A view of the Summitt

Many, many moons ago, a new sports writer got the bright idea to push girls basketball in our newspaper. I started doing features on, not just local kids, but I watched college games on TV and introduced some of those players to my readers.
I got that idea when I did an article on Kimberly Wilson, a player from near-by Hampton, who was a stand-out at the University of Arkansas. Wilson was considered as a local girl so it wasn't difficult to get an phone interview with her college coach. But, I wanted to do more so, just for the heck of it, I flipped through the media guide and found phone numbers for other schools. On a whim, I dialed one of the numbers.
"Hello, this is Pat."
I was so surprised, I nearly swallowed my gum and I wasn't even chewing any.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt stepped down today after about 38 years on the job. She's labeled a legend only because there isn't a stronger word to describe her impact in basketball and women's sports in general.
I must admit, I wasn't a Lady Vols fan. I rooted against them consistently, mainly because of their relentless and almost ruthless style of play. They were physically dominant and just pounded opponents on the glass and beat them down defensively.
It wasn't pretty to watch. That's a big reason I wasn't a fan.
It was effective, though.
Summitt put women's basketball on the map. Yeah, Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion and even Cheryl Miller and USC did their part, too. But, Tennessee was the program that every other school aimed at. The Lady Vols were the gold standard that the rest of the country had to reach.
What impressed me about Summitt was her willingness to bring other programs to her level. I remember back in the days when very few women's games were on TV. I watched Tennessee travel to Storrs, Connecticut to play a program I didn't know existed.
There was no Sue Bird or Diana Taurasi or even Rebecca Lobo. Thinking back, I'm not even sure if Kerry Bascom was there.
I just remember Summitt giving an up-and-coming program some much-needed national TV exposure. Sometimes I wonder if Geno Auriemma remembers that, too.
Summitt won a whole bunch of games at Tennessee. I wasn't offering a standing ovation for any of them.
But, what she did for women's basketball deserves everyone's applause. She put her sport on the map. She let it be known to girls everywhere that it was okay to be big, strong, aggressive and even nasty at times. That's not playing like a boy. That's just playing ball.
Summitt could've been content standing alone at the top of the heap. Instead, she reached down and brought other folks up with her. Anything she could do for women's basketball, she did. Whether it was going on the road to help a no-name coach build a program or spending a few minutes on the phone with a no-name sports writer.
Pat Summitt IS women's basketball.