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Define success

                     Frank DiPatri      01/23/09 

When you think of excellence, victory, tradition, and champion, what comes to mind? I’m sure it’s not the Lady Vols of the University of Tennessee. But honestly, let’s have a look at those ladies clad in orange and the success they’ve brought. Of course, nothing can be about the Vols without first mentioning Pat Summit because without her, the Lady Vols would be about as successful as Tonya Harding was trying to not get caught bashing in Nancy Kerrigan’s leg.Take this into account, Pat Summit has been coaching for almost 24 years and her record is a stunning 998-185 (for you math majors out there, that’s a .844 winning %). That gives her more victories than Bob Knight, Dean Smith, and Mike Krzyzewski and makes her the winningest coach in NCAA basketball, men’s or women’s. She has 14 SEC championships, 13 SEC tournament championships, and the astounding eight national championships. She’s been SEC and NCAA coach of the year seven times, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. This season the Lady Vols are 15-3 and trying to defend their back to back national titles. They are 15-3 after losing their two best players to the WNBA this past season. So what makes Pat and the Vols such a powerhouse? It’s the unbelievable drawing power of Coach Pat Summit. If I was to walk into a recruit’s house with $1,000,000 and say come play for me and you will start every game, she would almost certainly choose to go play for Coach Summit. All Pat has to do is bring one trophy and remind her that she has seven more at the house, and remind her she’s coached Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Tamika Catchings. It doesn’t matter who you put in front of Coach Summit though. She’s still going to put one of the best teams in college basketball out on the court, and she does it by still being one of the nicest people to ever grace the game (unlike Geno…I hate that guy). This season, the Vols will invariably be going back to the NCAA tournament and attempt to get Pat a ninth national championship. How many teams, professional or college, can boast two three-peats? I really don’t know, but it can’t be that many.