With Pat Summitt as mentor, Bearden girls' basketball coach inspired to reach for excellence

As a male practice player who worked out with the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team while a student, Bearden High girls coach Justin Underwood learned plenty from the legendary Pat Summitt about, well, reaching the summit.

“Coach Summitt was a phenomenal motivator and every day was an intense practice,” the former Atlanta resident said of the late coach, whom he called a great ambassador for basketball. “I’ve stolen many ideas from so many good coaches, and she would be at the top.”

One tip he particularly learned from the winner of eight women’s national championships was to set high goals, he said.   

That is one reason why this year was considered both another success and a "what if" season for the Bearden Lady Bulldogs basketball team.

They won the regular season District 4-AAA title for the sixth straight year and also won the district tournament on the way to a 29-4 record. But they fell just three points short of qualifying for the state tournament after Johnson City Science Hill rallied late at home for a 49-47 victory in the sectional game on March 7.

“Our kids did a fantastic job and played hard and put ourselves in a great position for 30 minutes, but in the last two we didn’t do what we wanted to do,” he said.  

But overall, the ninth-year Bearden coach has been wearing a smile more than a frown since the season ended.

“My kids played with a lot of heart and determination. Yes, we would have loved to get to the state tournament, and it is disappointing, but (the overall season) puts some closure on the senior class.”

He said graduating players Jakhyia Davis, Emma Stone, Jah’niya Bussell and Asailia Jenkins won 109 games during their stint at the West Knoxville school off Kingston Pike.

The standout, he said, was Davis, an East Tennessee State signee. “We were led by Jakhyia Davis,” he said. “She did so much for us offensively and defensively.”

He added that Stone was the team’s key three-point shooter who made a number of key shots during the season, while Bussell was the defensive stopper who was the MVP at the Campbell Invitational tournament earlier in the season.

“Anytime we needed a big defensive play or a big steal, she came through,” the coach said. “Each senior brought a different skill set to the table. The roles varied and for our kids to embrace the pieces of a whole was great.”

Underwood said he is already looking forward to next year. While the team loses three senior starters, it does have some good young players coming back.

But at least for a while leading up to the team banquet scheduled in the coming days, he is going to take a little time to reflect, too.

“We’ve got really good kids and talented kids, and they continue to live up to the lofty goals and high expectations,” he said with pride.