Head coaches of the former Vols and Hogs are almost at odds over the practice court.
Arkansas’s FAYETTEVILLE Some names have meaning beyond the organization they originate from. In college basketball, Pat Summitt and Nolan Richardson are two of the most well-known names. Nine national titles and twenty-one Final Four appearances between the two coaches—both Naismith Hall of Famers—were achieved together. With the Lady Volunteers, Summitt breathed life into the women’s game. As the first African-American coach to win the NIT and the second to win a national championship while at Arkansas, Richardson paved the way for other African-American coaches. Everybody has a Pat Summitt story, as Peyton Manning noted during Summitt’s eulogy. Given that the two teams will be playing each other again inside Bud Walton Arena, it seems appropriate to revisit an incident that unintentionally involves the two titans of the game. adds Mike Neighbors, the coach of Arkansas currently in place.
When Summitt came to town to play the Razorbacks in the early 2000s, Neighbors was in charge of managing the practice schedule for the women’s basketball team. There was something off. The arrival of Summitt’s team in the parking lot at 4:50 p.m. for a practice schedule that started at 6 p.m. startled the neighbors. As Neighbors attempted to strike up a conversation with a group of arriving Lady Volunteers, an instant panic gripped his body. At that time, neighbors greeted Summitt with “welcome.” “I’ll take you to your changing area. You guys arrived a little early.”
A different legend was using the practice court right now, so it wouldn’t have been an issue if Summitt and her group had arrived an hour early. They had no intention of calling it a day on Richardson and his team. According to Summitt, they are approximately five minutes ahead of schedule. We’ll remain in this location. Do they nearly finish? You guys don’t start until six, so they got an extra hour, I told them. He was certain that he had erred as a director of operations attempting to gain a foothold in the coaching world. After making a mistake, Neighbors found himself in the awkward situation of having to mediate a dispute between two of the greatest coaches in history over a practice court.
Neighbors said, “I start sweating way worse than I’m sweating now.” “I’m concerned that I gave them the incorrect time. I will have to attempt to mediate a standoff between Pat Summitt and Nolan Richardson.” It turns out that the Tennessee director of operations made a mistake by failing to account for a straightforward time zone shift. Neighbors were unaware that 6 p.m. central time was actually 7 p.m. eastern time when he drove his Jeep back to his office in Barnhill to check the fax and find out what time he had given Summitt. Neighbors said, “I’m just hoping that the fax I sent said six o’clock.” “She said, ‘We’ll be on this bus,’ after I showed her. If Coach, would you come get us Richardson will be leaving soon?
Neighbors was always referred to by Summitt as “the guy who got the shootaround time right” after that. Hopefully, there won’t be a scheduling snafu as the two programs, led by reputable coaches (Eric Musselman and Rick Barnes), prepare to play again inside Bud Walton Arena. Nevertheless, it serves as a moving reminder of the legends who came before them. On February 14, the game is slated to tip at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2 and fuboTV.
