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

#758
#758
jeebie said:
Her last year of college was 2011. So twenty-two years old at graduation plus 13 years to now makes her around 35 or 36.
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Oof. She's kinda pushing it for sure, but hopefully her biological clock will keep running strong for another couple of years until she gets good and settled and a lot less stressed! Y'all know what I'm saying. Mercy. 😲
 
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#759
#759
BowlBrother85 said:
I have no idea if Caldwell will be successful here, but I like that White didn't feel like he had to "win the press conference." He has really stuck his neck out here.
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He did. But in all fairness to Kim, she can very much STILL be the one who will "win the press conference" and make him look good.

She is obviously in a new world now as far scrutiny is concerned, but I suspect she'll do quite well tomorrow in her introductory news conference. She has words, and she knows how to use them. Charm and easy confidence, too, from what I've seen through watching past pressers.

I really like her so far!
 
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#760
#760
I know the big Orange Caravan gets going fairly soon.
Does anyone know what sort of contact she can have with our current roster? Any sort of scrimmage or workouts? Just planning/goal setting sessions?
Thanks in advance.
 
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#761
#761
lvocd said:
He did. But in all fairness to Kim, she can very much STILL be the one who will "win the press conference" and make him look good.

She is obviously in a new world now as far scrutiny is concerned, but I suspect she'll do quite well tomorrow in her introductory news conference. She has words, and she knows how to use them. Charm and easy confidence, too, from what I've seen through watching past pressers.

I really like her so far!
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First impressions do matter I suppose but Kellie "won" her first press conference too. I am fine with CKC not winning her debut presser but winning lots of games instead.
 
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#763
#763
lvocd said:
She could, of course, achieve both. First up: Tomorrow 's presser, 1 p.m. Bet she nails iit!
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Of course. I am sorry for being a contrarian.

I was poorly expressing some displaced frustration toward those who are making huge inferences about how successful CKC will be based on superficial performance cues (she is going to be great because she folded her arms confidently when meeting the players; she is going to fail miserably because she did not hold her eye contact long enough when she first met Danny White at the airport and so on)
 
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#764
#764
Majac said:
What elite player wants to commit to a coach with one year at a mid-major college, with a blowout loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Winning at D2 won't attract names also being recruited by Uconn, Texas, LSU, SC, Stanford, USC, and now even Kentucky. (and more) BTW, how did Kentucky end up with Kenny Brooks and we get a Newby who may or may not advance the program.
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I honestly don't understand all the Kenny Brooks love.
6 trips to the tourney at James Madison, 1 win

At Virginia Tech:
Made tourney in year 5.
Won first game as a 7 seed, then lost to Baylor by 42.
Next year, lost in the first round as a 5 seed.
Year 7, made a run to the Final Four.
Year 8, lost in 2nd round.
Overall regular season record: good
Upside: not much.

If you want to settle for something less than greatness, fine, you go with Brooks; but if you want the POTENTIAL for greatness, you go with someone like Caldwell.
 
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#765
#765
Vol4life2 said:
You’re drunk with perceived power. If the old coach would have delivered the same results with all her players none of this would be happening.

Let’s see who stays on the Team and what they can do. I expect they will compete at a new level but it’s a tough league.
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Exactly what I was saying. The team was always down 10-20 points after the first quarter. They seemed to be standing there waiting on Rickea to score. Occasionally they would have a Tess or Jewel get hot, but otherwise Rickea was it. Caldwell will have to get the best out of what she has now. If she is a good coach, she finds a way to win with the players unlike Kellie.
 
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#766
#766
madtownvol said:
....displaced frustration toward those who are making huge inferences about how successful CKC will be based on superficial performance cues (she is going to be great because she folded her arms confidently when meeting the players; she is going to fail miserably because she did not hold her eye contact long enough when she first met Danny White at the airport and so on)
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Yes, it's tiresome. All the predictions and counter-predictions, justifications and objections are wearing me down, accomplishing nothing, multiplying like weeds, and harshing mellows. 😂
 
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#767
#767
CKC needs to bring in her own staff (thus accountable to her), and to run her own show. Recruiting high schools needs to be made a strength. That means not only contacts, but expertise in evaluating young talent. Always, but especially when a team is not already at the top, first-rate evaluations are real advantage. Acquisitions through the portal need to stay solid and to grow. The locker room has to be managed. Off-season training is a must. An offense installed, plays learned, and a defense installed. And all this practiced until it is second nature. In other words, what everyone already knows.

Being fearful or nagged by doubts is not going to help us. We as fans need to support the collective, cheer Caldwell on, and to display good will and excitement about our new beginning on social media, with friends, and in public. Don't let the negavols talk us down. Dramatic "predictions" in any direction are not our friends.

One of the worst effects of a downturn in an elite program is that it instills competitive negativity in people. It literally becomes chic to outdo the next fan in cynicism. Expecting the worst (even if hoping for the best) is beyond easy. It's not the bold "truth warrior" stance that it wants to pretend to be. But it's also corrosive. People become internally divided: part of them wants to be right more than they want to be happy. So they cling to and take satisfaction in the negative projections or "confirmations." But -- unless such people really aren't fans at all, or not any longer fans -- that stylish too-good-for-hope persona is self-defeating. Why? Because bad outcomes still hurt. The difference being that as a result the good outcomes can't be fully enjoyed because they run the risk of falsifying the negative opinions.

Let's let it go. Let's have fun. This is an exciting time.

In the words of Falstaff, "and so ends my catechism." 😂
 
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#768
#768
Majac said:
What elite player wants to commit to a coach with one year at a mid-major college, with a blowout loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Winning at D2 won't attract names also being recruited by Uconn, Texas, LSU, SC, Stanford, USC, and now even Kentucky. (and more) BTW, how did Kentucky end up with Kenny Brooks and we get a Newby who may or may not advance the program.
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If the coach has been tabbed to a PREMIER school they can get in to a lot of living rooms and get to share their record and experiences and have a chance to snag enough talent to succeed. She will not necessarily be looking for a mix of attributes and skill sets that other programs are to work in her SYSTEM. She is not going to out SC emulating them. Same reason CJH has his bag of tricks and not Saban’s. Both were hand picked by DW with POTENTIAL for success by being great at WHAT THEY DO by being able to tool rosters with ATTAINABLE talent. Tweezers in some systems CAN excel in others.

YOU ARE WHAT YOUR RECORD SAYS YOU ARE! She is a winner.

Can or does it translate at OUR level? Reasonable question. But it can only be a question TILL IT PLAYS OUT ON THE FLOOR.

Application of declarative statements of NC’s or failure are just a reach. Fans with expressions of HOPEFUL SUCCESS is OK. Fans with expressions of HOPEFUL FAILURE not so much. Make no mistake, that is what the majority of challenges to DW’s choice is. Wishing for one’s alternate position to be validated with failure under this Coach. With fans like this who needs enemies. When their value add to a program is less than a trolls, what can you say.

I am going to hope for trend analysis to start low and go up as the squad takes on her image. Good news is the portal exists. The bad news is the portal exists. NIL trends will be KEY. GUESS we will get a reading on our REAL fan faithful coefficient.
 
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#769
#769
I should add that the people who made all sorts of over-the-top promises and predictions about what DW was going to do were posters here. DW didn't say any of that. The last thing we need are fans provoked to resentment at the AD over some stray posters' braggadocio or excess enthusiasm in the excitement on the moment. Let's not recall everything certain posters said and make a guarantee from the university out of them. No one can guarantee the future.
 
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#770
#770
Kind of reminds me of the Heupel hire....Nobody was impressed but he's done pretty good so far..I mean seriously look at her record!!...Regardless of what level she coached at that is damn impressive!...She wins and wins alot...Her players also seem to love her so thats a plus and I saw video of where she met some of the players yesterday and they all had smiles on their faces....Give her a chance and see what she can do...I think she's going to surprise some people.
 
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#771
#771
TrumpedUpVol said:
Yep, she lost as a thirteen seed against a much better Virginia Tech roster. Still managed to deliver Marshall their best season ever in *checks notes* her first and only season with the program.
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Not to mention none of those players were hers.
 
#774
#774
34 years old she could be here for a long time if successful. Guess we should learn this week who the Assistants will be. It could be an entire new three or just one to replace Jon. Then hopefully the portal coming up at least by next week we start getting visitors and commits to see what this team look like going into next season.
 
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#775
#775
For those of you who continue to try to spin this into the greatest hire ever (which it isn't), what is your expectation for next year?

If she makes the NCAA, she probably has at least one more year. But what if she doesn't or Tennessee ends up very near the bottom in the conference. You still on board and singing the praises of the AD?

This hire was a very risky gamble, and she will not get the benefit of being a former Lady Vol. The team tanks next year and we go through this again next March. I hope she is successful, but it is not a given. The SEC is not the Sun Belt or D2. She doesn't have the players to run the offense she wants and beat the best of the best.

I think the first sign will be who she selects from the portal. If by chance those 4 former Marshall players end up her, that shows she doesn't recognize the difference between the Sun Belt and the SEC. If she works the portal and brings in the best of those available - then she does understand - this isn't Marshall, this isn't Glenville State - this is Tennessee, and the expectation is to be the best in the best conference in D1.

And she may have to alter her style to adhere to the players she has if she wants to win.

Next season is going to be crazy and none on here, not me, not the sunshine pumpers, not the naysayers, know how this will play out. She doesn't have the experience - it could be a good thing or it could be a very bad thing very quickly.
 
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