Inspirational, mastermind, loyal, and now winningest, these are all words to describe the great persona that is Pat Summit, University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer head coach, 35 years and running. Last week, Coach Summit was awarded her 1,000th career victory after her Lady Volunteers routed the Georgia Bulldogs 73-43. Summit is now the only coach in the history of the game to reach quadruple digit wins, which is nowhere near an easy feat. She has won 8 national championships, the most recent coming last season, 27 Southeastern Conference tournament and regular season championships, 12 Olympians, 19 Kodak All-Americans named to 33 teams, 71 All-SEC performers, 45 international participants and 43 professional players representing the ABL, WNBA or overseas teams. She is known for her stare downs, tough demeanor, and seriousness on the court. However, if you ask anyone close to her, they will undoubtedly tell you that Coach Summit is the ultimate sweetheart.
Simply speaking, this woman gets it. She goes over and beyond for her players, the University of Tennessee community, and the game of basketball. She has a 100 percent graduation rate of all players who have finished their careers with her. Probably the most jaw-dropping statistic on her resumé. Coach Summit has always reiterated her strong belief of education coming before basketball stating, "You are always a student- athlete first," with a strong emphasis on the word "student." I applaud Coach Pat Summit for her many achievements and thank her for all of her contributions that she has made to the game of basketball. "Here's to you Coach!"
More applause goes to Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, who recently broke the Division I Women Basketball's career rebounding record. Paris finshed Sunday's game with 17 points and 8 rebounds, as her No. 2 ranked Sooners beat in-state rival, Oklahoma State 93-75. Paris surpassed Wanda Ford of Drake's twenty-three year record of 1,815 rebounds in 4 years. Paris finished the game with 1,823 career rebounds.
In other news, anyone else getting tired of all the constant drama surrounding Men's College Basketball? It seems like every other day that we hear about another player suspension, arrest, or even run ins with the law by coaches. Sunday, following their loss to Michigan State the day before, Indiana University freshman, Devan Dumes was suspended for throwing not one, not two, but three intentional elbows at his opponent. It is unknown how long Indiana's leading scorer will be out but Coach Crean had this to say about his star rookie, "After coming home and having the opportunity to review the game film, I believe that discipline is necessary and deserved in this matter. A line was crossed that was unacceptable." Don't expect to be seeing Dumes playing for a few games, if not for the rest of the season IU fans.
Also making the news was Oklahoma's Roy Willis and New Mexico State's Terrence Joyner, both freshmen. Willis was arrested and held out of Saturday's contest against Colorado for suspicion of driving under the influence. While Joyner was arrested after marijuana was found in his luggage by authorities before the team's departure for a two-game road trip against Utah State and Nevada. Both players have been suspended indefinitely and both could face misdemeanor charges.
Does anyone know what has gotten into these boys' heads? Yes, I mean boys. In my book, they deserve to be called boys until they grow up and act like men. This is going on around the country these days, specifically in college sports, or should I say male college sports. Players are acting uncontrollably and getting slapped on the wrist when they get caught. In no way am I condoning the idea of making an example out of someone who crosses the line, but I do think coaches need to regain control over their teams. It has become much too common to hear about a player getting arrested or crossing the line in a game, in male athletics. Women aren't perfect but compared to the daily antics of men's college basketball, they sure do look the part.
That's it for this edition. Be sure to check back soon for updates about this weekend's NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix,A.Z. and more breaking news from around the world of basketball. Enjoy your week! :-)
Pat Summit definitely GET IT!
ReplyDelete