Thoughts on the hire of Kim Caldwell

[Klclark]

That may be what it takes…I think she’ll build her culture much like Rick Barnes has for the men.

I hope she does well, but remember it has taken Rick Barnes nine years to get to his first elite 8.

 

[volfanhill]

Perhaps he will now be serious enough to help get some NIL money for WBB?

Do you have any proof to suggest he wasn't trying to do so earlier? I mean basketball and baseball coaches weren't hired by him. They haven't complainedZ perhaps Harper wasn't good at drumming it up herself. NIL issues are more on the coach than the AD. But I know you can't blame Harper for anything.

 

[JohnnyPayne]

I hope she does well, but remember it has taken Rick Barnes nine years to get to his first elite 8.

Good thing Kellie got 9 years to make that happen…..,

 

[volfanhill]

I hope she does well, but remember it has taken Rick Barnes nine years to get to his first elite 8.

I will happy competing for SEC championships. Harper never did that. Barnes has for quite some time

 

[brittannica]

I will happy competing for SEC championships. Harper never did that. Barnes has for quite some time

Kellie literally did it last year.

 

[volfanhill]

Kellie literally did it last year.

She finished third

 

[brittannica]

She finished third

So you’re talking regular season, not tournament. Got it. Makes sense since the men got bounced early.

 

[#1HomeGrownUTVOL]

You were challenging whether I was a real fan or JUST someone who follows the Lady Vols. I just wanted to assure you that I actually was a true fan because I had season football tickets for a long time and to top it off put my money where my mouth was. I thought it was only fair to inquire as to whether you had done the same.
Regarding DW, I thought he treated Kellie unfairly. And although I am absolutely ready to support our new coach and see what she can put on the court, this hire doesn’t say to me he is serious about women’s athletics.

So the only reason you want DW gone is because of how he’s handling the Lady Vols? That’s why I asked you if you watched any other sports because football basketball and baseball all are succeeding. I never challenged your fandom.
So now, please answer me this what other decisions has he made that are wrong and you think he deserves to be gone?

 

[volfanhill]

So you’re talking regular season, not tournament. Got it. Makes sense since the men got bounced early.

What do the men have to do with anything? And of course I'm talking regular season. And if you want to talk tournament, the SC tourney game ending was a fireable offense alone.

And if we are going to hold one program to a higher standard, which is where I think you are going, then yes it would be the women's program. One has multiple championships. The other has zero final fours. Do you want to lower lady vol expectations?

 

[Lucy]

Do you have any proof to suggest he wasn't trying to do so earlier? I mean basketball and baseball coaches weren't hired by him. They haven't complainedZ perhaps Harper wasn't good at drumming it up herself. NIL issues are more on the coach than the AD. But I know you can't blame Harper for anything.

Pretty sure the coach’s responsibility is to coach. Money raising is on the AD. Maybe he raised money for MBB and baseball and that is why they didn’t complain. But I know you can’t blame DW for anything.

 

[Lucy]

Good lord the boy crushes on DW!!

 

[chuckiepoo]

Singles come from swinging bunts to off the wall with the defense playing deep.

Good for three bags as I recall.

 

[Voluble2]

I said before I thought a young up and coming coach might be the way to go.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more success at more than one stop, but that is certainly not the only factor that was considered.

What worries me is that if I understand correctly she presses constantly, bombs away from the outside while trying to increase the number of shots she gets compared to the other team through steals and rebounds. That can work when you have equal talent and the right players. But she is going to start off with a talent disadvantage and a team that is built to be the opposite of what she needs for her style. A lot of our players are ill-suited to press, and are used to being pulled after a few minutes of play.

When the three is not falling, or you are playing better athletes, that style wll get you drubbed so I expect her to have to recruit before she can play that type of ball here. That is what we saw in the NCAA tournament. She got drubbed worse than she would have playing a more conventional style because that is what happens with a high risk, high reward plan when you are up against better athletes.

It will be exciting to see how it all plays out over the next few years. She certainly has her work cut out for her in trying to secure a competitive roster. That is the first test.

 

[StickMan]

7 season tickets available section 119 row 11. A swing for the fences turns out to be a popup to the catcher. What a major disappointment.

Good deal! Thank you! Never hurts to trade up in section 119.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I hope she does well, but remember it has taken Rick Barnes nine years to get to his first elite 8.

…eeesh. So. Waiting for hell to freeze over…

 

[POLOinDC]

His firing of Harper tells me he's dead serious about women's athletics. The easy, and lazier path, would have been to keep riding with a coach who has never finished above third in the SEC, who many in the fan base will give a pass, only bc she played for Pat.

And the hiring of this person tells me that he is not....

 

[Exiled]

Good thing Kellie got 9 years to make that happen…..,

And how many SEC championships did she win in the process?

 

[Exiled]

Good lord the boy crushes on DW!!

Almost as much as your Kellie crush. LOL

 

[volfanhill]

And the hiring of this person tells me that he is not....

Or...and hear me out here....he feels like he did his job. Which was hire who he felt was best. Given his track record since being at UT he's earned the benefit of the doubt. The AD is infinitely better placed since his arrival. And most importantly he didn't continue to accept poor results

 

[Volle]

DW probably got a few "not interested" or high-ball counter offers from successful D1 coaches that led him to go for a DII coach. Given that, I would say he chose wisely-- someone with a national title that knows how to win. She will have to hustle on the recruiting trail, girls she's recruiting now weren't even born when the LV's won their last title.

John Adams' is a cuck POS. I've read better articles in my old high school newspaper.

JA is a joke. He should cancel himself. Why can't we fire sportswriters as we can coaches.
.

 

[glv98]

DW probably got a few "not interested" or high-ball counter offers from successful D1 coaches that led him to go for a DII coach. Given that, I would say he chose wisely-- someone with a national title that knows how to win. She will have to hustle on the recruiting trail, girls she's recruiting now weren't even born when the LV's won their last title.
.

Sadly I think you’re right. A listers not interested. But surely there were mid majors interested without having to dip to D2. How is this poor woman supposed to recruit for the SEC? On a wing and a prayer?

 

[Exiled]

Sadly I think you’re right. A listers not interested. But surely there were mid majors interested without having to dip to D2. How is this poor woman supposed to recruit for the SEC? On a wing and a prayer?

Obviously reading isn’t one of your strong suits, huh? Marshall isn’t DII.

 

[creekdipper]

People ass hurt over Harper getting canned are hysterical. Best she ever finished, in 5 years, was third place in the conference. That's not cutting it. You do not get to be an average coach just bc you played for Pat.

Which other teams finished in the #1 and #2 spots during that time? You DO realize that the last three national champions were in the SEC, don't you? That means that "the best" most of the iconic coaches still active would have gone is third best...which Kellie was consistently accomplishing until tying for 4th this year. And this means finishing ahead of 11 other conference teams most years.

It's the opinion of some to that Tennessee should be competing annually for championships. Obviously, Kellie didn't accomplish that. But neither did most other coaches, and some who did have fallen on hard times since then. There were arguments to be made for keeping Kellie and for replacing her, but acting as though finishing behind SC and LSU were massive failures is ludicrous at best.

 

[Terrells Bay88]

I said before I thought a young up and coming coach might be the way to go.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more success at more than one stop, but that is certainly not the only factor that was considered.

What worries me is that if I understand correctly she presses constantly, bombs away from the outside while trying to increase the number of shots she gets compared to the other team through steals and rebounds. That can work when you have equal talent and the right players. But she is going to start off with a talent disadvantage and a team that is built to be the opposite of what she needs for her style. A lot of our players are ill-suited to press, and are used to being pulled after a few minutes of play.

When the three is not falling, or you are playing better athletes, that style wll get you drubbed so I expect her to have to recruit before she can play that type of ball here. That is what we saw in the NCAA tournament. She got drubbed worse than she would have playing a more conventional style because that is what happens with a high risk, high reward plan when you are up against better athletes.

It will be exciting to see how it all plays out over the next few years. She certainly has her work cut out for her in trying to secure a competitive roster. That is the first test.

It's sounds like your describing former North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell's offense. It worked when she had the right players, but it could get ugly when she didn’t or teams could match up or exceed the athleticism of her players.

 

[Aladywhovolunteer]

I'll admit I'm a casual fan, but this feels like a bruce pearl type hire to me. Just glancing at her record and the style of ball she likes to play, this could be really fun.

It actually mirrors the Bruce Pearl hire in a lot of ways. In 1995 Bruce Pearl had won the Division ll National Championship at the University of Southern Indiana. He also won the Division ll coach of the year award in 95. Pearl who never played high school or college basketball accepted his first Division l head coaching job at the University Milwaukee in 2001 and was there for four years when he took the Tennessee job.

Coach Caldwell, after winning the Division ll National Championship in the 21/22 season as well as The Pat Summitt Award as the Division ll coach of year, accepted her first Division l head coach position at Marshall in 2023. Caldwell has one year of Division l experiece before Tennessee while Pearl had four.