With the 2020 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From some game-winning FTs in the 1955 tourney (65th anniversary) through a 17-PT comeback win in the 2015 1st 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We continue our series with Hall of Famer Sue Gunter, who had great success at 3 different colleges in 3 different states. She went 44-0(!) in 2 seasons at Middle Tennessee, then led Stephen F. Austin to 5 AIAW Sweet 16 appearances in an 8-year span from 1973-1980…but when she arrived in Baton Rouge she took it up a notch. After becoming LSU head coach in 1982, she led her team to 14 NCAA tourneys including 4 Elite 8s from 1986-2004. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Sue’s friend/former teammate Doris Rogers about the 35th anniversary of Sue winning the Women’s NIT title and the 15th anniversary of being elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Sue was an AAU All-American at Nashville Business College in 1960: how good a player was she back in the day, and how did she get into coaching? My 1st year at Nashville was her final year there. She was a role player and the kind of player who everyone loved to coach because she did whatever you asked her to do. She was a shooter but also unselfish and supportive: the perfect teammate. I heard her say that she always saw the game a little differently than her teammates and what adjustments needed to be made so even while she was a player she offered suggestions like a coach. She was an insightful player but not bossy.
She began her coaching career at Middle Tennessee State, where she went a combined 44-0 in 1963 and 1964: how was she able to come in and win every single game? Our coach John Head was the greatest coach I have ever known, which helped a lot. Tennessee has always been a hotbed for women’s basketball so she was able to bring in some good recruits like Marynell Meadors. She was a great motivator even though the games were not televised.
In 1976 at the very 1st Olympic women’s basketball tourney she was an assistant coach for team USA: what did it mean to her to win a silver medal? She and head coach Billie Moore were just so surprised because they barely had enough money to send a team to Canada. Sue was 1 of the most patriotic people I ever knew and she always put the team first. It started an avalanche for women’s basketball and she was very proud to have helped start that. Her father died around that time so she had to miss a few games before heading back to Montreal.
In the 1980 Olympics she was head coach of team USA (and had an assistant named Pat Summitt): how devastated was she about not participating due to a boycott? She said that she respected the President and would honor the boycott…but I am sure that she was disappointed on a personal level. Coach Head passed away during Olympic qualifying and he was a person that she had respected so much.
She was the 1983 national COY as head coach at LSU and a 2-time SEC COY: what did it mean to her to win such outstanding honors? She would say it is about “my girls”. I am sure she was proud of that but I do not think she ever admitted it to herself and would be irritated if people mentioned it to her.
In the 1985 WNIT title game she had a 20-PT win over SEC rival Florida: what did it mean to her to win a title? She was really proud for her university and her players and what they accomplished together but it was never about her. All of us have egos but she certainly put hers in a unique perspective.
She missed the 2nd half of the 2004 season due to acute chronic bronchitis, but acting coach Pokey Chatman ended up leading the team to the Final 4: how bad was her health, and did she give Pokey any advice along the way? Sue did not go to the Final 4 in New Orleans but was there every step of the way during the season. She was a part of it as much as she could be but she had all the confidence in the world in Pokey and always knew her potential.
She retired after 40 years of coaching in D-1 with 708 career wins, which at the time made her the 3rd-winningest women’s basketball coach in NCAA history: what made her such a great coach, and how was she able to stick around for 4 decades? It was her attitude and willingness to adapt and learn new things. Sue knew human nature: she always cared about her players. She could change with the times and hire different assistants but she loved her players and loved the game. She helped lay the foundation for LSU’s success since then.
In April of 2005 she was elected to the Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of her career? I am not certain because it was such a traumatic year, but she would have been proud and said that her parents would have enjoyed it. It was never about her so she would have credited everyone in the sport she had ever known. We are a composite of where we have been and who we were around.
She passed away in August of 2005: when people look back on her career, how do you think she should be remembered the most? If I can quote 1 of her players: “Reach back and help someone”, which really says it all. It just means to pay it forward: if that is not in place then whatever you accomplish is not important.