THE BEST ARE CONTINUAL LEARNERS

I was by no means a master tactician, but I'd become a good enough one to make a difference on the sideline, for which I had a lot of guys in the business to thank.  A great small-college legend named Don Meyer gave me his best methods, as did two Tennessee men's coaches, Don DeVoe and Kevin O'Neill.  DeVoe had a young assistant named Dean Lockwood, and I plundered his bookshelves for the latest instructionals or videos.  I'd see a new title in his office and say, "Can I borrow this?" Or I'd duck in DeVoe's office and say, "You got a minute?  How do you defend the wing when the ball gets there?"  I'd stay after work to watch the men practice.

Dean Lockwood: It impressed me how much of a student she was, what a learner.  Here she is, someone is such command of her world, her team and her program, and I'm twenty-six years old, and yet she's looking at me saying, "What can I glean from this, what can I get out of this guy that can help us?"  I would see her in Stokley standing at one end of the arena, leaning against a wall, watching us for twenty or thirty or forty minutes.

From "Sum It Up" by Pat Summitt with Sally Jenkins