Even Dean Smith is in awe of her. “In my estimation, she would have had great success coaching in the men’s game had she chosen that route,” Smith recently told the Associated Press.

“I truly think she’s the best coach to ever coach the women’s game and probably one of the best, period, to ever coach basketball,” said Chamique Holdsclaw, a former Lady Vol and voted in one poll the player of the 20th century, of her former coach.

There’s no denying that truth. Coaching basketball is the same, no matter the gender of the players. And when women play the game, it’s purer than the men’s game because it’s played below the rim, where there are no easy buckets and slam dunks.

COLLEGE HOOPS Pat Summitt's coaching record Year W-L 1974-75 16-8 1975-76 16-11 1976-77 28-5 1977-78 27-4 1978-79 30-9 1979-80 33-5 1980-81 25-6 1981-82 22-10 1982-83 25-8 1983-84 23-10 1984-85 22-10 1985-86 24-10 x-1986-87 28-6 1987-88 31-3 x-1988-89 35-2 1989-90 27-6 x-1990-01 30-5 1991-92 28-3 1992-93 29-3 1993-94 31-2 1994-95 34-3 x-1995-96 32-4 x-1996-97 29-10 x-1997-98 39-0 1998-99 31-3 1999-00 33-4 2000-01 31-3 2001-02 29-5 2002-03 33-5 2003-04 31-4 2004-05 27-4 Totals 879-171 x-Won NCAA Championship

Only Wooden, with 10, has more titles than does Summitt. And he had Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, two of the greatest centers ever to play the college game, to help him there.

Summitt has had great players, too. But she’s had to coach the game the way it was played in basketball pre-history — under the rim.

So don’t even dare to suggest a male coach has some advantage over her. No matter what facet of the game you look at — defense, rebounding, passing, motivation, strategy — she’s as good as they come.

When her teams take the floor, you get a clinic in finesse and movement and crisply run plays; in setting picks, blocking out, playing defense, being tough; in spacing, passing, moving.

She’s never failed to make the NCAA Tournament and never failed to advance to at least the third round. Her winning percentage in the playoffs, including the old AIAW that preceded the NCAA for women, is .807; her overall winning percentage is .837.

If that winning percentage is a bit bloated from her early years when she could sweep up the best of a small talent pool, it’s still extraordinary. It’s not what she did when she was a 22-year-old head coach that makes her great. It’s being able to continue to attract top players as the women’s game has gotten increasingly competitive and cut-throat. To still get the best after 31 years, she has to be the best.

And that’s what she is. The best coach in the business, and after Wooden, the best ever.

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