For everything Pat Summitt has experienced during her astonishing coaching career, this might have been a first.
After all, it's not every day the Lady Vols basketball coach poses for pictures with a team that whipped her by 17 points.
In their second game of the Under 16 AAU national basketball tournament, foul trouble and poor decisions offensively by the Tennessee Heat resulted in a 53-36 loss to the West Virginia Rush.
It wasn't exactly what Summitt wanted to see from her team, which lost its first game earlier in the day to the Indiana SYF Players. Still, it didn't stop the Hall of Fame coach from taking time afterwards to sign autographs, and leave an enduring impression on a West Virginia team making its first national tournament appearance.
"When you have a group of kids that have never played in a national championship period, this is a new experience all in itself, but then you're talking about Pat Summitt," West Virginia coach Tony Lucas said.
Coming off her seventh national championship with the Lady Vols, Summitt was asked by her son Tyler to coach his AAU team, affording mom and son a chance to share a unique basketball and family adventure.
"She (coach Summitt) was talking about how she could help us and she was watching me play high school," Tyler said. "She was saying, 'I could help you do this, or I could help you do that,' and I was like, 'All right, let's it see it then.'
"She volunteered to be the coach and it was awesome. We got the guys together and its been real good."
As it turned out, the Under 16 national tournament site this year was Clarksville, Summitt's hometown. This good fortune presented another opportunity for mom and son; a chance to play in front of family that rarely, if ever, see Tyler play.
"My cousin Casey (Atteberry) played basketball (at Cheatham County), and they were always talking about her and I was three hours away in Knoxville," Tyler said. "And now I get a chance to come here and play, so it's been good to have support."
Tyler is also enjoying playing in front of his grandmother.
"She might try to coach a little bit from the sidelines, but they're great support and they're coming out for me and my mom," Tyler said.
Tyler is soaking in the moment, but he's not alone.
"It was a great honor for me," said Indiana SYF Players coach Jeff Allen, who earlier in the day watched his team beat the Heat 62-51. "I have young daughters at home, and they all watch Tennessee play on TV and they can't wait until they can possibly have a moment where they can play for a great coach like that.
"I'm going to tell my daughter that I shook hands and talked to her, because my one daughter is a huge fan, and she's hoping someday that maybe she will be on that sideline with coach Summitt."
Playing for an legend
Allen understands the significance of playing for a coaching icon. He groomed his playing and coaching skills under the management of legendary DePaul coach Ray Meyer.
"He was a great coach and he taught a lot of life lessons to me about things other than basketball, which I'm sure coach Summitt does with her players," Allen said. "So years down the line, they (Lady Vols) will probably remember her like I do coach Ray."
Life in Knoxville
Summitt's impact on women's basketball goes well beyond her seven national championships. She is the winningest coach in Division I-A college basketball history — men or women — and will eclipse 1,000 career wins within the next two seasons.
Around Knoxville and the UT campus, basketball has found its way to the top of the hierarchy, these days even overshadowing football. Much of the credit belongs to Summitt, but she doesn't mind sharing the attention with men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who has elevated the Vols into a SEC contender and a regular in the NCAA Tournament.
"It's been tremendous to have a coach like Bruce Pearl come in with his passion, his energy level, his day-to-day commitment to getting it done. I thoroughly have enjoyed getting to know Bruce and I think he's got a great basketball mind," Summitt said.
"I think he's a great motivator. He's innovative in how he does things, but he also has the ability to communicate with the young men he coaches and inspires. (He's) unlike anyone else that I've watched coach there."
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