When Fatmata Janneh went on her official visit Lady Vols basketball in April, Isoken Uzamere had already committed to be an assistant coach for the Nigerian national team, which was preparing to play in three preseason WNBA games.
But Uzamere, who was hired to Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell's staff only weeks before, wasn't missing the chance to help recruit the Texas A&M transfer. So, she took a red-eye flight from the Nigerian team camp in San Diego to get back to Knoxville in time.
Janneh committed two days later.
"I mean, off her doing that, I knew I was committing," Janneh said Aug. 3. "Because from then, just seeing how much they were willing to invest in me – she was willing to not be with the Nigerian national team and come back just for
me. I was like, 'Oh yeah, they're willing to ride for me. They're going to do anything that they can for me to come here.' And I just needed that."
Why Fatmata Janneh chose the Lady Vols
The 6-foot-2 senior forward was one of the biggest commitments out of the transfer portal for Caldwell, who had to rebuild her entire roster after all eight returners entered the portal.
Janneh, who played her first two seasons at Saint Peter's, nearly averaged a double-double for the Aggies last season with 11.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 assists.
Janneh said she didn't let the Lady Vols' exodus or a 16-14 finish sway her decision at all. She fell in love with Tennessee on her visit, and believes Caldwell's goals aligned with her own.
"She instills confidence in me every day, very encouraging," Janneh said. "I couldn't have asked for a better head coach, honestly."
Caldwell told Janneh how hard it would be to play at Tennessee, how much the players would have to work playing for her. Neither Janneh or her teammates shied away from the challenge.
"It has been very hard. But she's been right there every day, guiding us every day and telling us that we can push past what we believe is hard," Janneh said. "(Transparency is) very important, because you don't want to come here and have it not be what you said it was going to be. But every word she said, it's been exactly that, like no lies told."
Why Fatmata Janneh's personality is important
It didn't take long for Janneh to come up with a nickname for Caldwell.
"I call her 'Big Boss,' " Janneh said. "'Cause she is a big boss, isn't she? She's head coach, and she's just like, the boss, you know? So I just call her big boss, and then you know, her son, little boss."
Janneh, who is from London, England, has a big personality. Her natural humor was obvious when she met with the media for the first time Aug. 3, and Caldwell said it's great to have a player who can keep things light and knows when to turn it on and off.
Senior guard Kaylene Smikle, a transfer from Maryland, said Janneh always has a smile on her face and has been a great leader.
"You can see that somebody’s having a hard practice, and you can go up and you can be loud and vocal and kind of change their mood," Caldwell said. "I think that’s anytime you have a player that will give constant energy, and she is somebody that will do that. It means so much for a team, because energy is really important."
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Fatmata Janneh explains why Lady Vols were choice, calling Kim Caldwell 'Big Boss'
