NPR to Terry Gross interview Sally Jenkins on Pat, Pat grew up rural dirt poor in a way we can no longer imagine in America. (Similar to Geno in Italy, which is so interesting.) Jenkins emphasized that there were no athletic scholarships for women pre-Title IX, that Pat actually set up the chairs herself for spectators at her early games as head coach, etc.; that Pat was fiercely, fiercely loved by those closest to her, even more so than by those who just knew her as a successful coach.

Time has a way a providing perspective. UConners who felt (whether rightly or wrongly no longer matters) betrayed in her accusations against UConn now seem able to separate those feelings from the more important appreciation of how absolutely essential she was in changing the nature of women's college athletics--and perhaps more. She was a towering giant.

For the sake of civility and to show that great institutions rise above pettiness, can we please have games scheduled between the two schools? Someone suggested an annual Pat Summitt game for Alzheimer's research. What a perfect initial game that would be.
 
While my basketball loyalties have always been with Stanford and UConn, and I often found myself rooting against Tennessee more often than not, there was never a time I rooted against Pat. The games against Tennessee were always the ones circled on the calendar because they were the measuring stick games. She will be forever missed and will forever be an inspiration to millions of people (not just women, and not just in basketball). RIP Pat.

This was something I posted this on my Facebook this morning:

I may never have had the honor of meeting Pat Summitt, but I had the honor of seeing this incredible woman coach for 11 seasons. I've been able to see her competitiveness, her drive, her determination, and that famous glare on the sidelines. I've also been able to see her kindness, her compassion, and her charm. Pat Summitt is a name that reaches far beyond just the University of Tennessee, her name is one that reaches even farther beyond women's basketball. The sports world as a whole lost a true icon, and a legend. There will never be another like her.
 
Pat was the mother of modern women's hoops and we must all be indebted to her. Without her, one can argue, there would be no Geno, whom we love so dearly.

God bless you Pat, your legacy lives on, and may you rest in peace.
 
bags27 said:
At a time like this, it's completely churlish of me to take umbrage with that beautiful statement. But Muffet has not learned (not the first time, either) that absolutes invariably hurt other people. Why is Pat the "one voice" everyone respected? Can't it simply be said that Pat's voice was always respected? I learned this lesson the hard way, that absolutes invariably are seen as competitive statements that diminish all others. I'm sure she meant nothing of that here, and again, apologies for being combative during a time of reflection.

"The living have envy to contend with, while those who are no longer in our path are honored with a goodwill into which rivalry does not enter." Thucydides book 2.
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Geno himself has also spoken in absolutes about Pat so I doubt he is offended by Muffet's quote. I enjoyed reading both of their kind words. His quote is below.

University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma:

“We don’t have a long history in women’s basketball; the history before Tennessee and before Pat Summitt was kind of checkered because there wasn’t a lot of media attention. There wasn’t a lot of interest in the game. There wasn’t a lot of support from universities. So it is a short history, and during that short history, there’s one person for a long time, nobody else was even in that category. There was no competition among coaches; there was only Pat Summitt. Nobody else. Other people took their turn at getting their 15 minutes of fame, but when people talked about women’s college basketball in America, it was Pat Summitt and Tennessee. When you get on the cover of Time Magazine… When is the last time a women’s team coach got on the cover of Time Magazine? It doesn’t happen. So for that to happen, it is saying a lot. Our sport is synonymous with Pat Summitt and Pat Summitt is synonymous with women’s basketball.”


Read more at Dishin & Swishin: The World of Women's Hoops: Basketball world reacts: Thoughts & Comments on the Passing of Pat Summitt
 
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Rest In Peace Coach Pat Summitt.

The SECN is having a Paul Finebaum Show right now with a retrospective and interviews. If you can get the SEC Network it is really well done.
 
Thoughts and prayers to the Summitt family and LV Nation. Your heartbreak is felt by all those who are fans of WCBB.

Pat Summitt will always be the legend and the pioneer. Nothing will ever change that.

Know that she is with God and all his blessings.
 
Jmpenn said:
Geno himself has also spoken in absolutes about Pat so I doubt he is offended by Muffet's quote. I enjoyed reading both of their kind words. His quote is below.

University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma:

“We don’t have a long history in women’s basketball; the history before Tennessee and before Pat Summitt was kind of checkered because there wasn’t a lot of media attention. There wasn’t a lot of interest in the game. There wasn’t a lot of support from universities. So it is a short history, and during that short history, there’s one person for a long time, nobody else was even in that category. There was no competition among coaches; there was only Pat Summitt. Nobody else. Other people took their turn at getting their 15 minutes of fame, but when people talked about women’s college basketball in America, it was Pat Summitt and Tennessee. When you get on the cover of Time Magazine… When is the last time a women’s team coach got on the cover of Time Magazine? It doesn’t happen. So for that to happen, it is saying a lot. Our sport is synonymous with Pat Summitt and Pat Summitt is synonymous with women’s basketball.”


Read more at Dishin & Swishin: The World of Women's Hoops: Basketball world reacts: Thoughts & Comments on the Passing of Pat Summitt
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In the male dominated world of sports, Pat was (and still is) probably the most well known and respected female head coach in the US. She was the only household name among women's basketball coaches in the 80s/90s and was highly thought of by everyone. Even all of the guys in the "women's basketball sucks" crowd knew who she was and respected Summitt as a coach. You don't see that universal respect with other female coaches like you do with Pat. I think this is what Muffett was echoing in her statement.
 
I posted this over on the men's board but I'll copy it here as any Lady Vol guests are more likely to see it here...

Sad news. I'm sorry to hear of her passing. Back in the day, Coach Summitt was first our most feared opponent and then our most hated rival. While we were competing against each other, the Vols were the team we most wanted to beat and the game we looked forward to on the schedule. It was a classic rivalry which became "must see basketball" and drew in fans who otherwise would not have watched woman's basketball. While I am sad for all that know and will miss her, I am happy that she is now free of all ailment and infirmity.

RIP Coach Summitt.
 
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