Tamika Catchings is one of US basketballs most celebrated and decorated players of all time. Aged 37, she is about to embark on her 4th and final Olympic Games in Rio, after having achieved Gold at the last three Olympics.
Before being drafted to the WNBA in 2001 for the Indiana Fever and going on to win a host of awards and titles including WNBA Championships (under Lin Dunn), numerous MVPs and Rookies of the year , she played for the Lady Vols Tennessee Basketball Team from 1997 – 2001 under Legendary Coach Pat Summitt, who recently passed away from early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type aged just 64.
At the recent USA Team Basketball Showcase in New York, the FCN Media Team caught up with Tamika to ask her about the lasting legacy Pat had made on her and the rest of USA basketball.
On the day of June 28th when Pat passed away, Tamika wrote a blog about her emotions:
“I woke up this morning around 4:14a with an eerie sense of loneliness and shook it away long enough to get back to sleep for a few more hours before I needed to get up to head to the gym. At 6:30a both alarms went off on my ipad and my cell, and as I struggled to turn them off, my phone started ringing at the same time. Once again I looked around the darkness and struggled to comprehend, why I was getting a call so early, hoping that I hadn’t overslept…
“Tamika… Tamika… are you there?” my friend on the other end asked.
“Huh?… yes I’m here.” I responded.
“Tamika… I need you to get up. Have you heard the news? She asked.
“Pat passed,” I said as I choked on my own words… “Wow.”
I don’t know what all was said next, but I remember my last statement as I was getting off the phone…
“I have to get ready to go to the gym.”
And then we hung up. As I swung my legs over to the floor, nothing felt right in the moment. Go to the gym? For what? Tears started to slide down my face. First slowly, and then rapidly until I hit the dry heave. Alone in my space, reaching for Parnell, but not knowing where he was. I started praying. Much like I did when I saw her on Sunday.
“Lord, your will be done—not mine. Please protect her. Please watch over her. Please take care of her…”
I jumped in the shower, but NOTHING can take away the pain. The tears keep flowing, the memories ambush my mind, and honestly I don’t know the last time I’ve felt like this… if ever I lost someone that has impacted my life to this capacity.
Our trainer texted me and I told him “I don’t feel like coming to the gym.” I can only count on 1 hand in my 15 years as a player ever saying that – this was my 2nd time. And, so I decided to grab my things and head over to my sister’s house. Weirdly enough, as I started to walk out I saw a peep of my travel bag in the bonus room and saw that my husband was lying on the couch. I dropped my bags, ran to the couch and squirmed into his arms, finally able to release the tears, the pain and everything I was feeling in my body onto his shirt. Shaking uncontrollably he kept asking “What’s wrong? Babe… what’s wrong?” I couldn’t say the words, and every time I tried, I cried harder and harder. Not really grasping how to say the words, and really not wanting to hear it again.
Finally, I calmed down enough to say… “Pat’s gone…”
To read the full blog: CLICK HERE
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