Danny White went off the beaten path when he hired Kim Caldwell to replace Kellie Harper as the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach last spring. Caldwell was just 35-years old with one year of Division-I coaching experience after spending most of her career at Division II Glenville State.
But Caldwell has led Tennessee back to the Sweet 16 in her first season in Knoxville after five-seed Tennessee knocked off four-seed Ohio State on the road Sunday night.
“I look back and I really admire Danny White and his staff for making a hire,” Tennessee men’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell said on Wednesday. “I mean, people probably said, who? What? But she’s got all that quiet real quick.”
Caldwell might have come to Knoxville short on Division I coaching experience but she did come with a unique style that she whole heartedly believed in. During her opening press conference, Caldwell sternly defended her up tempo, constantly pressing play style.
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That style of play was critical in getting Tennessee back to the Sweet 16 as the Lady Vols turned Ohio State over 23 times and turned it into 37 points in the 82-67 win.
“It’s awesome,” Barnes said. “I mean, from the time that she’s walked on this campus, she’s made a tremendous impact. I go back a year ago when we started with the Big Orange Caravan that you knew she was confident in what she was doing, her style, she knew that she believed in that.”
Tennessee’s men’s and women’s basketball program share use of the Pratt Pavilion practice facility which lends to Barnes watching the Lady Vols practice in season and during the offseason. The Vols’ veteran men’s basketball coach says the way the Lady Vols work makes their instant success unsurprising to him.
“If you knew how hard our women’s team and I watched it all through the summer and fall, I’m not the least bit surprised in what she’s got going,” Barnes said. “She’s only gonna continue to build on it. And I hope this team continues to go because again, we’ve watched them personal and up close how hard they work every day and it really, it’s neat watching their success.”
Both Tennessee’s men’s and women’s programs are in the Sweet 16 this weekend. Barnes’ team will face Kentucky on Friday night in Indianapolis while Caldwell’s team will face Texas on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham.
