With the inexperienced coach in charge of resurrecting the ancient program as a title contender, Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Lady Vols are making a very significant jump together.
And fast as well.
In her eight years as a Division I head coach, Caldwell has only coached one game. She will be operating in the shadow of the late Pat Summitt, whose eight national championship banners hang in the rafters. When Caldwell was introduced on Tuesday, he talked about how Summitt transformed women’s basketball.
I am not going to be Pat Summitt,” Caldwell declared. “It’s impossible for anyone to be someone she would be proud of, but I will try every day.”
Shortly before the women’s national championship game on Sunday, Tennessee announced the hiring of the fourth Lady Vols coach in fifty years. Danny White, the athletic director, stated that during the week-long search, Caldwell stood out in her interview.
In order to get this storied program back to where we all want it to be, we have a very competitive new coach who wasn’t scared of the challenge, according to White.
Caldwell will have to exude confidence beyond measure. She is switching conferences, going from the Sun Belt to the Southeastern, which has produced the last three national champions.
White likened her on-court approach to that of football coach Josh Heupel, whose Vols frequently run one of the fastest and most prolific offenses in the nation.
“I believe you’ll like what you see on the basketball floor if you like what you’re seeing in Neyland Stadium in terms of the amount of points we score,” stated White.
Caldwell stated that in order to get started right away, she will lean on her expertise of taking over a program at Marshall a year prior.
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