Though LSU's Sue Gunter won't actually be coaching her team today, her teachings and motivational tactics are powerful enough to sustain her players.
By EMILY NIPPS
Published April 4, 2004
NEW ORLEANS - When LSU plays Tennessee tonight it will be a tribute to a legend, one of the great pioneers of women's basketball.
Tigers coach Sue Gunter, whose 708 victories are the third most in NCAA women's history, has done a lot of things in her 40-year career. She has been a friend and mentor to Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. She has coached teams in the NCAA Tournament 14 times.
She has finally made it to the Final Four.
And she's not going to be anywhere near the court.
In the 39 years before this season, Gunter missed one game, and that was when her mother died. Now, during one of the biggest games she has ever been a part of, she'll likely be watching it on TV.
Gunter, 62, is suffering from bronchitis and a severe viral infection and has not coached a game since Jan. 25.
"It breaks my heart that she cannot be on the bench," Summitt said. "Because of all that she's meant to so many players and coaches and just people that love this game, obviously that doesn't seem fair."
LSU players and acting coach Dana "Pokey" Chatman insist that Gunter is there, whether other people can see her or not. Every NCAA Tournament game has begun and ended with Gunter, mainly via cell phone on the court.
And as everyone else who watched the past few games will remember images of the Tigers and Chatman screaming, laughing and embracing, the Tigers will remember what was really going on.
Gunter still runs this team.
"We see her, we talk to her, so it's really not a big change," LSU senior guard Temeka Johnson said. "When we were in Seattle, she was with us. Anywhere we go, Coach Gunter travels with us, even if you have to have that little inner voice of her being inside your head."
Gunter, who was once a heavy smoker, must stay away from crowds to avoid aggravating her viral infection. But her voice and attitude and hard-nosed approach on the sideline still linger with her players.
"On the sly, she can be mean when she wants to," forward Florence Williams said. "But we miss her dearly, and she's still here emotionally."
Chatman said Gunter has been cheering and celebrating with the Tigers the entire way, especially after LSU beat Georgia 62-60 in the West Region nail-biter.
"She's like a little kid at Christmas," said Chatman, who played for Gunter at LSU from 1987-91. "She's giddy; she's excited.
"It's difficult for our kids to answer questions (about her absence) because they do talk to Coach Gunter. They see her, she's there."
The Tigers (27-7) play SEC foe Tennessee (30-3). The teams played Feb. 29, when the Vols beat the Tigers 85-62.
It will be a tough test for the Tigers, who are 10-4 against SEC teams and are the clear underdog against Tennessee. Much of the game's outcome relies on the success of sophomore Seimone Augustus, whom Summitt and Gunter got in a recruiting tug-of-war over when Augustus was in high school.
Summitt had the edge of being at legendary Tennessee. Gunter won over Augustus in the end.
Chatman, who set 20 school records when she played at LSU, said Gunther has a way of motivating players that other coaches can't match. She remembers it from her playing days, and she knows it will come through to her players when they set foot on the Final Four stage.
"She understands that these kids don't need her to step in and say, "rebound," Chatman said. "She will get her point across in different ways individually and sometimes that's the most effective way."
While Chatman deserves a lot of credit for stepping in and carrying the Tigers this far, she doesn't think that way. After all the years of influence Gunther has had on her, she can only think of what Gunther would say.
"Someone asked me, "It's Tuesday night, the buzzer goes off, you're the champion. What are your thoughts?' "
"And it's Sue. Sue. That's it. It's not good print, but it's real."
