I still remember the day I met Sue Gunter.
It was February 5, 2003, my first semester as a Reveille sportswriter, and I was assigned to write the LSU-South Carolina game preview.
I showed up at the PMAC to interview Gunter and some of the players after the practice before the game, but no one was there. I stood in the middle of the court, just looking around. I was lost.
For me, the story was a big deal. I expected to make my name as the tennis and club sports beat writer, and I expected basketball, football and baseball to be covered by the more experienced writers.
To say this was my big shot might be an understatement. LSU was a team on the rise with freshman Seimone Augustus and junior Temeka Johnson. And there I was, without an interview and without a story. I felt like a great opportunity was quickly slipping away from me.
Luckily, Gunter spotted me as she crossed the hallway toward the women’s locker room. She immediately recognized the look of a confused, lost student writer, and she introduced herself to me. Here she was, a Hall-of-Fame coach, introducing herself to me like I was somebody.
After inviting me back to the women’s locker room area and showing me the new team facilities, Gunter gave me the best interview I have ever experienced as a writer.
The thing I remember most about that interview is that Gunter was just so darn nice and so responsive to every question. She treated me like a professional and with respect — something a lot of coaches these days fail to do when it comes to the media.
I covered the women’s team two more times that season, and each time Gunter acted as if she had known me her entire life. She smiled, she joked, she gave me a pat on the shoulder when the interview was over. She always said “thank you,” “you’re welcome” and “good luck.”
She almost treated me like I was one of her players. At times, I felt like she was actually coaching me and making me a better reporter. But more importantly, Gunter was making me a better person.
The same applied to the way Gunter ran her basketball program. The players who came through LSU over the years learned how to play the game of basketball well. But the real difference was made in the type of people her players became off the court. Sue Gunter made people productive in their lives — just look at what Pokey Chatman is doing as head coach of the Lady Tigers.
Everything that was Sue Gunter — tireless, dedicated, and successful — is now epitomized by Chatman.
Dana Chatman showed up on the LSU campus in the fall of 1987 after graduating from Hahnville High School. She was the starting point guard on Gunter’s team the second she stepped on campus. She also stepped — slowly — into the nickname “Pokey,” which was given to her by Gunter and her teammates for the way she moved around the court.
But the clever nickname — which Chatman legally changed to her first name — only applied to Chatman’s court speed. Success, on the other hand, came quickly and often for Pokey. She started all but one game of her four-year career. She set the LSU record for assists (570) and steals (376) in a career. She finished fifth in LSU history with 1826 points. She was named the 1991 Southeastern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, the first LSU player to earn such an honor. She led LSU to a 82-38 record in four years.
Chatman accomplished this as a player with the coaching and guidance of Gunter. Gunter had so much of an influence on Chatman’s life in those four years that Chatman signed on as a student assistant coach during the 1991-92 season. Success came quickly once again for Chatman when she was hired as an assistant coach the very next season.
Chatman coached under Gunter for the next 12 seasons, learning from Gunter and, in many ways, becoming very much like her mentor. She speaks like Gunter, coaches like Gunter, and understands how to coach and talk to players in a style similar to Gunter.
In the 2003-2004 season when Gunter fell ill and was unable to coach, Chatman stepped in almost seamlessly. The Lady Tigers did not miss a beat — Chatman led the team to the NCAA Tournament and the team’s first-ever appearance in the Final Four.
When LSU defeated Georgia in the Elite 8 to advance to that very first Final Four, Chatman immediately called Gunter, who was watching the game on television, to share the moment with her. Chatman owed that moment to Gunter for all those years of coaching and guidance, much like I feel I owe part of my success to the coach who touched my life.
And it is in this way, through the people she touched and changed during her lifetime, that Sue Gunter still lives today.
Contact Michael McNeil at [email protected]