Oct. 31, 2014 Like everything else in his world, Tyler Summitt was meticulous when it came to putting his coaching staff together last spring.
Summitt hit a home run - make that a grand slam - in his early April press conference with the announcement that former Louisiana Tech point guard and longtime coaching legend Mickie DeMoss would join him in Ruston.
With 35 years of experience as a head coach and assistant coach on both the college and professional levels, DeMoss brought a treasure chest full of knowledge back to her alma mater.
However, Summitt's other two hires were equally as important; arguably more important in some ways.
Like other great coaches, Summitt knows recruiting is the lifeblood to any good program.
Enter Bernitha Johnson and Amber Smith, a pair of young, energetic coaches Summitt has unleashed on the recruiting trails. It's the responsibility of the duo to find today's high school stars who will develop into tomorrow's Lady Techster stars.
"Together `B' and Amber are always thinking about recruiting," Summitt said. "They are always thinking about the next phone call; the next trip. They go after the best players because they are not scared to compete with the big schools.
"Bernitha and Amber do the 90 percent; the traveling, the phone calls, the one-on-one relationships, the texting, the social media. Mickie and I are here to help close the deal."
Both ladies have Tennessee ties, that championship experience. Even more importantly, they have that Summitt stamp of approval - from both the legendary Hall of Fame mother, Pat, and the up-and-coming son, Tyler.
Johnson - better known as Coach B - was a manager for Pat at Tennessee before serving stints as an assistant at Binghamton and Buffalo.
"I enjoy it because I love making an impact in young people's lives," Johnson said. "You can go out and build relationships with them. It boils down to them making a big decision. I feel like you develop a trust and a bond and that they want to come play for you. I'm passionate about it. You get kids in here who can compete, and then you are challenged to coach them and learn how to motivate them."
Smith was a player for DeMoss at Kentucky and helped lead the Wildcats deep into the NCAA Tournament. She served as a graduate assistant last year in Knoxville.
"I haven't been removed from college that long," said Smith, who graduated from Kentucky in 2011. "It's not been that long since I was recruited. I think back about what stood out when I was a recruit and what got me to go to a school. You need to build trust. That's the most important thing. Can they trust you. I think recruits respect that I played at a high level and that I know the game."
Together, they are Summitt's worker bees when it comes to recruiting.
"I told Coach B that as our recruiting coordinator, she was my boss, Mickie's boss, Amber's boss, everybody's boss when it came to recruiting. I think she has done an incredible job taking a leadership role and working well with Amber.
"Amber is an absolute tireless worker. Work ethic will never be an issue. She can connect to high school players very well; they look up to her because of her playing career."
Although they never worked together before coming to Tech, both coaches said they have developed a chemistry and Louisiana Tech's history and tradition help in the recruiting process.
"Most parents know of the tradition that Louisiana Tech has (in women's basketball), especially in Louisiana," Smith said. "Most of them know about Tyler and Mickie. We are really just trying to let them know that we are truly building on the tradition and we need great players to help us."
"I think the response has been positive," Johnson said. "There is a lot of enthusiasm about what we are doing here, our mission and our vision. I think kids are excited about the direction we are going. It's exciting when you have the right things to sell."
The entire staff has had to overcome the challenges and obstacles that come with taking over a new program, including getting a late start on this year's high school senior class. Summitt said he feels that they have been able to overcome some of those challenges.
"Knowing we were behind in April, I think Bernitha and Amber have done a great job recovering in recruiting," Summitt said. "I feel good about where we are with our high school seniors. I feel great with where we are with our high school junior class."
Tech has already received four verbal commitments heading into late October with national signing day less than two weeks away. Summitt is cautiously optimistic that they could add one more to the mix prior to the Nov. 12 signing date.
Tech fans can admire the staff's mentality when it comes to recruiting.
"We call every top recruit in our area," Summitt said. "Honestly, some will automatically say no because of the recent lack of success. However, we are going to go after the best players we can find. Building a program will be a process in every area, especially recruiting. High school players need to see proof in order to believe in something. We have to give them that proof.
"We recruit the full package. We are not just going to go after a basketball stud. We are not going to just go after a shooter. We are not just going to go after a high-character kid. We evaluate the full package. No young lady is perfect, but they have to have the right mindset, the right attitude, the right approach to academics, the right skill set, and the right athleticism for us to recruit them. We are not going to compromise on our standards when it comes to that."
Smith said that neither she nor Johnson is afraid of failure when it comes to recruiting the top players and battling SEC, Big 12 and Power 5 conferences for the next Lady Techsters.
"We are going to go after them no matter what," Smith said. "We think this is a great university and we have a lot to offer. We are not afraid to compete against the top schools when we are recruiting. We think we stand out. We think our coaching staff is the best in the country. We think we have the X factor."
Recruiting has changed since Tyler's mother started coaching at Tennessee in the 1970's at age 22. One of the biggest changes is social media and its impact on the process.
"You cannot find one kid walking on the side of the street that doesn't have cell phone in their hand," Johnson said. "The amount of time that kids are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snap Chat ... it's unbelievable. That high school kid will see Louisiana Tech every day just through social media if they are following us on their timeline. Louisiana Tech will be in their head just through social media. That's great. "
It's a true team effort in the Lady Techster offices as it takes more than just the efforts of Summitt, DeMoss, Johnson and Smith.
"We are very privileged to have support staff like Ashley Thompson and Kourtney Brown helping us with our social media and other aspects of recruiting," Johnson said. "Ashley is in charge of our social media. She has a very creative mind. She has grabbed the attention of the young audience. She sells not only our program but the entire university. They get the inside look of what we are about. Kourtney helps with the technical side of things. Image is big and if you can see success, you want to be a part of that success. I think that is what social media is doing for us."
While Johnson and Smith lay the ground work for getting potential student-athletes on the Louisiana Tech campus, it's ultimately up to the head coach to close the deal.
"Mickie and Tyler have been around the game so long, and they know what to sell," Johnson said. "Their knowledge, wisdom and experience mean a lot. They are good at getting recruits passionate about playing at Louisiana Tech. If you can do that, it's an easy sell. They are naturally gifted at that.
"Tyler has a strong right hook. He can definitely knock them out once they get here. He is great. Our role is to bring the energy and to get them on campus. His role is to sell it."
