Tennessee's Kim Caldwell got everyone's attention in year one, including Rick Barnes

Tennessee Lady Vol coach Kim Caldwell officially went on maternity leave on Friday following the conclusion of the Big Orange Caravan, but it doesn’t mean the competitive Caldwell is shutting things down. 

“I’m thankful the University of Tennessee is allowing me to do this three months after giving birth. I will still be on the phone some, but I will be around my son and I’m looking forward to really starting a routine with him,” Caldwell said. “I have brought him to practices. I have brought him to the office a lot since our games have finished and that’s been great since our schedule have slowed a little. 

“I will probably still go in the office once a week. I’m going to try not to and I will probably still take him when I go. I am trying to tell myself that I’m not going to (go in) but I also know who I am.”  

Who Caldwell is and how her team played captured the attention of everyone least year as the Lady Vols made a run to the Sweet Sixteen and were tied with Texas heading into the fourth quarter with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line. But it was just Lady Vols fans who were impressed with what they saw. 

“I think it’s one of the greatest hires ever,” Vol head man Rick Barnes said Wednesday on the 3HL show on 104.5 the Zone in Nashville. “You think about the job being what it is arguably the best and for Danny to go through the process and in the end he said that Kim got the job because of the interview. She was very calm, sure of what she was doing and how she wanted to play. He said it really intrigued him. And I will tell you without question that nobody in the country men or women ran more than our women’s basketball team last year in the offseason, nobody. They were on the track, they were everywhere.

“She practices as hard as any team I have seen men or women.”

Caldwell’s summer conditioning program was unlike anything any player ever imagined when they met their head coach last spring. It was work not to get in shape for game day, but to get in shape to practice. 

“It’s about 2 and a half hours of up and down. Our entire practice is up and down,” Caldwell said. “So if we are doing one on one it’s full court. If we are doing 2 on 1 it’s full court. If we are doing 3 on 3 it’s full court. Gamedays really are kind of their off day.” 

While Barnes gushes about the job Caldwell did in year one, the Lady Vol leader called the veteran basketball junkie a great resource to her and her staff, noting that Barnes isn’t exactly taking it easy on his squad either. 

“I think when you have somebody like him next door there are valuable things you can learn. What an amazing person. I’ve never met anyone like him. He never turns it off. My husband (Justin), who obviously helps out on the staff, used to always tell me ‘oh, you’re too hard on them’. Well after one year with Rick, he said ‘no you’re too soft on them’. So really just watching how he never lowers his standards. I mean he is on his guys. They watch film and whether they win a game or lose a game I think he’s pretty consistent and that’s why he’s one of the best coaches in the country if not the best coach in the country.”

When Caldwell returns from maturity leave at the end of the month, it will be go time on her second squad.  For Caldwell, it will be different as she has settled into the job. But there will be a lot of learning with nine new faces coming in. Those nine new players include a second ranked high school recruiting class and the top ranked transfer portal class. In other words, year two will feature lofty expectations and lofty standards as the the foundation of the squad is returning. 

“Our core did come back and I do think that will help us tremendously,” Caldwell said. “We will have some people that know what I expect. Anytime you have a coaching change and I have some empathy to this, it’s hard for people to lead because they don’t actually know what the head coach expects because it’s new for everyone. We don’t really have that this year as we will have a core five and six that are coming back.

“We didn’t have to fight to keep them. It wasn’t really a conversation. We just knew that they were happy. We were happy with them and they see the vision. They want to build. They are hungry for next season and they are hungry and excited about the group that’s coming in.”