Official: UT hires Kim Caldwell as the new coach for Lady Vols basketball

[volfan102455]

Gee...she has been here 2 days and hasn't signed a recruit......talk about pressure..

Read her quotes, she has admitted she has a learning curve in this area.

 

[VolBall09]

Maybe not that surprising but how in the world did we get this far behind freakIng Kentucky?

Who says we are behind Kentucky? Brooks has just as much to prove as Caldwell, if not more. He has Final Four experience.

If his first season is anything less than a success what are people going to be saying then?

His players that transferred are going to have a rude awakening as well. Amoore is going to find it much more difficult to get her shot off in the SEC. His team did NOT like physicality either and this is an extremely physical league.

 

[TrippieRedd]

Sounds like Gottlieb and Moren from Indiana for sure said no. No other credible reports I can see.

Apparently went after/ considered 2 major coaches and 5 mid major. Not sure if we even went past KC though

 

[madtownvol]

Interesting! I do really enjoy that style of play, I like a team that forces turnovers and gets up and down. Maybe not so keen on the frequent line change subs, but if you’re going to play with the energy she requires it’s best to do it in 2-3 minutes increments.

Mentally that is a good setup for young players too. You just need them to go in and go hard for 2-3 minutes at a time. They aren’t out there long enough to make compounding mistakes and knock their confidence. Plus, this gets a lot of players on the floor which is a very, very good thing in the days of the transfer portal.

To those really quality players transferring who probably know they are coming off the bench somewhere Tennessee should suddenly look very attractive. Because the way she coaches about 10 players are going to get 18 plus minutes a game.

I am hoping that coach caldwell is more flexible in her playing style. That press, press, press may work at D2 and low level D1 but it would be a disaster against quality teams. The 40 plus loss to Kitley missing Vatech is one example. Kellie tried platooning as well figured out that don’t work either. If coach Caldwell is as smart as advertised she will be adaptable or it will be a long season

 

[VolBall09]

I am hoping that coach caldwell is more flexible in her playing style. That press, press, press may work at D2 and low level D1 but it would be a disaster against quality teams. The 40 plus loss to Kitley missing Vatech is one example. Kellie tried platooning as well figured out that don’t work either. If coach Caldwell is as smart as advertised she will be adaptable or it will be a long season

Tell that to Ohio State and the 30 points the beat us by at home.

 

[Memvol44]

Read her quotes, she has admitted she has a learning curve in this area.

No kidding!!

 

[GBOTango]

It would have been hard to lure away seasoned coaches from successful programs. I love this hire. Caldwell has been successful everywhere she has coached. She obviously got the players she needed for the level she was at and was able to coach them to succeed. I'm optimistic, why not be. She is our new coach whether the fan base likes it or not. I did not like the Harper hire, and I said my peace (nobody listened or cared about my opinion, lol) then I moved on and tried to support the program. Get after it Coach Caldwell!

 

[madtownvol]

Read her quotes, she has admitted she has a learning curve in this area.

Well of course she does. She had one year of D1 experience. She would be delusional to say otherwise

 

[VolBall09]

Tennessee D used to be 40 minutes of dread. This season under Kellie it was 40 minutes of tread(ing) water to stay in the dang game.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

If second is a general term for all encompassing…We went down the list pretty far

So, where do you get all your incorrect information? You must be Coach Jumper with a new logon.

 

[brittannica]

Tell that to Ohio State and the 30 points the beat us by at home.

They aren’t as eager to shoot the three though, I thought? Nor do I remember them doing hockey line subs. Could be wrong though because that game was horrific.

 

[madtownvol]

Tell that to Ohio State and the 30 points the beat us by at home.

OSU presses in spurts but runs good half court sets. Back in the day Jerry Greene tried to play 40 minutes of chaos when coaching the Vols. It work any better in todays women’s game. did ya see any elite 8 team playing that way?

 

[VolBall09]

They aren’t as eager to shoot the three though, I thought? Nor do I remember them doing hockey line subs. Could be wrong though because that game was horrific.

Not a huge 3 point shooting team outside of Sheldon but a lot of that is due to the turnovers the forced and getting easy transition scores.

My post was about their defense.

 

[VolBall09]

OSU presses in spurts but runs good half court sets. Back in the day Jerry Greene tried to play 40 minutes of chaos when coaching the Vols. It work any better in todays women’s game. did ya see any elite 8 team playing that way?

Texas plays that way every night lol. They just have a dribble drive offense instead of shooting a lot of 3s. But their defense is compete chaos for 40 minutes.

 

[brittannica]

Not a huge 3 point shooting team outside of Sheldon but a lot of that is due to the turnovers the forced and getting easy transition scores.

My post was about their defense.

thanks for clarifying!

 

[madtownvol]

Maybe not that surprising but how in the world did we get this far behind freakIng Kentucky?

As in comedy, timing is everything. Heresy I know, but I don’t think White played this move like a grand chess master. I find it interesting how the white fan boys and girls have moved from “he would not make this move without having a big fish signed sealed and delivered (welcome Becky Hammon)” to a first year coach from Marshall was always his top choice!

 

[madtownvol]

Texas plays that way every night lol. They just have a dribble drive offense instead of shooting a lot of 3s. But their defense is compete chaos for 40 minutes.

Not the Texas I saw against NC St

 

[VolBall09]

As in comedy, timing is everything. Heresy I know, but I don’t think White played this move like a grand chess master. I find it interesting how the white fan boys and girls have moved from “he would not make this move without having a big fish signed sealed and delivered (welcome Becky Hammon)” to a first year coach from Marshall was always his top choice!

Don’t think she was his top choice, and yes, maybe she’s what we “ended up with.”

But I’d rather watch next season under “what we ended up with.”

Than

“What we already knew wasn’t working.”

Because consistently starting ranked in the Top 10 and then spending over half these season around 50-60 before making a final last ditch effort to even MAKE the tournament was so fun to watch lol…

 

[will-you-shut-up-man]

Just win games, and get the LV's back to their rightful spot.

 

[Amb3096]

Don’t think she was his top choice and yes, maybe she’s what we “ended up with.”

But I’d rather watch next season under “what we ended up with.”

Than

“What we already knew wasn’t working.”

Because consistently starting ranked in the Top 10 and then spending over half these season around 50-60 before making a final last ditch effort to even MAKE the tournament was so fun to watch lol…

Exactly. We know how Kellie's storylines go, and they never have a happy ending. At least Kim gives us hope that things will be better (which is hopefully the case).

 

[brittannica]

As in comedy, timing is everything. Heresy I know, but I don’t think White played this move like a grand chess master. I find it interesting how the white fan boys and girls have moved from “he would not make this move without having a big fish signed sealed and delivered (welcome Becky Hammon)” to a first year coach from Marshall was always his top choice!

The Danny White cult following has been broken in my home so, if nothing else, I’m grateful for this hire for that reason alone

And we are, of course, willing to credit Him if this is ultimately successful.

 

[PalmettoStateVol]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but some folks need to take the orange glasses off and see this program for what it is. The Lady Vol's "brand" just simply isn't what it used to be. The longer Pat Summitt is gone, the farther this program slips into mediocrity. Pat Summitt was the face of women's college basketball for a very long time. She was a once in a lifetime talent. However, women's college basketball, and all of college sports for that matter, is a different animal today than it was in the 90's and early 2000's. The game evolved, but the Lady Vol's program unfortunately, and in my opinion, foolishly needed to keep the memory of the Summitt legacy ongoing with its previous 2 coaching hires. With the introduction of NIL and a generation of young individuals who are more worried about what to post on Tik Tok or how many followers they have on Instagram, I think even coach Summitt would look at the game, and the individuals playing it today, and say, "No thanks, I'll pass."

I think it's good that DW went out of the Lady Vol's family tree to find a coach. While the last two coaches were close to this program, they had a mountainous shadow cast over them and the ghost of season's past visited them often. This fanbase desperately clung to the hope that a Summitt connected coach could keep the Lady Vol's legacy on track only to be met with growing disappointment year after year. A young, talented, eager coach with no ties to Tennessee, but has a record of winning, may be the best thing DW could have done. Yeah, yeah, yeah, she was a DII coach, she coached at Marshall, it wasn't in the SEC...I know. But why would any successful and well established coach come to Tennessee only to get constantly compared to the Legend that has her own statue on campus and the floor you play on night after night bears her name? The answer is, they wouldn't. Summitt's shoes are impossible to fill. Not only that, they were a limited edition one-off pair. Tennessee just got new shoes. Give Caldwell a chance. Who knows, maybe she'll create her own legacy here.

 

[Chicago Vols 14]

WTF? Some of our newer posters may not be familiar with Div 1 and the SEC. We actually do try for championships in the top 3-4, not at the bottom.

Which is why it’s so hard to understand why AD would bottom us out instead of building up from where we were.

Newer Poster? Check my stats been here longer then you, by over 5 years.
Not Familiar with Division 1 & SEC? Personal attacks all you have? Been around NCAA athletics as a player, fan and supporter for 40 years. I understand how classifications and conferences work
Bottom us out? If your crystal ball is so clear on the future why have you wasted your time posting on a silly message board nearly 8,000 times instead of placing 8,000 bets in Vegas? Maybe you could afford to move out of the trailer.

you’d rather end up at the bottom than finish 3-4. what? we should NEVER be at the bottom of the SEC. teams ranked 1-4 usually battle for the championship.

Reading comprehension son. I said I would rather end up at the bottom trying to win a championship. If Ms. Caldwell doesn't work out and ends up at the bottom, we start over again. In the NIL world rebuilds are quicker just requires the investment.

If the top 1-4 teams battle for Championships, what gives you any hope that Kellie Harper was going to get over the hurdle? Didn't recruit particularly well and her record against the top teams was abysmal.
Versus UCONN 0 & 4
Versus LSU 3 & 4 with only the '23 SEC Tournament win being against a Tiger team led by Kim Mulkey
Versus South Carolina 1 & 8

 

[madtownvol]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but some folks need to take the orange glasses off and see this program for what it is. The Lady Vol's "brand" just simply isn't what it used to be. The longer Pat Summitt is gone, the farther this program slips into mediocrity. Pat Summitt was the face of women's college basketball for a very long time. She was a once in a lifetime talent. However, women's college basketball, and all of college sports for that matter, is a different animal today than it was in the 90's and early 2000's. The game evolved, but the Lady Vol's program unfortunately, and in my opinion, foolishly needed to keep the memory of the Summitt legacy ongoing with its previous 2 coaching hires. With the introduction of NIL and a generation of young individuals who are more worried about what to post on Tik Tok or how many followers they have on Instagram, I think even coach Summitt would look at the game, and the individuals playing it today, and say, "No thanks, I'll pass."

I think it's good that DW went out of the Lady Vol's family tree to find a coach. While the last two coaches were close to this program, they had a mountainous shadow cast over them and the ghost of season's past visited them often. This fanbase desperately clung to the hope that a Summitt connected coach could keep the Lady Vol's legacy on track only to be met with growing disappointment year after year. A young, talented, eager coach with no ties to Tennessee, but has a record of winning, may be the best thing DW could have done. Yeah, yeah, yeah, she was a DII coach, she coached at Marshall, it wasn't in the SEC...I know. But why would any successful and well established coach come to Tennessee only to get constantly compared to the Legend that has her own statue on campus and the floor you play on night after night bears her name? The answer is, they wouldn't. Summitt's shoes are impossible to fill. Not only that, but they were a limited edition one-off pair. Tennessee just got new shoes. Give Caldwell a chance. Who knows, maybe she'll create her own legacy here.

I don’t think too many would argue with you about the faded legacy. But one can support coach Caldwell (to whatever extent that it matters on a message board) and still think “whoa that is unexpected choice that carries a lot of risk”.

Tennessee has not fallen to LA Tech or Old Dominion levels of irrelevance. It may not be marquee but its a solid opening act.

If Vic Schaefer had retired after this tourney, would you have been surprised if they named Caldwell as the replacement? The LVs are in that general vicinity.

 

[OldLofter]

View attachment 632605

I am 100% behind Danny White on this. Yes, her stats look a little thin. I am quite sure Danny has been researching her for sometime before he fired Kelly. The right ”Fit” may have played a big role. And that only comes out in the interview process, not the stats.