Past few days ‘difficult’ for former Tennessee coach Summitt

Pat Summitt, the former women’s basketball coach from the University of Tennessee, is “struggling” and people close to her have been told to prepare “for the worst,” the Knoxville News Sentinel was reporting Sunday morning, citing a source.

In a statement released Sunday, her family acknowledged that “the past few days have been hard for Pat”, whose illustrious 38-year tenure as Lady Vols coach included 1,098 wins, 32 SEC championships and eight national titles.

According to reports, Summitt’s family and friends are preparing for the worst. Among those include Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs, incoming women’s basketball freshman Kamera Harris, UT Football Coach Butch Jones and musical group The Oakridge Boys. With Summitt in charge, the team won 1,098 games, 32 SEC championships and eight national championships. Some of her players were only a year younger than she. That number is the highest amount of wins from any coach in Division I college basketball history for a men’s or women’s coach. Due to her condition, she stepped down from her position as head coach.

Fellow Lady Vol Andraya Carter tweeted “My thoughts are with the greatest coach of all time and her wonderful family”.

The “We Back Pat” campaign began nearly immediately after Summitt’s medical announcement. The basketball court at Thompson-Boling Arena was named “The Summitt” in her honor in 2005. More recently, in 2012, Pat was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In her retirement, her Pat Summitt Foundation worked tirelessly to raise funds for cutting-edge research for Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases.

In November 2013, the Pat Summitt Plaza, which included a statue, was dedicated on campus.