Adams: Lady Vols' fans have watched legend grow

From her vantage point, she could appreciate what was happening as well as anyone in the arena.

McKenzie was there when it all started 30 years ago. She and 52 other people at Alumni Gym watched Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt win her first basketball game.

"To see where Pat has gone from where she started, it's phenomenal," McKenzie said.

McKenzie cheered alongside thousands of other UT fans as Summitt passed North Carolina's Dean Smith as the winningest coach in Division I college basketball. The Lady Vols' 75-54 victory over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament was Summitt's 880th career win.

The cheering didn't end with the game. It continued when UT announced it was naming the arena floor after Summitt.

The cheering crowd included former UT assistant coach Mickie DeMoss, who's now the coach at Kentucky.

DeMoss is used to seeing Summitt post milestone victories. She and Lady Vols assistant coach Holly Warlick often exchanged shrugs at these historical events because they occurred so frequently.

"Here comes another one," one would say to the other.

But this milestone was different to DeMoss. Even though she's preparing her Kentucky team for a Women's National Invitation Tournament game Thursday night, DeMoss made a point of being at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"Maybe it's because I've been away for two years," DeMoss said. "I can appreciate it more."

Not everyone applauding in the crowd was a UT fan.

LSU coach Pokey Chatman was there, too. Her team routed Arizona 76-43 in the other second-round game at Thompson-Boling. Her No. 1-seeded Tigers, like the No. 1-seeded Lady Vols, are off to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, with a possibility of meeting again in the national championship game.

But Chatman said she didn't watch the UT-Purdue game as an opposing coach. She watched it as a fan of women's basketball.

"This is history," Chatman said. "To be a part of it is special to me because of all Pat has done for women's basketball."

Amidst all the history, the coach in the middle of it was looking to the future. She picked up a microphone at courtside, thanked the crowd and told her fans, "This team is on a mission. So stick with us."

It was easy to overlook what UT accomplished in the last three days because of all the basketball history swirling around it. And besides, doesn't UT always handle its first- and second-round NCAA tournament games with ease?

But if you looked closely, you had to realize this team is capable of producing another celebration before the season is done.

While everyone else was focused on Summitt beating Smith, Summitt has been preparing her team to beat the likes of Ohio State, UConn, LSU and everybody else that stands between her and a seventh national championship. Her team has performed accordingly.

"She has not said one word to us about (the record) — except when someone else mentions it," UT assistant coach Dean Lockwood said. "Then, she rolls her eyes.

"She's just thinking about this team."

The team looks similarly focused. It has won 10 consecutive games since losing to LSU in the regular season.

Its execution hasn't always been flawless during that stretch. But its intensity has rarely ebbed.

"We want that to be our calling card," Lockwood said of UT's aggressive play. "We want to take the fight (to the opponent)."

As Summitt said, the team is on a mission. And the mission has nothing to do with Dean Smith.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com