Dan Fleser
Kim Caldwell has introduced herself via press conferences and various meet-and-greet events since being hired last April as Tennessee’s new women’s basketball coach. Judging by season ticket sales topping 7,000 for the first time in eight years, she’s made an impression. Some may be genuinely hopeful. Others simply might be curious. Whatever the case, something is drawing them.
During the Lady Vols’ media day last month, Caldwell credited media coverage, more than anything, for any preseason buzz. Perhaps she was just playing to that day’s crowd. The balance of her preview suggested her real introduction begins with the actual games.
With the opener against Samford looming on Tuesday, her team didn’t do anything to dampen the mood on Thursday night, beating overmatched Division II Carson-Newman 135-49 in an exhibition dress rehearsal at Thompson-Boling Arena. The announced turnout of 9,613 was inflated by the season-ticket total. Whoever was there, though, got an eyeful of what’s in store.
The Lady Vols amassed an assortment of pinball-sized statistics, 43 forced turnovers, 30 steals and 19 3-pointers among them. They scored at least 30 points in every quarter. The majority of their substitutions were full five-for-five exchanges. They pressed until midway through the final quarter and C-N coach Mike Mincey appreciated it, or at least said he did.
“Don’t take it off us,” he said, “keeping pressing us and see if we can do better.”
Caldwell needs no encouragement. She favors pressing and a high-tempo, in part, because it suits her personality. She’s well-stocked in aggressiveness but patience is in short supply.
“It’s definitely a mindset for sure and that’s something we talk about with our players,” she said at media day. “. . . You have to have a little juice to you, a little swag to you to be able to play this way. You cannot be vanilla and press for 40 minutes.”
Whatever patience Caldwell has likely will be invested largely into the non-conference portion of the Lady Vols schedule. She said it typically takes about two months for her teams to figure out everything that goes with playing at her preferred pace and the adjustment is “not going to be pretty.”
“We want to be the team somebody hates to play,” she said, “but we are still going to make a lot of mistakes.”
With that thought in mind, Caldwell has earmarked the season’s start as one of the biggest acclimation periods. Therefore, this window ought to afford a good look at how she goes about her business and, in turn, how the team responds. She was sensing some wariness on the players’ part as the exhibition approached. Instead of ironing out wrinkles solely under the cover of practice, fans would be watching now and seeing some of the inherent struggles involved. Hence, a feeling of “Oh, I’m uncomfortable.”
Even Thursday’s dominance came with adjustments. Guard Ruby Whitehorn, for example, said it was difficult at first to settle in as a scorer.
“You go hard for your minute and 30, you know your sub is (coming) and you get done what you can get done,” she said.
Judging by her scoring 29 points in 18 minutes, 33 seconds of playing time, Whitehorn figured out something.
“It’s one of those situations where she doesn’t see how good she can be yet,” Caldwell said after the game. “We’re just going to keep hounding and keep making sure she gets better, but I was really proud of her.”
Much of the offseason was designed to meet such moments. At media day, several players spoke of the Friday morning conditioning sessions. Returnee Sara Puckett referred to them as being “scary.”
“We knew we were in for a test every Friday,” guard Jewel Spear said.
Ostensibly, the workouts were preparation for the physical demands of full-court play. Spear is noticeably leaner. But both she and Puckett believed there also was a mental objective, namely to build toughness and promote teamwork.
“We leaned on each other, knowing that if we stick together we can get through anything,” Puckett said.
The offseason also was a time to get acquainted with Caldwell’s blunt manner. Guard Avery Strickland said she messed up consecutive times during one practice while trying to execute a defensive trap and the coach yelled at her and threw her off the court. That was fine with Strickland.
“You know exactly where you stand; she’s not going to sugarcoat anything,” Strickland said. “So, you have to be confident in yourself and your own ability, enough to go out there and know she has your best interest (in mind) instead of taking it personal. She’s just trying to help you.”
Caldwell is entering her ninth season as a head coach and her second at Division I. Yet she sounded like an old head regarding a specific coaching challenge, one that might trail her throughout this season.
“The longer you coach, the different generations you coach, the harder it is to get players to accept failure,” she said. “Hey, you’re going to do this and you might get burned on defense, but you’re going to have somebody right behind you to help you. Or you may take this shot you’ve never been allowed to take before in your career. It’s OK.”
With her style of play, Caldwell is turning the players loose. At the same time, however, she’s not going to cut them any slack. Apparently, juggling will be part of her coaching act.
“It’s a fine line,” she said. “You have to build them up off the floor after practice and still be on them while we’re on the court.”
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, U.S Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.