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Dozens of Pat Summitts former Tennessee players and coaches descended on Knoxville over the weekend, making the basketball pilgrimage to say their final goodbyes to the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history.Summitt, who died Tuesday morning at age 64, was much more than just their coach. She was a role model, a second mother, a friend, a mentor.WNBA stars Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings knew they had to see her one more time. So they flew in over the weekend between WNBA games.Shes touched so many lives in the game of basketball and has grown the game, Parker said. Shes changed the way womens basketball is played. Shes changed the nature of womens basketball. She changed the way I looked at life.Shes not a person that just talks the talk, she walks the walk as well.Catchings said the biggest thing that Summitt taught her was integrity.Have integrity in everything you do, Catchings said Tuesday.I was blessed to have the opportunity to have such an amazing role model and such an amazing mentor, sister and friend, she added. To have the opportunity to be around someone like her (was special).Summitt came to watch Catchings win her only WNBA title in 2012. It meant the world to Catchings as she embraced her coach after the series clinching game.Catchings went with her mom to see Summit toward the end of last year. She knew she had to see her one more time before she died.Selfishly, I wish she was here, Catchings said. When I think about it, Im glad that she is free.Basketballs, orange and white balloons and flowers were left in front of her statue on Tennessees campus Tuesday. Summitts family plans a private funeral and burial but will hold a celebration of her life July 14 at Thompson-Boling Arena, where the court is named after the former coach.Shes the most important figure in the history of the sport, former Tennessee player Kara Lawson said. Her impact, she forever changed the sport, and her impact will always be felt by any player that plays the game. Anybody that loves the game of basketball owes a debt of gratitude to her. You think of how far the womens game has come, how normal it is to watch women play on TV, how normal it is for a young boy to look up to a young woman. That wasnt normal.Summitt helped grow womens basketball as her Lady Vols dominated the sport in the late 1980s and 1990s, winning six titles in 12 years. She made people care about the game.I think she brought the womens college game from the back page to the front page, Los Angeles Sparks coach Brian Agler said. Tennessee was the foundation that the modern era of womens basketball was built on.In 1995 when she played UConn in a national televised game, the AP held its womens basketball poll until the game ended -- the first and only time thats happened in the polls 40-year history. Tennessee and Connecticut had the best rivalry in the sport over the next dozen years before it ended. UConn coach Geno Auriemma put Summitts impact succinctly when he said Monday:Our sport is synonymous with Pat Summitt, and Pat Summitt is synonymous with womens basketball.Tennessee -- the only school she coached -- won NCAA championships in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996-98 and 2007-08. Summitt, who won eight NCAA championships overall, had a career record of 1,098-208 in 38 seasons, plus 18 NCAA Final Four appearances.But a stat that was really important to the Hall of Fame coach during the 38 years she coached at Tennessee: graduation rate.It was huge for her, said Holly Warlick, who took over for Summitt as coach of Tennessee and also played for her. You were not going to step on the floor if you missed a class, her rules were very simple. We still use them today.You sit in the first three rows. If you miss a class, you miss a game. ... She never wavered. We still have a 100 percent graduation rate. Wholesale Lakers Jerseys . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Los Angeles Lakers Shirts . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Stitched Lakers Jerseys . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Los Angeles Lakers Store . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. LOS ANGELES -- Seven-time All-Star Grant Hill retired from the NBA on Saturday after 19 seasons, ending a career interrupted by injuries that included an Olympic gold medal. The Los Angeles Clippers announced the news, which came as no surprise since Hill had been mulling his future after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. He had one season left on his contract. "Ive been hinting at it for the last few years and you get to a point where you just dont want to do it anymore. But Ive enjoyed it, Ive loved it," Hill said while appearing on TNTs pregame show before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Hill appeared in just 29 games last season, his first with the Clippers, but he lent a valuable veteran presence. Gary Sacks, the teams vice-president of basketball operations, called Hill "the embodiment of class, a true professional." The 40-year-old forward averaged 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals during a career that included stints with the Clippers, Detroit, Orlando and Phoenix. "Im certainly proud of what Ive been able to do," he said after the Clippers lost to Memphis last month. Hill struggled with injuries, particularly his troublesome left ankle. After leaving Detroit prior to the 2000-01 season, he spent seven seasons with the Orlando Magic in which he was limited to just 200 games due to injuries to the ankle. Before joining the Clippers, Hill spent five seasons with Phoenix. In 2010-11, he became the seventh player in NBA history to average 13 or more points at the age of 38 or older. "Grant was an outstanding player and embodied the ideals oof dedication and perseverance in overcoming injury and adversity during his distinguished NBA career," NBA Commissioner David Stern said.dddddddddddd. "He was always the consummate teammate and professional. We wish Grant and his family our very best and, hope he will continue to contribute to the growth of the league and the sport for years to come." During the 2011-12 season with Phoenix, Hill had a medial meniscus tear in his right knee. He missed 61 games because of a sports hernia during the 2006-06 season with Orlando. He missed the entire 2003-04 season with the Magic while rehabbing his left ankle after having surgery on it the previous season. In 2000-01, he had season-ending surgery to repair a broken bone in his left ankle. Hill was named to the All-NBA first team in 1997. He was a three-time winner of the leagues sportsmanship award. After a standout four-year career at Duke, Hill was drafted third overall by Detroit in 1994. He and Jason Kidd of Dallas shared Rookie of the Year honours. Hill was named to the all-rookie first team that year and became the first rookie to lead the league in All-Star fan balloting. At Duke, Hill helped the Blue Devils to consecutive national championships in 1991 and 92. He won a gold medal on the U.S. basketball team at the 1996 Atlanta Games. He was named to the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, but didnt play because of injury. Hill is married to Grammy-nominated singer, Tamia. His father, Calvin Hill, played in the NFL. Off the court, Hill has co-produced two documentary films and he was part of first lady Michelle Obamas delegation to the London Olympics last year. ' ' '