The basketball community lost a legend Tuesday when Pat Summitt died at age 64, five years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Her impact on the sport broke gender barriers and reached every level of the game. Minnesota women's basketball figures mourned Summitt's death on Tuesday and remembered the impact she left on their lives and the sport:
Cheryl Reeve, Lynx coach: "What she saw her role to be was obviously way more than a basketball coach and to do it with such grace. To make it not about male or female, but just a basketball coach, that does so much not just for sports but for society at large. You've got to put her in there in terms of a trailblazer and opening doors for someone like myself."
Maya Moore, Lynx forward "Her impact is bigger than just the college game … setting the foundation for so many players that would be the faces of their WNBA teams. And just the excitement that she ignites in high school athletes wanting to play at the college level. There are just so many ways her reach extended. … Excellence is excellence."
Lindsay Whalen, Lynx guard "I don't think there would probably be a WNBA if it wasn't for her and what her program built and the interest that they started."
Seimone Augustus, Lynx guard "She actually recruited me. It came down to Tennessee and LSU. … What surprised me was I had just left a visit with her and I had a game later on that week and I never expected her to go. … But she flew into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, into this little, small hot box gym to come and see me play. That let me know how competitive she was.""
Marlene Stollings, Gophers women's basketball coach "Obviously I got to meet her and coach against her when I was at Ole Miss in the SEC. … She would write a handwritten response to anybody that ever sent her a note. She was known for that. … I decided to test this, so I sent her three different notes over a period of about eight years and every single time I got a handwritten note back. … So that was something that really stood out to me."
Jason Gonzalez
