Summitt: ‘I’m doing great’

HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt never gave quitting a thought.

Summitt was diagnosed in May with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, and announced it publicly in August. On Thursday, Summitt made her first major appearance at SEC basketball media days at Wynfrey Hotel.

“I love working with our student-athletes and our coaches,” Summitt said when asked why she came back. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to coach for another 25 years, but we’re going to keep it going for now. There will come a time when I’ll say, ‘OK, enough is enough.’ ”

The media was four deep around Summitt’s table where she sat with assistant Holly Warlick. Summitt, 59, has delegated some responsibility since her diagnosis to Warlick, but there was no question Summitt is still the Lady Volunteers’ coach.

“What I want everybody to know is I’m doing great,” said Summitt, who has won a record 1,071 games and eight national championships. “Every day, I want to get up and I want to go to work. That keeps me going.”

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive stood in the back of the room and observed Summitt’s media session. Afterward, he expressed how impressed he was with Summitt’s courage, comparing it to former North Carolina State Coach Jimmy Valvano’s public fight against cancer.

“It’s the courage to share with the world her health problem and at the same time saying I’m going to coach my basketball team,” Slive said.“It seems to me it’s the kind of lesson she has been teaching basketball players for all these many years.

“In my mind, all of this goes to show that clearly she is one of the greatest coaches, if not the greatest, in the history of college basketball.”

Warlick, an assistant for 27 years, said nothing has changed other than the assistants handle more of the mundane tasks of Summitt’s job, such as checking e-mail.

Summitt said it is important to keep her mind engaged so she formulated a game plan and sticks to that. Each morning, Summitt wakes up, drinks a cup of coffee and then plays a variety of puzzles on her iPad. She jokingly said that she makes Warlick do the difficult puzzles.

“You have to have a game plan in everything you do,” Summitt said. “When I get [to work] my mind is sharp, and that’s important.”

The Lady Volunteers were stunned when Summitt told them the news this past summer, but the players haven’t had time to feel sorry for their coach. Forward Vicki Baugh said it wasn’t long after the news that Summitt lit into her for loafing during a practice.

“Not much has changed,” Baugh said. “Pat is still Pat. She’ll coach us as long as the Lord lets her.”

Early in the group interview, Warlick attempted to answer a question and moved in front of the lone microphone on the table. As Summitt moved away to give Warlick room, the assistant joked that she wasn’t trying to “butt you out, Coach.”

“You better not,” Summitt said, drawing a laugh.

“I wouldn’t dare try,” Warlick said.