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Pat Summitt - Head Coach
In the year following the film’s release, Pat Summitt led the Lady Vols to an undefeated season (1997-8), winning all 30 regular and 9 tournament games, earning Summitt a 5th championship NCAA.In 1999, Summitt was inducted to theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. At the 2000 ESPYs, her Lady Vols were chosen as "Team of the Decade", tying for the honor with the Florida State football team.
Pat Summitt remains the winningest college basketball coach of all time, and in her 32nd year as head coach of the Lady Vols has won six national championships and 24 Southeastern Conference tournament and regular season titles.
Pat Summitt was named the Naismith Coach of the Century in 2000. In 2002, when she made her 13th trip to the Final Four as a coach, she surpassed John Wooden as the NCAA coach with the most trips to the Final Four. Keep current with Pat’s stats on her web site atcoachsummitt.com.
Coach Pat Summitt authored "Reach For The Summit,"{Excerpt} a book which made the New York Times best-seller list and"Raise the Roof."
Her son, Tyler Summitt, is now 15 years old and continues to be an avid fan of the Lady Vols.
Chamique Holdsclaw - 1997 MVP
During her time at Tennessee, Holdsclaw became the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder among both the men's and women's programs with 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds. In 1998, Holdsclaw received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.In the1999 WNBA draft, Holdsclaw was selected by the Washington Mystics as the 1st overall pick. In her first season, Holdsclaw was named the Rookie of the Year and was a starter in the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game. She averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her first season. The next year, Holdsclaw was named to the2000 Olympic team, helping to lead them to a gold medal.
During her subsequent seasons in the WNBA, Holdsclaw continued to improve her numbers. By 2003, she was averaging 20.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Chamique was named a WNBA peak performer in 2003 and three-time WNBA All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2003.
On July 24, 2004, however, she failed to show up for a game against Charlotte, and remained absent for the rest of the season including the playoffs. At first, Holdsclaw refused to discuss the reason for her absence, but following the season, she toldThe Washington Post a that she was suffering from clinical depression and that she had been ashamed to discuss it with the public.
On March 21, 2005, Holdsclaw was traded to theLos Angeles Sparks.
Kellie Jolly Harper - 1997 POINT GUARD
In 1997, Kellie Harper (formerly Kellie Jolly) was voted by her teammates to receive the Gloria Ray Leadership Award and by the staff to receive the "Coaches Award."As a senior with the Lady Vols in 1998-99, Harper earned All-American status as an honorable mention selection by the Associated Press after averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 assists. A 1999 graduate of Tennessee, Harper received her bachelor's degree in mathematics.
Kellie Jolly Harper was drafted in the fourth round of the1999 WNBA draft by the Cleveland Rockers. She played for 1 year before returning to the university coaching circuit.
Now at the helm atWestern Carolina University, in her first season Harper etched her name into the record books becoming the first-ever, first-year head coach in the Southern Conference to capture the SoCon Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. Harper led her sixth-seeded Catamounts to the crown in 2005 and to the NCAA tournament, the first on both accounts in the school's 40-year women's basketball history.
She was married to Jon Harper, also a former women's basketball assistant coach, on May 15, 1999.
Abby Conklin - 1997 CO-CAPTAIN
Abby Conklin earned her bachelor's degree in recreation and leisure studies in 1997 from Tennessee following the film’s completion. Following her college career, she was the 23rd overall draft pick in the1997 ABL Draft for the Atlanta Glory. She played for the Glory for the 1997-98 season.Conklin's professional coaching career begin at UNC-Asheville as an assistant coach from 1998-2002. While there, she was the recruiting coordinator for the Bulldogs.
After spending a year as the varsity girls basketball coach and a Fit for Life Instructor at Trinity High School in River Forest, Illinois – Abby returned to university play joining theUniversity of Wyoming’s Cowgirl program as an Assistant Coach in 2004.