Lady Vols basketball are set to make the trip to Greensboro for a top-10 season-opening clash with NC State on Tuesday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN2 to get Kim Caldwell’s second season underway.
Before Tennessee and the Wolfpack meet on the hardwood, Caldwell met with the media on Sunday afternoon. While Ruby Whitehorn’s dismissal took the headlines, there were still plenty of notable things Caldwell said about the team heading into the season debut.
Here are three thoughts on things that stood out.
More From RTI: Ruby Whitehorn Releases Statement After Dismissal From Lady Vols Basketball
Alyssa Latham Could be the X-Factor
The biggest hole on the roster for Tennessee is a lack of 3-point shooting. With the departures of Samara Spencer and Jewel Spear, the biggest threats from range are gone. The Lady Vols addressed this through high school and transfer recruiting, but there are still questions of who will step up to knock down shots.
One player who could be a difference maker in this category is returning forward Alyssa Latham. As a sophomore in her first year at UT last season, she knocked down 31.3% of her attempts from range. This year, that number should rise on an increased volume.
“Alyssa’s huge. She’s been huge,” Caldwell said. “She had a really good off-season. I would say she probably had the best off-season of anyone. She stayed here, she worked, and she got better. And she’s rebounding better. She put on muscle mass. She is moving better. She’s shooting better. So she’s one that we had already kind of anticipated that she’s gonna be bigger than she was last year.”
What will the Lady Vols Look Like in the Half-Court?
With the emphasis of getting the principles of the system down in Caldwell’s first season, there wasn’t as much time to focus on half-court offense and defense. With a lot of returners, I’m curious how improved this aspect will be.
In the exhibition, that wasn’t necessarily something we got to see. Tennessee dominated and hardly had to sit down and defend in the half-court or fight too hard for a basket on offense. As a result, we might not get a full picture of it until the game vs. NC State actually begins.
Caldwell said she’s seen both sides of it so far. Sometimes, the team looks great in half-court defense. Other times, she gets a bit worried.
“That’s one thing we didn’t really get to see in the exhibition,” Caldwell said. “I understand they wanted to play fast. It was a fast game. It was something that we really did not get to look at. And then, you know, you go against your practice guys and they’re fast, they’re strong, and so then you just kind of wonder. We’re having conversations today about slowing our practice guys down so we can see.
“We have moments where we look really good. We have moments where we look like, wow, we can be special in the half-court, and then we have a lot of moments where we look undisciplined and we’ve never heard the word help side in our life. And it’s about doing it when you’re tired. It’s about doing it in the full court. I think if we would just sit in the half-court, I think we’d be all right, but you have to do it with the space and pace that we want to play at.”
Two Duos to Watch For
With Caldwell rotating in waves, it can create some familiarity between players who are often getting subbed in and out alongside each other. In the exhibition, we got to see one that nobody saw coming, not even Caldwell.
Transfer forwards Janiah Barker and Jersey Wolfenbarger seemed to complement each other well. Barker even found Wolfenbarger as a playmaker to help get each other open.
“We’re still working on that,” Caldwell said. “That is something we kind of have four days now to really go back and rework, and so our backs are against the wall in that, of just trying to find the right combinations in a short amount of time. Janiah and Jersey do play very well together. It was not something that I would have guessed until I saw it.”
Caldwell offered another duo she’s excited to see this year. Watch for returners Talaysia Cooper and Zee Spearman to be on the floor together.
“Late December,” Caldwell said on when players begin to mesh. “So again, it takes time. Another combo that I have high hopes for are Coop and Zee. We really just hope that they can play really well off of each other.”
