Dr. Sarah Edwards, any memories of her as a player

#1
stllvf

stllvf

StlLVF Saw first game in 1976
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#1
Following up on her twitter re Contravirus perspective as a medical doctor. I remember her as a player who didn't play a lot and as fans we were pulling for her during a period where she seemed to have lost confidence in her shot. We don't always recognize that the 18-22 we follow on a basketball court will make a difference following their playing days. She is just one example.
 
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#3
#3
Edwards (5-11 G/F) was a walk-on who saw limited action from '98-01, averaging 1.6 points and 0.4 rebounds in 36 appearances.

Sarah Edwards was determined to play for Tennessee this season--even if that meant never getting to play. So with two weeks left in the spring signing period last April, she traveled to Knoxville to persuade coach Pat Summitt to let her walk on, an invitation Summitt has extended over the past two decades about as often as she has lost in the NCAA tournament. To prepare for her sit-down with Summitt, Edwards pored over the pages of the coach's playbook for life, Reach for the Summitt, on the 40-mile drive from her home in Sevierville, Tenn. When Edwards exited Summitt's second-floor office at Thompson-Boling Arena later that afternoon, the Lady Vols had a 5'11" practice player with all-state credentials, Charles and Patricia Edwards had autographed copies of the coach's book, and their 17-year-old daughter had pulled off that rarest of feats: She had won over Pat Summitt.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/11/...ll-to-their-fourth-straight-title-in-san-jose
 
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#4
#4
stllvf said:
Following up on her twitter re Contravirus perspective as a medical doctor. I remember her as a player who didn't play a lot and as fans we were pulling for her during a period where she seemed to have lost confidence in her shot. We don't always recognize that the 18-22 we follow on a basketball court will make a difference following their playing days. She is just one example.
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Well said... I would also mention Dr. Brynae Laxton Miley, who is now an ear, nose and throat specialist in Oak Ridge. She was on the 1997 and 1998 national championship teams, and played a lot more than Sarah Edwards did.
 
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#6
#6
stllvf said:
I remember her as a player who didn't play a lot and as fans we were pulling for her during a period where she seemed to have lost confidence in her shot.
Click to expand...

You realize she was a walk-on who only played in the last minute of blowouts right?
 
#8
#8
jim pique said:
Do you know what you call the person who graduates.medical school with the lowest.grade average to graduate------- Doctor.
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I'm not impugning her professional accomplishments at all, which are obviously impressive. My point is anyone who remembers the fans being overly concerned with her "shooting confidence" clearly doesn't have a strong recollection of her playing days...
 
#9
#9
Very much remember her, there were so many blowouts during that period she actually saw last 1 minute mop up duty alot. She was that player who the regular players cheered mightily while they lounged on the bench with a 40 pt lead. There was another one, named Amanda, can't remember her last name. During the last 5 mins, a chant would start in the crowd "Sarah Amanda" "Sarah Amanda"
 
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#10
#10
glv98 said:
Very much remember her, there were so many blowouts during that period she actually saw last 1 minute mop up duty alot. She was that player who the regular players cheered mightily while they lounged on the bench with a 40 pt lead. There was another one, named Amanda, can't remember her last name. During the last 5 mins, a chant would start in the crowd "Sarah Amanda" "Sarah Amanda"
Click to expand...

Cannon (or Canon)?
 
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#11
#11
Those sure were good times, weren’t they? The crowd always appreciated those players everyone knew were working just as hard as the starters in Pat’s grueling practices for so little actual game time. It takes a special kind of person to be able recognize the honor and rewards in fulfilling that role for a championship-level program, and Pat’s best teams always had them. Having players like Sarah was absolutely essential to the Lady Vols’ success. And practicing/playing for a coach as demanding and exacting as Pat was prepared ALL the players for so much more than basketball games.
 
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#12
#12
Darth_Vol said:
You realize she was a walk-on who only played in the last minute of blowouts right?
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That makes no difference. She reached a goal. Obviously she has reached another goal being a doctor. Have you given any thought to the fact she was on a NCAA championship squad? Could her determination to "stay the course" not have had some effect on the other young ladies? As has been pointed out in this thread, she was not the only doctor on this squad. The toughness it must take to become a doctor had to have had some positive effect on the team as a whole. It would be nice to know what other "also ran" player from this era is doing these days.
 
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#18
#18
savannahfan said:
Sorry bout that. For some reason I thought UT won it all in her time frame..
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should have when she was a frosh but got upset by Duke when Holdsclaw inexplicably couldn't hit a shot to save her shorts (but, bless her heart, she kept shooting anyway, as she should have)
 
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#19
#19
Hoosier said:
should have when she was a frosh but got upset by Duke when Holdsclaw inexplicably couldn't hit a shot to save her shorts (but, bless her heart, she kept shooting anyway, as she should have)
Click to expand...

I do remember some fans were upset Pat didn't empty the bench sooner in their first round blowout win over Appalachian State, when Semeka Randall injured her ankle in the second half. You can debate whether that cost them the title that year, but there's no question Semeka was never the same player after that injury...
 
#20
#20
Excellent story on Sarah Edwards in today's edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

She is raising four daughters and is working at a Charlotte hospital.

Her husband is a plastic surgeon.
 
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#21
#21
kamoshika said:
Edwards (5-11 G/F) was a walk-on who saw limited action from '98-01, averaging 1.6 points and 0.4 rebounds in 36 appearances.

Sarah Edwards was determined to play for Tennessee this season--even if that meant never getting to play. So with two weeks left in the spring signing period last April, she traveled to Knoxville to persuade coach Pat Summitt to let her walk on, an invitation Summitt has extended over the past two decades about as often as she has lost in the NCAA tournament. To prepare for her sit-down with Summitt, Edwards pored over the pages of the coach's playbook for life, Reach for the Summitt, on the 40-mile drive from her home in Sevierville, Tenn. When Edwards exited Summitt's second-floor office at Thompson-Boling Arena later that afternoon, the Lady Vols had a 5'11" practice player with all-state credentials, Charles and Patricia Edwards had autographed copies of the coach's book, and their 17-year-old daughter had pulled off that rarest of feats: She had won over Pat Summitt.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/11/...ll-to-their-fourth-straight-title-in-san-jose
Click to expand...

Fun read.
 
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