Holly Warlick was a Knoxville native who wasn't actually that much younger than Pat Summitt -- just six years. Yet Warlick became the lifelong pupil, the woman who, as much as anyone, cherished, guarded and maintained the Lady Vols legacy that Summitt built.
In 1980 she became Summitt's first All-American, and was the first Tennessee player to have her number retired. For many years, she was perennially atop the list of assistant coaches who could become head coaches.
But other than four years split between Virginia Tech and Nebraska at the start of her coaching career, Warlick never left home. In 2012, Warlick became head coach of her hometown Lady Vols. But a part of her home, and her heart, is gone now.
"We had such a strong connection," Warlick said during a teleconference Tuesday morning after it was announced that Summitt, 64, had passed away from the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
"We shared so much outside of basketball. Honestly, I didn't see me coaching anywhere else but Tennessee."
Warlick became an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1985, and was at Summitt's side for every one of Tennessee's eight NCAA titles. And after Summitt's diagnosis of early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type in 2011, Warlick essentially took over all the duties of being a head coach without getting the title. In fact, Warlick insisted right up until Summitt stepped down in April 2012 that Summitt was still the head coach.
It was a sincere, heartfelt sense of loyalty that Warlick always kept front and center throughout her career working for Summitt. And now, facing the rest of her coaching days and life without her mentor, Warlick looks to hold onto all the moments they had together.
"She taught me what character and integrity means," Warlick said. "I think probably the most important thing she taught me is not letting anything break your spirit."
If there was ever a time that might have happened to Summitt, it was when she got the horrible diagnosis that she knew would end her career and her life prematurely. But Summitt refused to let that happen; she started the Pat Summitt Foundation, was head coach emeritus at Tennessee, and did all she could -- until her final days -- to continue to positively impact the world around her.
"She put it out there -- she said, 'It's not a pity party,'" Warlick said. "We all knew what this disease does. But she put her life out there. It's always what Pat's done. It's all about awareness. What better stage for Alzheimer's to be on than with Pat, because of how hard she fights her battles.
"What do you do? What's the best way to find a cure for this disease? That's what Pat wanted to do. She didn't want to hide from it. She wanted to continue to have an impact. Maybe not so much to help her, but to help people in the future."
"I think probably the most important thing she taught me is not letting anything break your spirit." Holly Warlick on Pat Summitt
Warlick pointed out that it was the very same mentality that Summitt always had in regard to coaching women's basketball.
"Look at the players who are afforded the opportunity to play in big arenas, to get scholarships, to have a per diem," Warlick said. "It's due to a lot of the foundation, the groundwork, that was laid. Her outspoken awareness of her disease is going to do nothing but lay the groundwork for people to come.
"Pat always wanted to give women opportunity. Pat exemplified being tough, and then showing love. And that's hard to do. I know what she's meant for the Lady Vols; this is what she built. She afforded a lot of people the opportunity to say, 'One day, I want to coach. I want to be like Pat Summitt.' Pat was a model that a lot of people used to help start their program."
Even on a day when Warlick acknowledged her heart was broken, she also remembered what an incredibly funny person Summitt was, too, and the way they'd tease each other.
"Pat and I talked a lot about her career and my career," Warlick said. "I had great opportunities to go, but I just thought, 'It just doesn't get any better than this.' She and I used to joke, and I'd say, 'You know, Summitt, I'm going to be pushing you up in your wheelchair to the court.' And she'd say, 'You're going to be sitting right next to me.' And I said, 'Absolutely.'
"It's a very sad day, but I reflect back on all the lives she's touched. It simply amazes me the impact Pat's made in so many people's lives."