Tennessee 2025, part 2

[fanonthesea]

I am watching Coach Caldwell put an interesting roster together. Georgia teammates (Rylie Theuerkauf & Zhen Craft), Avery Mills (Liberty), Naomi White (Northern Arizona), and Harper Peterson (Stanford). The good part, the "Lady Vol" name still carries some weight around WBB, so I am sure coach and her coaching staff will continue to add pieces over the next few weeks.

"Interesting" is definitely the right word. I've done a statistical analysis of the five players with experience playing on a college team that won't upload for some reason, but the basic gist is that while 4 out of 5 make 3s at a rate of 36.5-42.7% (and the fifth doesn't shoot from behind the arc at all); their overall FG%s range from 33-46.9; everyone plays me-ball (av. assists per game range from .1 to 2.23); and defense is almost non-existent (.1 to 1.9 steals per game and .06 to .6 blocks per game, although rebounding numbers are better at .7 to 5.3 per game, and pfs and turnovers are low). The two players with the overall best numbers are the ones transferring from non Power 4 conferences and also from schools with comparatively weak records--NAU lost twice as many games as it won this this past season.

 

[visitingcock]

I am watching Coach Caldwell put an interesting roster together. Georgia teammates (Rylie Theuerkauf & Zhen Craft), Avery Mills (Liberty), Naomi White (Northern Arizona), and Harper Peterson (Stanford). The good part, the "Lady Vol" name still carries some weight around WBB, so I am sure coach and her coaching staff will continue to add pieces over the next few weeks.

Well, they can now put five starters and a couple of backups on the court. So, they can now qualify to basketball. So, that’s an improvement.

I don’t think her system can work in the SEC but we’ll see.

 

[fanonthesea]

Also, the existence of positionless basketball notwithstanding, this team currently has no point guard and no center.

 

[jeff30189]

Also, the existence of positionless basketball notwithstanding, this team currently has no point guard and no center.

Minor detail. 😄

 

[Urshurak]

I’m wondering if this will the first year the Lady Vols don’t make the tournament. I guess we shall see.

 

[Rooster C.]

This "team" is going to get utterly destroyed and humiliated by the likes of South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Vandy, Kentucky, Ole Miss,........no way they're making the tournament and probably not even a winning record in the conference.

 

[ucmiami2]

I’m wondering if this will the first year the Lady Vols don’t make the tournament. I guess we shall see.

That would add to KC's string of records as TN head coach! (Ouch!)

While it is good that she is getting players and all the players she has gotten are decent D1 players, there is a lack of 'wow' in the signings to date. This actually strikes me as the makings of a title contender in a mid major sort of roster. And it also strikes me as the kind of line-up that is ideal for her 'system' if she adds more of the same. Press, run, and hoist the shots, rinse and repeat. No stars to complain about frequent subbing, etc.

 

[JellyBean]

Also, the existence of positionless basketball notwithstanding, this team currently has no point guard and no center.

 

[JellyBean]

This "team" is going to get utterly destroyed and humiliated by the likes of South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Vandy, Kentucky, Ole Miss,........no way they're making the tournament and probably not even a winning record in the conference.

Maybe. Maybe not. That is why they play the games. We shall see what develops.

 

[Rooster C.]

This actually strikes me as the makings of a title contender in a mid major sort of roster. And it also strikes me as the kind of line-up that is ideal for her 'system'

Agreed......because that's exactly what it is - a mid-major title contender. It's ideal for her "system" which is very successful at that level - but not at the P4 level. This was - and is - a bad hire for Tennessee or any program at this level. I will always give someone the benefit of the doubt but I've seen enough already to know this won't work at this level.

I watched another coach recently come up from success at the mid-major level with a "system" in place only to find out the hard way it didn't translate to the next level. They started with solid bench players from top tier programs and a handful of players (good but not great) who stayed. The really good players left and were snapped up by some of the top programs. They were competitive against most teams but not the upper level teams.
The coach adjusted going into their 2nd year by going after some very solid mid-major players and staying away as much as possible from the "one-and-done" players. They also brought in a solid recruiting class. They improved but not by much. So entering year 3 they have a returning core of starters that are familiar with the coach's "system" but everyone else left so the depth they should have had is gone. They also were no longer able to recruit any top talent. The answer? Bring in a bunch of Europeans. It has worked at other schools in the past but thanks to the "coaching carousel effect" they will probably benefit with another slight improvement this coming year, resulting in being on the "bubble" or possibly just making it into the tournament.
My point is essentially rebuilding a program from scratch takes several years of slow but meaningful steps of progression - which this coach at this program has the chance to accomplish. I don't see that happening at a program like Tennessee. Caldwell may not make it through the season imo

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I’m wondering if this will the first year the Lady Vols don’t make the tournament. I guess we shall see.

It is hard to project them making the tournament but the pool is shallow enough to where they don't necessarily have to beat any good teams to put themselves in conversation. So never say never.