UA Fort Smith Athletics

            University of Arkansas-Fort Smith women’s basketball coach Louis Whorton has never been one to say whether one player or another was the best he’s ever coached during his tenure as Lady Lions coach.
            When the discussion does come up, however, one of the first names mentioned is Tari Cummings. A native of Pocola, Okla., Cummings was one of the top players in the area in high school and, under Whorton’s tutelage, became one of the best players to ever play for the Lady Lions.
            “I don’t know if she’s the most-talented player I’ve ever coached, but she is the greatest competitor I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach,” Whorton said. “She never ever liked to lose.”
            Cummings played two seasons at UAFS (then Westark College), leading the Lady Lions to a combined 52-9 record, a NJCAA Region II Tournament championship and a seventh-place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.
            Cummings, who was team captain for two seasons, scored 1,262 points as a Lady Lion and earned NJCAA All-American honors as a sophomore after averaging 23.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and shooting 65.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range.
            She went on to play three seasons at Oklahoma State University. She was an All-Big 12 performer in 2001-02, averaging 13.1 points per contest and leading the Cowgirls with 6.9 rebounds per game.
            After earning her bachelor’s degree from OSU in 2003, Cummings returned to UAFS as Whorton’s top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. During her four seasons at UAFS, the Lady Lions won three NJCAA Region II Tournament championships, made two Final Four appearances and had one seventh-place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.
            She also coached and mentored three NJCAA All-American players.
Cummings moved to the NCAA Division I ranks following the 2006-07 season, becoming assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Cincinnati. During her two seasons at Cincinnati, the Bearcats posted a combined 26-33 record.
            She joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2009 at the University of Houston as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. During her two seasons at Houston, the Cougars posted a combined 43-21 record, including a 16-0 finish in Conference USA and an NCAA National Tournament berth in 2010-11. While there, she coached and mentored three players who went on to play professionally.
            Cummings joined the coaching staff at the University of Arkansas in the spring of 2011 as an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and academic center liaison.