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Lady Vols one and done in tournament, Pat Summit punishes team by making them practice more

MichiganMichigan Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
For the first time ever since Pat Summit has been the coach the Lady Vols are out of the NCAA tournament after the first round in a shocking
upset loss to Ball St. The coach is so angry that she is making the team practice for a week or so.

This just seems pointless since they are not going to be playing another game for 8 months or so. I can understand her being upset
but taking it out on the team like this just does not seem right.

Comments

  • edmundfitzgeraldedmundfitzgerald Posts: 4,306 ✭✭
    Excellent decision by Pat. Herb Brooks did the same kind of stuff with our hockey team.
    We need more coaches and parents like that. The kind who say to their kids that nothing short of excellence is acceptable.

    Good for Pat.
  • lsutigers1973lsutigers1973 Posts: 11,093 ✭
    My sons little league team that I coach, lost their game Saturday to the worst team in the league. I made them practice Sunday, Monday and had a practice scheduled yesterday but we had thunderstorms. We have a game tonight, practice tomorrow and a game Friday. I hate losing.
  • MichiganMichigan Posts: 4,942 ✭


    << <i>Excellent decision by Pat. Herb Brooks did the same kind of stuff with our hockey team.
    We need more coaches and parents like that. The kind who say to their kids that nothing short of excellence is acceptable.

    Good for Pat. >>



    Pat needs to get off her ego trip and accept the fact that her team is actually capable of losing. I can see extra practice during a season
    but not when the playoffs are over and you are out. This is just plain abusive IMO.
  • IchiroDeportedIchiroDeported Posts: 1,610 ✭
    agreed, ridiculous. Losses are a part of the game, any team can lose to any other team on any given day.
  • thunderpowerthunderpower Posts: 112 ✭
    Pat is one great coach. Sure cant argue with her success.

  • edmundfitzgeraldedmundfitzgerald Posts: 4,306 ✭✭


    << <i>

    Pat needs to get off her ego trip and accept the fact that her team is actually capable of losing. I can see extra practice during a season
    but not when the playoffs are over and you are out. This is just plain abusive IMO. >>




    Abusive ? No. Extreme may be a better word. But to say that these girls are getting "abused" is absurd.

    These girls play basketball year round at Tennessee. They are all on scholarship. They are all going to school for free.

    No way that Tennessee should have lost that game. If it was UConn or LSU, or some other team, then maybe Pat may have
    been "extreme".
  • JrMacdaddyJrMacdaddy Posts: 506 ✭✭
    I believe Bobby Kight did the same thing after Indiana lost to Cleveland St in 1986.

    BFD
  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Excellent decision by Pat. Herb Brooks did the same kind of stuff with our hockey team.
    We need more coaches and parents like that. The kind who say to their kids that nothing short of excellence is acceptable.

    Good for Pat. >>



    Pat needs to get off her ego trip and accept the fact that her team is actually capable of losing. I can see extra practice during a season
    but not when the playoffs are over and you are out. This is just plain abusive IMO. >>



    image

    She's gotten way to full of herself. Anyone see that 40 foot picture/painting on her in the gym, what an ego. Now having voiced this I really like the Vol's men coach. He's been on PTI a couple of times, smart guy and very funny. Pat could learn some attitude lessons from him.
  • GootGoot Posts: 3,496


    << <i>
    This just seems pointless since they are not going to be playing another game for 8 months or so. I can understand her being upset
    but taking it out on the team like this just does not seem right. >>




    It actually makes perfect sense since the entire team will return next year. I'd have to imagine this will teach them a lesson.

    Edited to say: If any of you actually watch women's basketball, Pat has said time and time again that the team she had this season is one of the hardest she has ever had when it comes to intrinsic motivation. Maybe this will light a fire under their butts?

    Michigan, you're the one being "extreme" in this case. To call this ABUSE is ABSURD.
  • Jeff85fanJeff85fan Posts: 90
    It may just be me, but this seems to be a heck of a lot more about Pat Summit drawing attention to herself than doing anything for the team. Making the team practice for a week then having a layoff for months just seems to be a vanity thing that will do nothing but alienate the team against her. I wouldn't anticipate this doing much to motivate the team. When I see kids (and yes, they are kids) being used as pawns for adults it makes me kind of sick to my stomach. This is nothing but a publicity ploy for Summit and her ilk. To think that the kids weren't trying their hardest after killing themselves all year for her is ridiculous.
  • JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭
    A bit over the top? Perhaps. But abusive? No way. It would be abusive if the practice affected the players' physical and mental health. But running, doing drills and plays? Nah, especially if the players are nothing but tired after the practice.

    But do I wonder though. Could a MEN'S basketball coach or a "lesser" known women's coach be ... lauded ... for such a practice?

    /s/ JackWESQ
    image
  • stevekstevek Posts: 29,039 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Get that lawyer who is suing Kobe Bryant to sue the coach and school for the players being "harassed and humiliated" and for "intolerable working conditions"
  • jay0791jay0791 Posts: 3,528 ✭✭✭✭
    Demand nothing short of greatness from your players. At that div 1 level thats the only attitude to have. Keep in mind the extra week was also HER time. Her players and all future players (we are remembering herb brooks and the rest ) will remember the week. I bet Lombardi would do the same.
    Collecting PSA... FB,BK,HK,and BB HOF RC sets
    1948-76 Topps FB Sets
    FB & BB HOF Player sets
    1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It may just be me, but this seems to be a heck of a lot more about Pat Summit drawing attention to herself than doing anything for the team.

    I agree with this statement...these practices will have zero effect on next year's record, but everyone will talk about how tough a coach Pat Summit is...if she really believes that this team truly needs a week of practice eight months before their next game to be taught some kind of lesson, then the team is more fargone than she thinks..

    Comapring Pat Summit, the head coach of an amateur collegiate basketball team to Vince Lombardi, the head coach of a professional football team, is also a ridiculous analogy for obvious reasons...(Pat Summit also gets paid a handsome salary for her time, while these "scholar-athletes" do not)...maybe we should just pay these players salaries in addition to the modest financial compensation of a scholarship, so we can demand performance commensurate to a pro contract...I mean, why even bother with studies and grades, just sign the top high school prospects/players to multi-year million dollar deals with a school or player's option for junior and/or senior year..


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • jay0791jay0791 Posts: 3,528 ✭✭✭✭
    Do you think any of those tenn players are going for an education? I think not mr grote......they ALL are auditioning for pro contracts. Certainly at Tenn they are...maybe not a lower levels. Lombardi would do whatever it took to bring out the very best from his players.......The comparison is valid. Regardless of what money is involved.
    I can remember my college baseball coach made us run wind sprints right after losing a doubleheader we shouldn't have. We always had a winning season. Sports is at least 50% mental. I will always be gratefull for him helping turn me into a man. That winning attitude carries over into life. Those Tenn woman who don't make the pros (and most might not) will have a foundation to build upon.
    Collecting PSA... FB,BK,HK,and BB HOF RC sets
    1948-76 Topps FB Sets
    FB & BB HOF Player sets
    1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Do you think any of those tenn players are going for an education? I think not mr grote......they ALL are auditioning for pro contracts...Lombardi would do whatever it took to bring out the very best from his players.......The comparison is valid

    Only a very small percentage of collegiate players (even at a school like Tenn) will ever even sniff an opportunity to sign a pro contract. To compare them to one of Vince Lombardi's teams is indeed ludicrous. These are not stident-athletes, not pro ballplayers..

    I'm all for working hard and practicing during the season, but to run practices with no games left on the schedule for another 8-9 months is simply foolish and serves no legitimate purpose, other than grandstanding on the part of Pat Summit, and to ensure she will get her name in the news again to feed her ego as some kind of taskmaster or "old school" coach.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • GootGoot Posts: 3,496
    While there are obviously a bunch of differing opinions on this, there's a reason Coach Summit is the winningest coach in major college basketball history. The woman knows what she's doing.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    While there are obviously a bunch of differing opinions on this, there's a reason Coach Summit is the winningest coach in major college basketball history. The woman knows what she's doing.

    No question about that, I just think this particular episode was rather self-serving...even legendary coaches make ill-advised decisions at times. Sometimes the harsh reality is that the talent level is just not what a championship coach may be accustomed to..even Lombardi himself had very mediocre results when he coached Washington after Green Bay..


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • stevekstevek Posts: 29,039 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Let's not "compare" this to anything else to justify it - What this coach did was pathetic and stupid - Case closed.
  • stevekstevek Posts: 29,039 ✭✭✭✭✭
    and I have to believe the school president has had the coach in for a private chat and told her to never do this again.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Let's not "compare" this to anything else to justify it - What this coach did was pathetic and stupid - Case closed.

    Agreed, Steve...the comparison of Summit to Lombardi, as I previously stated, is ridiculous to begin with..


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • edmundfitzgeraldedmundfitzgerald Posts: 4,306 ✭✭
    Just wondering why the comparison of Summit to Lombardi is ridiculous. Not saying I disagree or agree, but just wondering.


    What she did wasn't pathetic and stupid at all. Maybe if Andy Reid had Donovan McNabb visit the training room more often then
    the snack machine, then maybe he wouldn't have lost his marbles late against the Patriots. You know, when he threw up, and had
    mental confusion. Maybe the Eagles would have won the game if their coach pulled a Herb Brooks on those fat Eagles like McNabb.
    Nah, that would be stupid.
  • stevekstevek Posts: 29,039 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Just wondering why the comparison of Summit to Lombardi is ridiculous. Not saying I disagree or agree, but just wondering.


    What she did wasn't pathetic and stupid at all. Maybe if Andy Reid had Donovan McNabb visit the training room more often then
    the snack machine, then maybe he wouldn't have lost his marbles late against the Patriots. You know, when he threw up, and had
    mental confusion. Maybe the Eagles would have won the game if their coach pulled a Herb Brooks on those fat Eagles like McNabb.
    Nah, that would be stupid. >>



    You're obviously not a knowledgeable pro football fan or you would know that Andy Reid is a strict disciplinarian...and runs very tough camps and practices.

    As for my "pathetic and stupid" comment - It was stated in the context of what's best for the students - which is what college is supposed to be about isn't it? Remember, it's students who are supposed to be attending college to get an academic education, not being punished for losing a basketball game. And even in the context of the coach, it was still a pathetic and stupid thing to do...lesser coaches could get fired over pulling a stunt such as this.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The fact that I agree with SteveK on this issue, as far as I'm concerned, is proof positive that I am correct as this may only be the second of approximately 7,897 topics that we have agreed upon, most of which have to do with the fact that Philly sucks...image

    To answer edmundfitzgerald's question: I don't think it's even remotely reasonable or fair to compare the basketball coach of a team of amateur student-athletes with the pro football coach of one of the greatest football teams of all time. That is like comparing apples and oranges to the nth degree...one thing I will say, however, is that a coach is almost always only as successful as the talent he or she has to work with...that is why medicore coaches win Super Bowls (Barry Switzer) and legendary coaches striuggle when changing teams or losing star players (Joe Gibbs)...Obviously Pat Summit is very successful, but that is also due in large part to the fact that the Tennessee program attracts greater talent than most other programs...



    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • stevekstevek Posts: 29,039 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The fact that I agree with SteveK on this issue, as far as I'm concerned, is proof positive that I am correct as this may only be the second of approximately 7,897 topics that we have agreed upon, most of which have to do with the fact that Philly sucks...image

    To answer edmundfitzgerald's question: I don't think it's even remotely reasonable or fair to compare the basketball coach of a team of amateur student-athletes with the pro football coach of one of the greatest football teams of all time. That is like comparing apples and oranges to the nth degree...one thing I will say, however, is that a coach is almost always only as successful as the talent he or she has to work with...that is why medicore coaches win Super Bowls (Barry Switzer) and legendary coaches striuggle when changing teams or losing star players (Joe Gibbs)...Obviously Pat Summit is very successful, but that is also due in large part to the fact that the Tennessee program attracts greater talent than most other programs... >>



    I get it right approximately 1 outa 4,000 topics.

    and whether I'm right or wrong, I still believe that most of the global warming problem is caused by the hot air coming from the mouth of Jerry Jones.
  • edmundfitzgeraldedmundfitzgerald Posts: 4,306 ✭✭
    OK guys, I see your point. I just think we live in a world today with these values...

    1. Take the easy way out.
    2. Shun discipline and hard work and effort.
    3. Stick to hard work even when you become successful (many become very soft once they've "arrived", or make a lot of money).


    That's why I appluaded Summit's decision. It reflects what made Herb Brooks and herself such an effective coach.
    Remember, she didn't walk into a successful basketball program. She built it from scratch.
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