Pat Summitt Set An Example For All Of Us

Arguably no woman in sports history is more identified with excellence than Pat Summitt.

Her passing from dementia, Alzheimer’s type, reminds us how one person can change the course of so many other lives, given the will and the opportunity.

Because of Summitt’s indelible influence, all of us at National Scouting Report who emulate and aspire to her success give pause to honor her legacy.

Summitt, the longtime University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach, established a record of excellence and dominance in Knoxville. Recruiting outstanding talent year after year, Summitt molded her young players into a force that only has been surpassed in the women’s game by another legend — Summitt’s longtime rival and friend, Geno Auriemma, of Connecticut.

In contemplating how to best pay tribute to this exceptional human being, it was no stretch to compare her values to those of ours at NSR.

Hers were more public, of course, but in the end our mutual desire to find outstanding talent, establish trust, and guide and nurture young student-athletes through a vulnerable time in their lives go hand in hand.

Summitt had a knack for attracting top talent.  For years, she piled up top recruiting classes, one after another. But she never assumed that was the end of her work, focus and responsibility with her athletes. She took their development seriously from impressionable high school girls to young adults, not only as basketball players but as women who someday would contribute to society.

We at NSR want to thank Summitt for her enduring example and hope that we can, in our own similar way, help high school athletes fulfill their dreams of becoming college athletes while evolving into productive citizens.