Summitt spirit

"I just knew painting my chest wasn't an option,'' said Summitt, the University of Tennessee women's basketball coach.

Instead, she borrowed from her cheerleading past at the men's game Tuesday night against Florida to pay back Pearl for going shirtless and wearing body paint at the Lady Vols' game against Duke on Jan. 22.

Summitt, who led cheers in the seventh and eighth grades, literally squeezed herself into a short UT skirt, as did assistant coaches Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell. Fellow assistant Dean Lockwood donned a male's uniform and the Lady Vols' quartet took the court with Tennessee's regular cheerleaders during the first media timeout.

Summitt also grabbed a microphone and sang "Rocky Top" The singing has been a staple of her corporate speaking engagements, where she'll say, "Aren't you glad I'm speaking and not singing?"

"It breaks the ice,'' she said.

Tuesday night's performance, which concluded with the coaches doing a pyramid of sorts, probably broke the mold regarding some people's impression of Summitt. So be it, said the singing cheerleader.

"There will be people who criticize it,'' Summitt said. "Some criticized Bruce. How can you criticize what he did?"

It was a tough act to follow. The response suited Summitt and her staff.

"I did this for Bruce Pearl and his basketball team and all the great Tennessee fans,'' Summitt said.

Dan Fleser covers women's basketball. He can be reached at 865-342-6288.