Pat Summitt
Pat Summitt
Patricia Sue "Pat" Summittwas an American college basketball head coach whose 1,098 career wins are the most in NCAA basketball history. She served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012, before retiring at age 59 because of a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. She won eight NCAA championships, a number surpassed only by the 10 titles won by UCLA men's coach John Wooden and the 11 titles won by UConn...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth14 June 1952
CityClarksville, TN
CountryUnited States of America
I just think they were just a team that really enjoyed the process and allowed our coaching staff to enjoy the process.
I think this team deserves a No. 1. Now, whether we're going to get it or not, that's up to the committee.
I think that it was a great feeling and probably a little bit more special because of the length of time that had passed before we won, but I think more importantly, it was just a great feeling because this team had such strong leadership and they had great chemistry.
Obviously I'm very pleased with the intensity, the enthusiasm on the bench and everyone who got on the court. We played well together.
Emotionally, this is a great boost for Alexis and our entire team going into the NCAA tournament. We recognize what Alexis has meant to our team this year.
I was a little concerned about it when State Farm approached me because, you know, I've never done a commercial by any means, but I tried to look at it as something that would be good for our game. We've never had a women's basketball coach represented in that fashion and I love State Farm for the fact they really support the women's game.
Obviously it was a win, but I didn't see a lot of things that were favorable out there tonight. Our bench play was poor in the first half.
They are one impressive basketball team. If they play like they did tonight, it'll be hard for this team to lose.
You can't win a basketball game in the first half, but you can lose one. We just dug ourselves too big a hole.
I just want her to play the game under control. And for her, it's much different from any player I've ever coached in that she can be flat-footed and go up and dunk. So it's not like things have to be perfect in her basketball world for her to dunk. If she goes up inside and dunks it, more power to her.
You could put our entire basketball team and our entire coaching staff in one room, and she has more poise and more composure than any of us. It shows up on the court. I could be about to lose my mind and she's just calm.
I'm not concerned about her shooting. I'm more concerned about her getting other people shots, and she's been doing that in practice, left-handed. ... I don't know if she can shoot a BB in the ocean, but I know she can make you guard her.
Obviously, this was a tough battle for both teams. A great basketball game I'm sure to watch, a challenging one to play in and coach.
Normally we open in a zone. We opened in a man I wanted us to come out and pressure, have good energy.