The news on Sunday of basketball legend Pat Summitt's declining state of health has the sports community bracing for the worst. And has her rival, UConn coach Geno Auriemma, reflecting on her impact.
The Associated Press got a hold of Auriemma, who heard of Summitt's latest turn against Alzheimer's-type dementia while attending a WNBA game in New York.
"It's sad to see her family go through this," Auriemma told The Associated Press. "It's really difficult."
Auriemma credited Summitt for raising the bar for himself and countless other coaches. "She was the one that everyone tried to emulate. That was the program everyone tried to be," he said.
He remembered when they first played in 1995 when Summitt agreed to come up and play the Huskies on national television.
"I don't think anyone was surprised she wanted to play in that game," Auriemma said. "That's what she did. We try to do that. Play everybody anytime, anywhere. That's how she built her program to where it is."
The dynamic between Auriemma and Summitt changed from a friendly rivalry to something more contentious in the final decade of Summitt's career. In her latest and last book, Sum It Up, which was released in March, she dedicates some ink to the schism that ultimately ended the UConn-Tennessee rivalry. An excerpt of that was published earlier this year. Summitt writes that the fracture was catalyzed by Auriemma, and then, ultimately, she opted to end the series between the Vols and Huskies due to issues with how UConn was recruiting.
In the years since, as Summitt's battled early onset dementia, the relationship dropped its defensiveness and hostility. Auriemma is still at UConn; he won his record-setting 11th national title with the Huskies in April.
The AP also got responses, condolences and well wishes from some of Auriemma's former great players. Names such as Rebecaa lobo, Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi, who said, "If it wasn't for her, we probably wouldn't be playing in Madison Square Garden," regarding the WNBA and its New York-based team, the Liberty. Taurasi also told the AP, "Connecticut never would have been Connecticut" if not for Summitt's influence on the game.
