MURRAY — It does not take too long to understand that Murray State Head Women’s Basketball Coach Rechelle Turner very much admired former college coaching legend Pat Summitt.
Displayed inside her office at the Gene W. Ray Basketball Center is a photograph of herself and current Racers assistant Monica Evans posing with Summitt herself. That was taken when Turner was the head coach at Murray High, where Evans and another person who appears in the photo — assistant Patti Patterson — attended Summitt’s coaching clinic at the place she achieved legend’s status, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
There is also at least one Summitt maxim displayed in a frame on the wall, showing Summitt with her trademark stare.
Summitt died in 2016 after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease at only the age of 64, a most unfortunate ending for a person not only so revered, but so known for vibrance and intensity. Turner did not have to think twice about continuing Murray State’s involvement in the annual “We Back Pat” observance to spread Alzheimer’s awareness when she took the head job in the spring of 2017. And a few weeks ago, she once again joined her defending Missouri Valley Conference champions, as well as numerous programs nationwide, in wearing the color chosen for this activity — purple — for their home game with Valley power Drake on Dill Family Court at the CFSB Center.
“Pat Summitt is a hero of mine, from as far back as I can remember, and not just because of the games that she won, not because of all of the talent she coached but because of the person she was,” Turner said in her postgame comments after a big accomplishment for herself and the Racer program that Sunday afternoon at The Bank. The 95-67 win over Drake marked not only Murray State’s first against the Bulldogs in Murray since entering Valley, it was Turner’s 150th win at her alma mater.
“She was the one that taught me that relationships are the most important thing. No, they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care and that’s something Monica and I have carried with us since the time we began this coaching thing 30 years ago, and I’m a believer that it’s about relationships.
“Now, obviously, you have to have talent and, obviously, you have to have kids that can put the ball in the basket (the Racers’ win that day came after several games where they had struggled from the field), those kinds of things. But we have been able to get kids here at Murray State that I don’t think we would’ve gotten if it wasn’t for the deep relationships that our coaching staff and that I have built with these kids. I think they want to come and I think our retention is because they know they’re loved and they know they’re not just valued by their averages, they’re valued because they’re part of our family, and Pat Summitt taught me that.”
Summitt fought this disease for about five years before it took her in June 2016. Her presence in college basketball is still as enormous today as it was when she prowled the sidelines for the Lady Vols, who she led to eight NCAA titles. When she retired at the end of the 2011 season, she had accumulated 1,098 wins against only 208 losses for a mind-boggling 84.1% success rate. At that time, she had supplanted Indiana men’s legend Bob Knight as the all-time wins leader in the college game, regardless of gender.
Like many others in the sports world, Turner followed Summitt’s progression with the disease. However, this is an ailment that has affected the Racers’ chief in numerous other cases that hit much closer to home.
“My dad’s brother died of Alzheimer’s and I know that there’s other people on our staff that have dealt with this, as well as our fans, players on our team, so it hits close to home,” Turner said, also taking time to recognize another victim, currently battling the disease. “One of my favorite people in the world, David Carr (longtime coach, teacher and administrator at Murray High) is dealing with this and his family is dealing with this as well.
“So to be able to go out and say, ‘We’re wearing purple (actually the main color of two Valley rivals, Northern Iowa and Evansville) because we want you to know that we stand beside you and we support you,’ means a lot. It is a terrible disease and we just continue to pray that they can find a cure.”
Turner recalled a moment from that coaching clinic in Knoxville that still makes her happy to this day. Already pleased with the day’s events, her smile was huge as she told the story.
“Yeah, one of the most fun things, basketball wise, I’ve ever gotten to do was when (Summitt’s) secretary actually let me sit behind her desk,” Turner said. “You would’ve thought that I was like a kid in a candy store, but Monica, myself and Patti (who was Murray High’s softball coach in those days) all went to her clinic and it was probably the best two days I’ve ever had. She got to talk to us, we got to meet her, of course. I followed Lady Vols games over the years.
“She was just an amazing coach but, still, a more amazing person. If you read her books or read things about her, she just did things the right way and she set the standard and that’s something we try to live up to.”
In an earlier interview, Turner said there are three dates every year on the Racers’ schedule that she tries to make sure are included — an Education Day game (where thousands of area school children attend a game), a breast cancer awareness day and “We Back Pat.”
