Reaching for the Summitt
Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 8:55 amThe Tennessean
Reaching for the Summitt
Nashville, TN - Ross Tyler Summitt, not necessarily a household name, but if the last name sounds vaguely familiar, it is more than likely due to the familiarity of his family heritage. Ross, more commonly known as "Tyler", is the son of hall of fame coach Pat Summitt. Yes, the Pat Summitt, who led the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers to eight NCAA Championships, sixteen SEC regular season titles and sixteen SEC tournament titles. Tyler is the only son of the legendary coach and he spent the best part of his youth right by her side, learning from one of the greatest coaches of all time.
Born in 1990, Tyler grew up in the shadow of greatness and it was clear from the start, that much would be expected of him. Upon graduating from college in 2012, he was immediately hired on as an assistant to Terri Mitchell at Marquette University. Tyler was responsible for overseeing the Lady Golden Eagles offense during his tenure, but the team did not exactly live up to expectations. Consequently, it was rather surprising when the twenty-three-year-old Summitt was offered his first head coaching job after only two years as an assistant. What was even more surprising was that the offer was from the once formidable Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball program. Although the Lady Techsters went 30-31 during Summitt's brief tenure, many still believed that the team was on the verge of benefitting from his hall of fame pedigree.
Unfortunately, that all quickly began to unravel in the spring of 2016. In early April, news leaked that Summitt had an extramarital affair with one of his player's, Brooke Pomeroy. As more information began to come forward, pressure from the Athletic Department and the revelation that Pomeroy was pregnant, Summitt was forced to resign from the program in disgrace. Then in June of that same year, his mother passed away due to complications from early onset Alzheimer's disease.
After the scandalous affair and subsequent divorce, not to mention the passing of his mother, the twenty-five-year-old Tyler abruptly left public life, vowing never to return to the hardwood for fear of forever tarnishing his mother's legacy. However, the lure of the gym was apparently too strong and Summitt quietly returned to the sideline after a brief hiatus. Casey Alexander, who was in his fifth year as head coach at Lipscomb University in Nashville, offered Summitt the opportunity to return to the sideline as an assistant. Summitt took him up on his offer and discreetly returned to the bench as Alexander's #2 assistant.
After a very successful 25-7 campaign in 2018, Alexander left Lipscomb to take the head coaching vacancy at Belmont University, which is only three miles down the road from LU. Alexander was a standout player at Belmont and it was no surprise that he would jump at the chance to coach at his alma mater. Departing with Alexander was his #1 assistant Roger Idstrom, who would join Alexander in the Bruins locker room, leaving Lipscomb's Athletic Director, Philip Hutcheson, with the challenging task of either looking outside the program or offering the job to the inexperienced Summitt. Hutcheson chose the latter and Tyler Summitt officially stepped back into the coaching lime light as the new head coach of the Lipscomb Bison.
Not everyone at Lipscomb was happy about the new appointment and there were quite a few vocal opponents who decried the hiring, but as Hutcheson said, "Everyone deserves a second chance." Now the only question is whether this second chance will lead to a path of redemption or a road to ruin for the young prodigy. John Adams, a columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel quipped, "Summitt may be out of his element and not qualified for the job, but at least we won't have to worry about him dating one of his players...I hope."
Clearly, it is going to be an uphill battle for Summitt, as he has a lot to prove and more than his fair share of detractors. This was readily apparent in his very first press conference, as he was endlessly grilled by the press for nearly an hour. To his credit, Summitt handle it all with grace and he never dodged a question. However, despite his candor, many are still skeptical of the appointment and even fewer were convinced that he is ready to return to the spot light. Lest we forget that the legacy of his hall of fame mother casts a very large shadow in the state of Tennessee and expectations will be incredibly high. Maybe too high.
Reaching for the Summitt
Nashville, TN - Ross Tyler Summitt, not necessarily a household name, but if the last name sounds vaguely familiar, it is more than likely due to the familiarity of his family heritage. Ross, more commonly known as "Tyler", is the son of hall of fame coach Pat Summitt. Yes, the Pat Summitt, who led the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers to eight NCAA Championships, sixteen SEC regular season titles and sixteen SEC tournament titles. Tyler is the only son of the legendary coach and he spent the best part of his youth right by her side, learning from one of the greatest coaches of all time.
Born in 1990, Tyler grew up in the shadow of greatness and it was clear from the start, that much would be expected of him. Upon graduating from college in 2012, he was immediately hired on as an assistant to Terri Mitchell at Marquette University. Tyler was responsible for overseeing the Lady Golden Eagles offense during his tenure, but the team did not exactly live up to expectations. Consequently, it was rather surprising when the twenty-three-year-old Summitt was offered his first head coaching job after only two years as an assistant. What was even more surprising was that the offer was from the once formidable Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball program. Although the Lady Techsters went 30-31 during Summitt's brief tenure, many still believed that the team was on the verge of benefitting from his hall of fame pedigree.
Unfortunately, that all quickly began to unravel in the spring of 2016. In early April, news leaked that Summitt had an extramarital affair with one of his player's, Brooke Pomeroy. As more information began to come forward, pressure from the Athletic Department and the revelation that Pomeroy was pregnant, Summitt was forced to resign from the program in disgrace. Then in June of that same year, his mother passed away due to complications from early onset Alzheimer's disease.
After the scandalous affair and subsequent divorce, not to mention the passing of his mother, the twenty-five-year-old Tyler abruptly left public life, vowing never to return to the hardwood for fear of forever tarnishing his mother's legacy. However, the lure of the gym was apparently too strong and Summitt quietly returned to the sideline after a brief hiatus. Casey Alexander, who was in his fifth year as head coach at Lipscomb University in Nashville, offered Summitt the opportunity to return to the sideline as an assistant. Summitt took him up on his offer and discreetly returned to the bench as Alexander's #2 assistant.
After a very successful 25-7 campaign in 2018, Alexander left Lipscomb to take the head coaching vacancy at Belmont University, which is only three miles down the road from LU. Alexander was a standout player at Belmont and it was no surprise that he would jump at the chance to coach at his alma mater. Departing with Alexander was his #1 assistant Roger Idstrom, who would join Alexander in the Bruins locker room, leaving Lipscomb's Athletic Director, Philip Hutcheson, with the challenging task of either looking outside the program or offering the job to the inexperienced Summitt. Hutcheson chose the latter and Tyler Summitt officially stepped back into the coaching lime light as the new head coach of the Lipscomb Bison.
Not everyone at Lipscomb was happy about the new appointment and there were quite a few vocal opponents who decried the hiring, but as Hutcheson said, "Everyone deserves a second chance." Now the only question is whether this second chance will lead to a path of redemption or a road to ruin for the young prodigy. John Adams, a columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel quipped, "Summitt may be out of his element and not qualified for the job, but at least we won't have to worry about him dating one of his players...I hope."
Clearly, it is going to be an uphill battle for Summitt, as he has a lot to prove and more than his fair share of detractors. This was readily apparent in his very first press conference, as he was endlessly grilled by the press for nearly an hour. To his credit, Summitt handle it all with grace and he never dodged a question. However, despite his candor, many are still skeptical of the appointment and even fewer were convinced that he is ready to return to the spot light. Lest we forget that the legacy of his hall of fame mother casts a very large shadow in the state of Tennessee and expectations will be incredibly high. Maybe too high.
