CLEVELAND — Pat Summitt and Vivian Stringer aren't Thelma and Louise, but they are similar is many ways.
Both are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Both coached in the NCAA Tournament's initial women's Final Four in 1982, Stringer with Cheyney State and Summitt with Tennessee.
They have shared numerous board rooms working with USA Basketball committees.
Today's Sweet 16 game between Tennessee and Rutgers will be the 11th meeting between the two. Summitt has won eight, including four of five in the NCAA Tournament.
Summitt is women basketball's all-time winningest coach with 909. Stringer is third at 750.
Yet when asked directly what she and Summitt have in common, Stringer replied with a smile, "We both like nice clothes."
Only a friend would know that.
But make no mistake. These women are two of the most competitive coaches in the country, and they will challenge, mislead and scream in an effort to beat the other.
Off the floor they are like sisters, living in different parts of the country.
"She's like me. We're extremely competitive," Summitt said before her team's workout at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday. "But we're good enough friends so that we've been able to compete knowing that when you do, you know there's a winner and loser. But the friendship goes beyond basketball."
Summitt was on the other end of a telephone conversation in 1995 when Stringer was struggling with the decision on whether to leave Iowa for Rutgers. For most of the three hours, Summitt did most of the listening.
The situation was similar a couple of years earlier when Stringer's husband died of a sudden heart attack.
And when Summitt's father died last year, Stringer responded with not only a phone call, but also sent flowers, a fruit basket and card.
"She reached out at a time that meant a lot to me," Summitt said.
Familiarity does not breed contempt with these two. Just familiarity.
"She can see what I can see just as well," Stringer said. "She can see our strengths and weaknesses, just like I do with her."
They faced each other twice last season, with Rutgers winning at home in the regular season and then losing in the regional finals.
When Stringer took Rutgers to the Final Four in 2000, it was Tennessee that kept the Knights from the national championship game.
Summit also knocked Stringer out of the NCAA Tournament when she was at Iowa.
Still, there is never enough time for coaches to break down their opponents, especially this time of year.
Asked if she and her friend might do a little shopping downtown on Saturday, Stringer didn't skip a beat, saying, "I am so single-minded and focused right now that I will probably just take time out to go to the restroom. I'm serious. I have to remind myself to eat. I'm just like that. And I know Pat is too in that respect.
"It might take me six hours to break down every frame of tape. I want to know the whys of everything. I really do. I'm a great competitor."
Stringer, Summitt, sort of a sibling rivalry.
"I admire what she does and what she represents," Stringer said. "If outstanding athletes need to be great friends, I think outstanding coaches need to be great friends. Why wouldn't we? We all understand the same thing."
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