CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former Capital and South Charleston standout Alexis Hornbuckle, one of West Virginia’s best high school basketball athletes, reflected on her playing career at Tennessee under hall of fame coach Pat Summitt, who passed away this week at the age of 64.
“All she wanted was our personal best,” Hornbuckle said. “She challenged us in every way—even if we disagreed—she challenged us to bring the best out of us.”
Hornbuckle won two national championships during her stint at Tennessee from 2004 to 2008 and set the all-time steals record along the way. Summitt finished with eight national titles in her 38 seasons leading the Lady Vols.
“Coach did a great job of being more than just a coach to us—she was a mother figure to us,” Hornbuckle said. “It was the same way you would discipline your kids, she would come back and explain what you did wrong and how you can fix it. That’s not always going to happen in the heat of the moment, but Coach always did a great job of having her door always open, keeping an open line of communication.
“She’s one of the most loving people that I’ve ever met. You’ll see her staring, stomping her foot and yelling. But you have to understand just how compassionate, sincere and understanding that she really is. It speaks volume to the person that she is.”
It was that compassion that pulled Hornbuckle to play for Summitt at a young age, before her high school career even began.
“I was about 11 or 12 years old, in the sixth grade, and watched an HBO special on Coach Summitt and the Lady Vols,” Hornbuckle said. “The way she demanded perfection, her discipline and the fact that she knew how to win. I told my parents, ‘That’s who I want to play for.’
“To be honest, I looked at her and she was just about as crazy as my father was,” Hornbuckle laughed. “I was like, ‘I need that!’ It ended up being everything I expected and more. It was a lot more intense. It was tough, but you adjust quickly under her and grow not only as an individual, but as an athlete.”
Hornbuckle went on to win two more championships in the WNBA and is still playing professionally overseas. She also established the Champions Training Academy with business partner Dannielle Diamant and has been working with kids from around the country at various camps and clinics.
“Most of my time is dedicated to the Champions Training Academy where we do individual small groups, camps and clinics,” she said. “I just really want to give back. I’m on the down part of my game as a player. But I still have a lot of love for the game and a lot of knowledge to give. I want to try to help as many young athletes get to college as possible.”
During those camps, Hornbuckle finds herself going back to lessons learned under Summitt.
“Considering her loss this week, we started out one of the camps with a moment of silence and then a Pat Summitt quote,” Hornbuckle said. “I learned a lot from her and I’ve tried to pass down all of those things.”