University of Tennessee Athletics
Summitt's Impact On Full Display
January 22, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Brian Rice
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
What is always a meaningful game on the annual home schedule was even more special with the direct impact that Pat Summitt had on the combatants. Both head coaches, Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell, played for and coached alongside Summitt at Tennessee.
Before taking their places on opposing benches, both coaches presented Summitt with bouquets of orange and purple flowers and posed for a picture together. It was a moment that showed the game and the night meant much more than just a "We Back Pat" logo on the front of each coach's shirt.
"It was always about a never give up for Pat and her fight so we talked about when things weren't going our way you reach down and find a way to figure it out," Warlick said, referencing her pregame message to her team. "Pat has touched so many of us, especially Nikki as well, it's just a will to continue on and not feel sorry for yourself. If you don't hit a shot, we talked about that, don't feel sorry for yourself, things don't go your way don't feel sorry for yourself."
Warlick coaches in front of her friend and mentor every time she leads her team onto the court named for Summitt. Caldwell relishes the opportunity to do it once a year. That opportunity coming on the night held in her honor was even more powerful.
"It meant the world to be able to see her," Caldwell said. "I wouldn't be sitting here today without her. It's always great to be able to come back home, obviously, and see a lot of familiar faces. But, any time I come back to Knoxville, she is the one face that I definitely have to see. I'm glad I had that opportunity."
Senior Isabelle Harrison played on Summitt's final Tennessee team as a freshman and had her best night of the season, 25 points on 9 of 11 shooting and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line.
"It just means a lot to us," Harrison said of playing for Summitt. "Before we went into the locker room, [Warlick] gathered every body and was just like, `give your all to the woman who basically made Lady Vols.' Pat just gave so much to this program and her courage and fight and for her to come to the game tonight just showed so much courage and it was a blessing towards us. We really appreciated it."
It was a feeling shared by redshirt sophomore Andraya Carter, who was recruited by Summitt before she passed her whistle to Warlick.
"It's everything," Carter said of the night. "Coach Summitt has done so much for us, for the whole world of basketball honestly. You can go to other countries and they know who Pat Summitt is. Specifically for us, just the fight she had, the faith she had to continue to recruit us when we were in high school, the faith she had in Coach Holly to continue on the legacy of the Lady Vols.
"She's just a fighter. She loves us. She trusts us. She just sets a great example of what it means to be a Lady Vol. I think the fight, the encouraging to keep going, she does that for us. She's what we need to be on and off the court. We need to exemplify what she's shown us as a woman."
The lessons of Summitt and being a Lady Vol extend past just being a player in a Tennessee jersey. The lasting legacy of fight, courage and embracing every day are what Summitt and "We Back Pat" week are all about.
"We talked about you play as hard as you can every day, every hour, every minute because it is not guaranteed that you continue to have that," Warlick said. "Pat was not guaranteed she would have continued health. These kids are not guaranteed another day, every day you stay in the moment and you battle and you play as hard as you can. We wanted to make sure we honored Pat with a win tonight."
