Kellie Harper, Alex Simmons work together at basketball clinic before Memphis plays Lady Vols

Alex Simmons had a grin on her face as she blew her whistle.

The Memphis women's basketball coach stood in the middle of the court at Fulton High School in Knoxville, facing lines of young girls on the sidelines. Simmons' assistant coach, Keke McKinney, who graduated from Fulton, and Simmons' former Lady Vols basketball teammate Nicky Anosike stood to her left.

When they heard the whistle, the campers took off running. Once they reached the line of coaches, they raised their arms, shoes squeaking as they practiced closing out on defense.

Simmons had the attention of all 150 campers Sunday as she helped run the first Two Sides, One State basketball clinic, put on by Girls Inc. She jumped at the opportunity when Anosike, the athletic director at Girls Inc., called her about working at the event before Memphis played at Tennessee on Monday.

The two former Tennessee stars took different paths after winning two national championships, but they always find ways to reconnect.

"It's always a big deal to come back to where you spent some of the most pivotal years of your life and give back to the community," Simmons said. "Nicky coming from New York, I came from Shelbyville, Tennessee — there just wasn't people like us who we could look up to, who were giving back constantly, whose main goal was just to build a community."

In every corner of the gym, there was a former Lady Vol. Tennessee coach Kellie Harper and her staff were all there, along with Anosike and Simmons' former teammates Kelley Cain and Alexis Hornbuckle.

There was a palpable joy throughout the gym as the campers soaked up every minute with the Tennessee legends. The clinic was the epitome of growing the game, something their former coach, Pat Summitt, emphasized her entire career.

"This is all Pat here," Anosike said. "Pat was a legendary coach, but more than anything, she loved people and she gave back to people. Everyone knows her, not because she won a lot of games, but because of how she made people feel . . . We want these girls to feel important. We want them to know that they are loved and that we care."

Harper said the clinic was a reminder of what sport can do, and it was a powerful example for the campers to see all the strong female role models in one gym.

"You don't have to be an elite-level athlete for sport to really change your life," she said. "It can give you a feeling of accomplishment, it can give you a feeling of strength and courage and teach you a lot of things that are going to help you when you travel through life."

The clinic was personal for McKinney, who played at Kentucky and UNC Charlotte. She started as a grad assistant on Simmons' staff at Gardner-Webb, and Simmons brought her along when Memphis hired her.

Getting to grow and learn under someone like Simmons is "a beautiful thing," McKinney said.

She hadn't been back to Fulton since she was in college, and got to spend time with the Fulton girls basketball team, who helped run the clinic.

"I mean, it's everything, right?" McKinney said. "Just to show the girls that you can make it out of here, people from this school can go big and be successful — I think it was good for them to see that and be here and experience giving back at a young age."

The clinic ended with a tribute to former Lady Vols Nikki McCray-Penson and Tasha Butts, both of whom died this year from breast cancer. Both had long coaching careers; Butts started as a grad assistant at Tennessee during Simmons and Anosike's freshman year.

Anosike shared the legacy of the two women, telling the campers that what she remembered most was their kindness and the way they came back to campus to pour their efforts into them. Hornbuckle's mother, Quandora, followed Anosike's speech with a beautiful rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly" before the campers released pink balloons.

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"It was important for Nicky to be able to honor them," Simmons said. "I think it's something that we needed to do, because those are our Lady Vol sisters."

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Former Lady Vols team up at girls basketball clinic in Knoxville