The question comes up almost anytime non-local media gather around Lady Vols legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt.
"How much longer will you coach?" she's asked.
It seems as though I've been hearing the question for the last 10 years.
"Before that," Summitt's longtime assistant coach Holly Warlick said.
Summitt became a head coach at such a young age (22), it's as though she and women's basketball started at the same time.
Summitt's longevity is exaggerated by her success. She will win her 1,000th game this season. She will lose a few, too. But all the years, victories and losses aren't reflected in her looks or demeanor.
"Intensity" comes up quickly in any profile of Summitt. "Relaxed" came to mind during the SEC basketball media days in Birmingham two weeks ago.
She also seemed happy. And I don't think Tennessee's back-to-back national championships had anything to do with it.
Working with her players and assistant coaches brings her more joy than all the victories and the eight national championships.
"I'm telling you, I love it," she said.
And she was talking about practice.
"I can't wait to get (to practice)," she told the media gathering. "That's the part of my day I love the most - being on the court."
That wasn't just talk. As soon as her interview session in Birmingham was done, she flew back to Knoxville in time for practice.
Retirement is not even on the radar.
"Do you think you could coach another 10 years?" she was asked.
"That's possible," she said. "I'm not going to pin myself to it (a year)."
"You could win another 300 games then," a reporter said.
"We've got to keep recruiting then," she said with a smile.
She and her staff have never stopped recruiting. Never mind if their preeminence in the sport enables them to pick and choose, they work at recruiting as though they're still trying to make their mark.
For example, take this year's freshman class, which will be on display in tonight's exhibition game at Thompson-Boling Arena. It's chock full of high school All-Americans.
"We've got six true freshmen and a redshirt freshman," Summitt said. "Only four players that saw playing time last year."
And she's happy about it. The new and younger players will energize her more than a set lineup from a defending national champion ever will.
A veteran coaching staff will help, too. Summitt has lost one ex-Lady Vol, Nikki Caldwell, who is the head coach at UCLA, but she has gained another one, Daedra Charles-Furlow.
"Having a veteran staff can take a lot of pressure off a head coach if you're willing to delegate," Summitt said. "A lot of coaches don't want to delegate.
"Holly takes an enormous amount off me. She has a great mind and is really talented. Dean Lockwood, his energy level is just off the charts. And bringing back Daedra - she has stepped right in where Nikki Caldwell left off.
"Some people like to micromanage. I say, 'Go do your thing and give me some feedback.' "
Warlick thinks this year's young team has been great for Summitt.
"She enjoys her staff and her kids," Warlick said. "She still has that fire and desire to coach. And her health is good.
"She has done so much and accomplished a lot of things. But she's not in it for the things she has achieved. She loves the game."
Summitt's happiness isn't all about basketball these days.
"Personally, she was going through a lot of things (the last couple of years)," Warlick said. "Her father passed, her divorce. Those things were distractions.
"Now, I think she is in a good place with herself personally and professionally. She's enjoying spending time with Tyler (Summitt's teenage son) and looking forward to watching him play basketball."
How old that must make most Lady Vols fans feel. They remember when Tyler was born in the midst of a recruiting trip. Soon, he will be going to college.
Tyler grows up before your eyes. The players come and go and come back. But the coach just keeps going, fueled by the influx of younger players and an ongoing passion for the game.
"She said, 'I'll probably have you wheeling me out there in a wheelchair and I'll still be coaching,' " Warlick said.
As immersed as Summitt gets in the game, I would recommend a strong seat belt.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 18
98reax writes:
First!
What a coach we have at Tennessee. This lady is making history every time she steps on the court and she's still as excited as if it was her first gig. I'm anxious to see how it goes in this exhibition game vs Carson Newman. Who's gonna step up from the git go?
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
NIce article, must be due to his finally getting his way with Coach Fulmer? Adams seems more relaxed tonight. I wonder what will get his gander.
rusty_shackleford writes:
You didn't get a national award tearing down the football team so you're hoping to ride Pat's coattails to some kind of (positive) recognition? Tuscaloosa John has had everything he needs to win a Pulitzer, yet has not come through. Time to go, small guy! A change is needed.
silvertr6 writes:
Thank you Pat for being the caring, inspiring coach that you are. Wish for you and the Lady Vols the best! You and you staff and teams have defined success over the years.
piledriver writes:
Coach Summit is the exception to the recent fb article about "LONGEVITY MEANS HOTTER SEATS." The longer she's here the better she gets. How does she do it? Character, discipline, experience, love for what she's doing, having fun doing it. Awesome respect and reputation. She won't tolerate slaggards either. But most of all she wins champtionships! She's "done a lot for us lately too," that helps. Instead of a slow decline, she stays at or over the top. I hope she stays as long as she wants...and THEN RUNS FOR PRESIDENT! She's already got my vote.
Feared_Mustang_Package writes:
While you wonder that. I and I'm guessing many here are wondering when you will deactivate your account for the good of the group IQ here.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Kudoes Pat!
You have it figured out (delegate and recruit) where so many cannot maintain those two virtues.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Just a gentle reminder....before Candace came to UT, a few fans where muttering that Pat had 'lost her touch', couldn't recruit, and so forth.
Remember, it was a long dry spell between NC's. UT couldn't get by teams like Baylor, or Notre Dame, or UConn with Taurasi....
My point?? Fans are fickle as hell. Just imagine this turn of evetnts:
-2009, Uconn wins the NC; Vol fans say, 'we were young'
-2010, Uconn wins again; vol fans say, 'damn, but we will win next year'
-2011-2014, Baylor begins a 3-year run with their 6'8" post player
Suddenly, it's been 6 long years since an NC. Pat is in her 60's, and sthe sprotswriters are hinting that she should retire so we can get some hotshot new coach in. The fans are restless, as usual.
Does that seem unfari?? Of course it is. But, in a game like college basketball, where one key player can make a huge difference, that is reality. This very thing was happening to Pat prior to Candace, other than she wasn't in her 60's.....
I've been a Pat Head Summit fan since she was a UT player. Anything 'UT', I rooted for, maybe 'cause I was porr white trash with nothing better of which to be proud. Now, as a grwon man, I appreciate waht she it: no-nonsense, hard-working, a great sport, an advocate for her sport.
So, when the times get a little tough, we can just hope the fans are a bit more tolerant than normal.
jasonn1970 writes:
8 National Championships buys you more time to turn things around than 1.
KCHS63 writes:
Let's straighten this thing out about Pat playing at UT. Yes, she played collegiately at UT-Martin. But, folks have to remember that she was an Olympic PLAYER while she was already the head coach at UTK. I noticed in last year's Media Guide for the first time that she is listed as one of the "Lady Vol Olympians." That's good enough for me. And, yes, I am also one of those who's been around since she was a PLAYER.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Also, as much as we all love and respect Pat for all she has accomplished on the court and all the good publicity she has brought the university, women's basketball doesn't constitute the backbone of the UT athletic program. We may have separate men's and women's athletic departments but football provides most of the money to run both. We probably won't like it, but we can survive a downturn in women's b'ball a LOT easier than we can a prolonged dry spell in football.
littleorange writes:
Now that Coach Fulmer is gone.How long until LSU Adams turns his agenda to the ouster of Coach Summitt?????Don't be fooled by this man.
knoxtenor writes:
Yikes! Pat wins two national championships while being "distracted"? Beware LV foes! Pat's focused on the game now!
Alert UT Carpentry Services. They're going to need to build a bigger trophy case.
GreerVol22 writes:
spry huh? is that like back porch coon spry or is it more like a Bruce is loose on a boat spry?
SomeGuy writes:
Boo hoo! Your beloved Fulmer is gone. If he had made even one tenth the effort and exhibited one tenth the passion for coaching his football team as Pat has done with her basketball team then he would still be here. Fulmer is the exact opposite of Pat Summitt. We need more Pats and no Fulmers.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
hey, you know, you are right. my good. I was thinking about her playing still and yet coaching.
No excuse, I was flat wrong! Thanks for being kind in your 'soft' rebuke :)
ladivolfan writes:
all that and she can rassle a racoon while bakin a mean pan of cornbread
TropicalFish writes:
>>>spry huh? is that like back porch coon spry or is it more like a Bruce is loose on a boat spry?
I was about to say the same thing. Joe Pa is "spry." Pat Summitt, in her 50s, is just gettin started. She'll coach til she's 80!
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