THE SUMMITT OF HOOPS COACHES

(April 9): Too many of us make the mistake, and I'm no exception, of overlooking this name when listing the great coaches in college basketball.

The greatest coach of all time, of course, is the iconic John Wooden, who guided UCLA to an astounding 10 NCAA championships.

But when we talk about who belongs in the pantheon of coaches, we tend to focus on the likes of Dean Smith, Bob Knight, and Coach K and acknowledge the likes of Roy Williams, Ben Howland, Jim Calhoun and, perhaps, Bill Self, who earlier this week guided Kansas to the national title.

But the accomplishments of those men pale in comparison to those of a woman who, before it's all over, may end up matching and, perhaps, even surpassing the lofty standard set by Coach Wooden.

We're speaking, of course, about Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Lady Vols.

Stanford advanced to the final with memorable wins over Maryland and U-Conn. The Cardinal was the team with the momentum, while the Lady Vols needed a put-back shot with 0.7 seconds to escape with a one-point semifinal win over LSU.

But Stanford was over-matched last night in Tampa as Tennessee rolled to a 64-48 win to claim back-to-back titles and earning its eighth national crown under the baleful watch of Pat Summitt.

Since taking over at Tennessee at the age of 22, her teams have also won 983 games and 14 conference crowns. And, at age 55, she still has plenty of years left to overtake the legendary Mr. Wooden.

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