Professional Soldiers ® - Pat Summitt officially passes the whistle to Holly Warlick

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Pat Summitt officially passes the whistle to Holly Warlick

I'm not a big basketball fan, but this women is incredible.

Summitt,who won more games (1,098) than any college basketball coach in history —man or woman —stepped down Wednesday after 38 years,in large measure to focus on her battle with early on-set dementia. She won an NCAA-record eight national championships and graduated all 161 women who completed their eligibility.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...itt/54415158/1

Not a women's college basketball fan - but it is truly sad to see most anyone's life stolen prematurely by a horrible disease.

We're really gonna miss having her on the Hill. She literally kicked down walls to get the women's game where it is today. I, for one, will miss her stare. Just one look from her and that lady had me ready to jump off the couch and make a play.

One thing I appreciate about her is how she literally led from the front. She drove the team van, wrapped ankles and washed uniforms while she coached. As a young coach she almost left TN for Kentucky. However, they wouldn't dish out the $400 check to help cover her moving bill and she declined. And thank God for that.

Started 4 instead of 5

Quote:

With all but five of his players forced to skip last weekend’s AAU state basketball tournament semifinal in Chattanooga due to ACT testing conflicts, Tennessee Fury 17-under girls’ coach Tyler Summitt knew he was in for a struggle.

Then again, as Tennessee Lady Vols coaching legend Pat Summitt has long taught her only child, “Academics comes first,” so there would be no complaining about his empty bench.

But then one of the final five compounded Tyler’s plight by showing up late for warm-ups, definitely a Summitt family no-no. Or as Tyler said, “We have a policy that if you’re late you don’t start. You might not even play.”

Still, this was a state semifinal. For most coaches, risking victory for values would be too big a gamble.

But young Summitt isn’t most coaches. He thought of his mother, of the unbending principles she’s practiced the past 38 years in winning eight national championships and 1,098 games while graduating all 161 players who have completed their eligibility under her watch.

So what would Mom do?

“She’s always said, ‘Discipline first,’” he said with a grin. “She says you start with high standards and keep them. So I started four instead of five.”

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