In the wake of Tennessee letting a 16-point lead slip away in its national semifinal loss to Michigan State, criticism of Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt has surfaced — criticism that is short-sighted and unfair.
If you watched the UT meltdown, you saw a team of young athletes failing to execute as taught. A coach can only do so much, especially with just nine scholarship players.
A review of the Lady Vols over the years illustrates unequivocally that a Summitt team is drilled constantly on fundamentals. One critic implied Summitt failed to mandate her forwards give the ball up to her guards after pulling down a rebound. What a ridiculous premise. Does anyone with even a thread of basketball intelligence think Summitt doesn't want the ball brought up court by a skilled ballhandler?
Analyze the Lady Vols' season and conclude this injury-ravaged team pulled off a minor miracle to win 30 games and get to another Final Four.
If two-time USA Today national high school player of the year Candace Parker remains healthy next season, watch out. The Lady Vols will be back with vengeance. Parker is a Chamique Holdsclaw times two. Having former Shelbyville All-American Alex Fuller available for the first time won't hurt either.
Instead of laying the semifinal flame-out at Summitt's feet, place it where it belongs — squarely on senior forward Shyra Ely. She did not perform to her abilities in the Philadelphia Regional championship game against Rutgers and tanked again in her hometown of Indianapolis during the loss to Michigan State. Some players are able to rise to the occasion; some aren't.
One coach who will always rise to the occasion is Summitt. She'll do just that next season. Summitt isn't college basketball's career leader in coaching wins by accident.
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