Pat Summitt Retire

Discussion in 'VOLuminous' started by Tenacious D, Apr 2, 2012.

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Should Coach Summitt Return Next Season?

Poll closed Jun 1, 2012.
  1. Yes, if she wishes to return

    42.9%
  2. No, she should be asked to retire

    57.1%
  1. Tenacious D

    Tenacious D The law is of supreme importance, or no importance

    Should Coach Pat Summitt retire?

    If she doesn't willfully step-down, should she be made to do so, or has she earned the right to call the shot - even if it is clearly not in her best personal interest to do so?
     
  2. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    This is really really tough. But I just don't know how you can say that a person with early onset dementia gets to determine whether they are still fit to coach. Third parties are much better able to make this assessment.

    I voted she should be asked to retire, but I did so under the assumption that her health necessitated that move. Nobody would even consider for a second forcing out a lucid Pat Summitt, just because she might start having problems down the road. But I'm just thinking that the "down the road" is probably where we are now.
     
  3. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    She earned the right to make her own choice as long as she was of sound mind. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Hopefully someone close to her will just convince her to retire. Nothing good will come from her hanging around. It's not good for the University to which she has dedicated so much of her life and it isn't good for her legacy. She can stay involved with the program in some capacity, but keeping her on as a coach just isn't reasonable at this point.
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2012
  4. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    I wonder if we have any friends of Tyler Summitt on the board. I can't imagine this is rainbows and butterflies for him.
     
  5. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    Give her the title Queen Emperess Emeritus and pay her $100K a year, and let her be "head coach" for the first two games next year so she can get to 1,100 wins, but yes, she should retire.
     
  6. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

    Am I the only person who feels like coaches don't even matter that much in women's college bball? We had Candace Parker, we won titles. UConn had that one chick (Maya Moore? i think), and they won titles. Now Brittany Griner is dominating. I think it's more about players than coaches, so she should stay and we should just recruit better.
     
  7. hallowed_hill

    hallowed_hill Active Member

    Why in the world 1100 mean anything? I've heard that thrown around a lot.
     
  8. Tar Volon

    Tar Volon Me Blog @RockyTopTalk.com

    I agree that a lucid Pat has earned the right to go out whenever she chooses. I also think, even if she has episodes nowadays, she's certainly still lucid. I think it'd probably be best for the program if she stepped down and we brought in Nikki Caldwell right now. But not best enough to push a legend out the door.
     
  9. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    Because it sounds like a lot more than 1098.
     
  10. hallowed_hill

    hallowed_hill Active Member

    At least 2.
     
  11. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    She isn't even close to as sharp as she used to be. Her diagnosis wasn't some super early catch of a problem. It came after a good while of noticing forgetfulness, then mental lapses, then outright startling periods of mental absence. In her current condition she'd struggle to do a lot of simple jobs, let alone follow a fast paced game and make tough decisions on the fly. She was the head coach in name only this season and it's fairly obvious when watching the games.

    Edit: I speak on her condition from both what I've seen as the normal for folks with her condition and from what I've heard from a couple of people that know her.
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2012
  12. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator


    That's who I would like to see get it. I just don't have much faith in Warlick as a head coach. Nikki and Holly are close friends IIRC. Having said that, I hope it's Pat's decision in the end. She's earned the right to decide for herself.

    Pat Summitt is the scariest woman on the planet even with her illness. It's the eyes. I have had nightmares about those eyes since 'The Incident' when I was 11 or 12.
     
  13. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    I halfway agree. The team with the best player -- if there is a clear best player -- wins the National Championship. It happens every year.

    But for every other team, coaching will at least get you the opportunity to lose in the finals or the semifinals to the team that happens to have the best player that year.
     
  14. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    I don't know. I don't like seeing her when she gets one of those blank looks. Those don't scare me. They make me sad. Saw it a couple times this year.
     
  15. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    Be it this year or next year, is it a foregone conclusion that we can get Nikki Caldwell?
     
  16. 615 Vol

    615 Vol Chieftain

    Maybe it's because I don't care that much for women's basketball that I think she should stay as long as she wants to. I don't know how I would feel if it were the football coach in the same situation, assuming they also had 8 national titles.
     
  17. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    People like numbers like they like asses: big and round.
     
  18. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    She's from Oak Ridge, so I'd say it's a pretty good bet.
     
  19. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    Totally agree. I took my little sister to a game when I was in town over Christmas break. It was upsetting to everyone with us how obvious it was Summitt was not really in on the coaching, or really "with it."
     
  20. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    I completely agreee. But I'm also not seeing much upside to her coaching another year. This entire season was like a pity parade for her. Pat Summitt is a badass. #fact. It bothers me seeing her riding on a float in the pity parade while being ceremonial head coach. Everybody loses.
     

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