National championships, Final Fours, SEC titles, the sweetest of finishes and the bitterest of losses: Tennessee Lady Vols assistant coach Dean Lockwood has seen a lot in his 20 seasons in Knoxville.
The Michigan native is entering his 20th season with Tennessee basketball, first serving with the men’s team under then-head coach Don Devoe from 1986-1991 before coming back as an assistant coach for the Lady Vols under head coach Pat Summitt in 2004.
For Lockwood, he would best sum up his time with the Lady Vols as a blessing.
“It’s been phenomenal,” Lockwood said. “When you first get into coaching, there’s no guarantee of anything. You know you’re going to move around a lot, you know you’ll be working at different places. But to be in this environment as long as I have, it’s been a blessing.”
During his five-year stint as an assistant for Devoe’s team, Lockwood was part of three straight winning seasons, two National Invitational Tournaments and one NCAA Tournament team, coaching a total of seven NBA draft picks in that span.
Lockwood went on to take the head coaching job at Northwood University in 1991 before moving on to the same role for the Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball team from 1998 to 2004.
That 2004 season is when Lockwood was brought on to Pat Summitt’s staff, where he worked alongside then-assistant coach, former Lady Vol and current head coach Holly Warlick.
According to Lockwood, working for Summitt, who, with 1,098 wins, places her first in all-time wins among women’s college basketball coaches, was a great experience.
“Coming back and coaching eight years with her was nothing short of phenomenal,” Lockwood said. “It was just a great experience having her and just jumping on board with that staff was terrific.”
In the 15 seasons Lockwood has been with the Lady Vols, he’s been a part of three Final Four teams, seven SEC championship teams and, in 2006 and 2007, back-to-back national title teams. With that comes a plethora of memories that many players and coaches could only dream of in their careers.
“There has been so many (memories),” Lockwood said. “I consider myself a lifelong learner. They’ve all been full of growth and learning. The two seasons we won national championships were unlike any other.
“To be a part of that, to experience that, it was a ride like none other.”
While Lockwood has had the opportunity to coach the likes of Candace Parker and Isabelle Harrison, among many other players who would go on to have successful careers in the WNBA, the 2018-19 team has been one of his favorites yet.
“It’s a new time of leadership,” Lockwood said. “We’re still upholding the standards and core values that have been established here. They bring good energy everyday, they’re receptive, they’re coachable. They want to learn.”
Although the coaches have harped on the Lady Vols’ energy all offseason, particularly that brought on by freshmen, Lockwood has returned the favor with a lot of energy of his own, according to the players who feed off of it everyday in practice.
“I’ve never seen him have a bad day,” sophomore guard Evina Westbrook said. “If he was, you’d never be able to tell. He has the most energy, all of the time. For this team, to have that one person that says ‘come on, let’s go,’ that’s exactly what we need.”
For players like senior forward Cheridene Green, Lockwood has not only helped develop her into a better player, but has been a mentor and someone she can trust beyond the court.
“Not even just as a coach, but as a person, he’s a great guy,” Green said. “He’s been very helpful to me. He really understands that process of how I can get better. I think in general he’s been a really good teacher for me and he’s someone who is trustworthy, too.”
As Lockwood embarks on his 15th season and seventh under Warlick, what he has enjoyed the most about coaching is the players and his colleagues. For him, they’ve given him the most out of his experience.
“Coach (John) Wooden once said, ‘They ask me why I teach. Where else can I find such splendid company?,’” Lockwood said. “That’s what I look at. That’s what I look at in my 15 years here. If someone asked me, ‘Why do you do this?’ (I say) Where else can I find such splendid company?
“That’s how I feel. I just feel incredibly blessed.”
