Class act Pat Summitt faces tough times ahead

Several years ago, I had arranged to do a phone interview with Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Her secretary asked for my number and then e-mailed me back the day and time that Summitt would call.

When the time came, I sat by the phone and waited. And waited, and waited.

Eventually, I turned my attention elsewhere, resigned to the idea of having to check in with the secretary the next morning to reschedule the interview.

Several hours later, my phone rang.

It was Pat Summitt, apologizing profusely with her engaging Southern charm.

She told me that she had had a horrible day of travel, full of delays and a missed flight.

She said that she had finally gotten off her plane and wanted to give me a call before she even left the terminal because she felt so bad about missing our original call time.

Even in the moment, I remember being struck by how thoughtful Summitt was. In the throes of a hectic, irritating day, she still made an effort to get in touch with me, an out-of-town reporter she didn't even know very well.

What a class act, I thought.

Still is.

“Class act” was the first thing that came to mind last week when Summitt came out with a somber announcement about her health.

In recent months, after a battery of tests at the Mayo Clinic, Summitt was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's-type dementia. She is 59.

She has admitted to memory loss and difficulty in some cases with problem solving. Last season during the middle of a game, she forgot what offensive set she wanted to run.

Summitt says that there will be good days and bad days ahead but with the support of her doctors and the administration at Tennessee, she still plans to keep coaching the Lady Vols “for as long as the good Lord is willing.” She is prepared, however, to dial back her responsibilities if necessary and rely more on her assistant coaches.

It's classy, and refreshing, and so unlike a college coach, to tell it like it is, to be up front and honest about such a difficult matter.

It's also very courageous of Summitt.

This is not an easy disease.

And in a profession where being quick on your feet and sharp as a tack is essential, she's opening herself up to constant critiquing and second-guessing.

Unfortunately, I think that might be just the beginning.

I don't expect this to be a smooth ride into the sunset for Summitt. It should be for such a legend, a legend who is college basketball's winningest coach with 1,071 victories and eight national championships in 37 years.

But it won't be.

Coaching is going to become more difficult for Summitt, and recruiting will be even more so.

Right or wrong, recruits pick colleges largely with the head coach in mind. And if they can't assume with a reasonable amount of certainty that the head coach will be there for most, if not all, of their careers, they look elsewhere.

Of course, when it comes to Tennessee, some of the nation's top female recruits were already looking elsewhere.

The women's college game has developed so much parity in the last 10 years that Tennessee hasn't been the ultimate destination program it once was.

I expect that trend to continue, if not accelerate, with Summitt's announcement.

Summitt says that she would never do anything to hurt the program, never try to stay longer than she should, and I believe her.

But with Summitt or without her, I see this as the beginning of the end of one of the most dominating programs in all of college sports.

It's startling and surreal to even imagine.

It's sad. And unfair, too.

And it's so incredibly unfitting of the storybook ending a class act like Summitt deserves.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com