"When I ain't happy, ain't nobody in the camp happy": When Tennessee legend Pat Summitt laid out her expectations from new recruits

Former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt built up the Volunteers to be one of the premier programs in the nation in college basketball. During her 38-year reign, Summitt led the Vols to eight national championships and at the time of her retirement, she had the most wins in college basketball (1,098).

During her tenure, Summitt recruited some of the best prospects in the nation, including Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings. During a news conference before the 2008 Final Four, Summitt explained her no-nonsense approach to recruitment.

"I try to explain it in the recruiting process," Pat Summitt said. "And I start by saying, 'If you're not a great competitor and you're not committed to hard work and there's a reason they call it hard work, don't come here. Because you'll be miserable and I'll be miserable. And when I ain't happy, ain't nobody in the camp happy. I mean, I've had a lot of one-on-one conversations.

"And even with the parents. I've had players that I've said, 'I like your game in terms of how skilled you are. But I don't like the way that you take possessions off, you don't bring the intensity all the time.' I like to watch them practice more than watch them in the game because you learn so much more about players when you watch them practice every day. I mean, you see who they really are and what they're willing to bring, to get better."

---

How Pat Summitt helped the Vols football recruit a star receiver

The charismatic Pat Summitt was not only a star college basketball recruiter, but even the Tennessee Volunteers football team enlisted her help to recruit an unnamed four-star wide receiver according to their former deputy athletic director Scott Altizer during a 2016 interview with 247Sports.

“We had a four-star receiver who was down to us and one other school in his decision, and he was excited to meet Coach Summitt," Altizer said. "As we walked in, Coach Summitt stood up and said, ‘Is this the guy who can’t figure out the difference in Tennessee and (the other school)?’

"‘Have you watched us play ball? And have you seen the way we throw the ball around? It makes me wonder if you really need to come here if you’re having trouble figuring out the difference.’ He committed that evening.”

Pat Summitt turned the Vols into a force in college basketball and created an intense rivalry with the other premier college basketball program of the time, coach Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies, as they battled for both recruits and national championship wins.