CHICAGO— Legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt's legacy goes well beyond Tennessee and the Southeastern Conference.
With 1,098 victories, eight national titles and the most wins in NCAA history, Summitt has inspired decades of players and coaches around the world.
"She broke a lot of barriers between men's and women's basketball game and opened doors for more opportunities for female coaches," said seasoned Whitney Young girls basketball coach Corry Irvin, who won her 400th game as a coach this January.
Coach Irvin said Summitt was a role model for many young coaches in Chicago and the U.S.
"She laid out a nice path for me to continue to do in Chicago what she did as a female coach," said Irvin, who has coached the Whitney Young Dolphins for 13 years.
Irvin has read Summitt's books and said she keeps in touch with the Tennessee coach's former players who have gone on to become coaches and WNBA players, such as Naperville's Candace Parker.
ESPN basketball analyst and associate coach at Vanderbilt University Carolyn Peck echoed Irvin's remarks.
"People remember Pat Summitt as a coach who won 1,098 games," Peck said. "But the number of lives she has touched is immeasurable."
Marshall's girls basketball coach Dorothy Gaters was introduced by Summitt when she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Gaters says she has a picture with Summitt which she will cherish forever.
Summitt has set a high bar for future coaches to aspire and reach both in terms of being a great coach and a person, Gaters said.
"She had the eye of the tiger," Gaters said. "She had a stare that her players understood immediately that they needed to get to business."
Summitt's death Tuesday at the age of 64 has devastated girls and women's basketball players in Chicago, Irvin said.
Summitt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011 and she retired from coaching in 2012.
Thank you Pat Summitt for your contributions to women's basketball! #RIPPatSummitt pic.twitter.com/Gx24xPin5v
— CHICAGO SKY (@wnbachicagosky) June 28, 2016
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