Kim Caldwell walked into the Hotel Wildemont in Birmingham, Alabama, for her third SEC media day as Lady Vols basketball coach, and her appearance mirrored her demeanor.
She wore a light blue cardigan over a Summitt Blue shirt paired with white pants, her hair pulled back into a bun and full glam done by assistant coach Isoken Uzamere. Caldwell looked unburdened by the season she just put behind her or any impending pressure ahead of her – it felt like she was more relaxed than ever before going into a full afternoon of media obligations.
When she addressed the room full of reporters Oct. 13, Caldwell came across friendly and polished, her smiles genuine, as if the failures of last season set her free. There were no nerves or rushed answers.
Some
of that comfortability came from familiarity, with the trip itself and the people – Caldwell said they've had the same driver every year – but part of it was because of a shift in focus. Caldwell was excited for the day because her players were.
Senior guard Rylie Theuerkauf was going to her first media day, preparing on the trip over by getting advice from fifth-year guard Kaylene Smikle, who has been to her far share while playing at Rutgers and Maryland.
"That's really where my joy comes from now, is seeing things through my players," Caldwell told Knox News, "and seeing their excitement and watching them get to experience things like this, because it really is awesome."
Caldwell got her first look at her team against an opponent the day before in a closed scrimmage with Wake Forest at Food City Center, and while there were some flaws exposed, she came away pleased with some bigger-picture observations.
"Fouls, rebounding – both of those things are going to get us beat if we don't fix it," Caldwell said. "We have harped about it in practice, but until you have SEC refs in there, they never think they foul. So we fouled way too much. We need to do a much better job on the rebounds, especially being a short team.
"I think the energy and the effort was great. I think the selflessness of this team and wanting to make the right play and taking good shots and the pace was exactly where we want it to be."
Caldwell's positive takeaways were some of the things Tennessee struggled with most last season as it went 16-14. Correcting those things don't guarantee wins, but they're necessary to make Caldwell's system successful.
Theuerkauf provided tangible proof of Caldwell's observations – she lost her voice during the scrimmage from yelling.
"It was a lot of fun, and we brought so much energy. Hence, I lost my voice," Theuerkauf said. "It was just a grand old time, and we really learned how much we love to actually play with each other."
Smikle, who said she felt good playing in her first live-game situation since her season-ending surgery in December, had a similar takeaway from the scrimmage. She believes the reason their team is fun is the result of how hard they work and the high energy they bring to practice ever day.
"We are relentless and very energetic. You're going to hear us and you're going to feel us," Smikle said. "We do press, but you're also going to hear our voices. We're definitely not a shy team."
There has been "a fine balance" for Caldwell, she said, in trying to get back to who she was when she was winning conference championships every season while still continuing to grow and learn what it takes to replicate that at this level.
After experiencing the high of overachieving in her first season and the low of last season's disappointment, Caldwell appears to have come out on the other side ready to face whatever her third year throws at her.
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: Why Kim Caldwell is more confident, relaxed in third season as Lady Vols coach
