Lady Vols basketball is back in action this Thursday with a road clash against LSU. Ahead of the game, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell met with the media to give her updated thoughts on the game.
She was asked about the status of Janiah Barker, what stands out about the Tigers, adjustments that need to be made and more.
Here is what Caldwell said.
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On if she expects Janiah Barker to play vs. LSU
“Yeah, I do.”
On the morale of the team
“I think we’re okay. I mean, we know that we are getting better as individuals. We can clearly see now what we need to get better at, which is transition defense, limit your fouls, and we finally have had two days of practice back-to-back to where we can maybe piece some things together and try to take a stride forward, but it’s not the end of the world for us. We’re still trying to get better. We still have goals. We’re still trying to reach those.”
On how important it was to just breathe after the busy week
“Yeah, I think it was good. I think, again, it’s a really tough stretch, not only with the amount of games you have, but the ranked opponents that you have, and to do it bam, bam, bam, again, one day prep, go, one day prep, go, and then a day off, it’s nice to have a little bit of reset. And then it’s even nicer again to have two consecutive days of practice.”
On putting consequences on fouls in practice
“Yeah, so our whiteboard is back out. We’re tallying. You have 24 for every time you foul. We’re calling them live. We’re calling them in real time. We’re calling them tight.”
On how the team has handled the tough month
“I think for the young ones, it’s all they know, and it’s particularly hard in February when you’re a freshman in the SEC, regardless, and this makes it a little bit harder. But I think, again, I believe our team is all on the same page in the sense of, ‘Hey, this is cut and dry. This is what is costing us games. Let’s fix it,’ because our shooting has gotten better. Our offense, for the most part, I mean, we’ve made, I think, 10 threes a game in our last four or five games at 30+ percent, which is night and day different than where it was. So now we just have to fix some things on the defensive end.”
On what bothers her the most about where he defensive is
“I think the biggest upset for me was when we went to Ole Miss, and then again, just Oklahoma, when they want to go in transition, they want to go in transition. We’re having a hard time stopping them, and not only are we having a hard time stopping in transition, they’re also able to pull it out and throw it in the post and do what they want there. So they can beat you multiple different ways of going with their head down and post play.”
On the issues with transition defense
“I think the biggest thing is not getting the ball stopped. We never get a turn. We never get the ball stopped. We don’t do it in the front. We don’t do it in the back. People can go right to the rim, and then we’re usually fouling right there, too, because we’re a step late, we’re using our hands.”
On Talaysia Cooper’s attitude
“I think she’s continuing to grow as a leader. She sees it. She’s been here. She believes in what we do. I think she’s playing better basketball, as well, so I think that that is better for her. She’s putting better practices together. I think we all saw how close we are at Oklahoma. Tough environment on the road, one-possession game right down the stretch. Again, they made 36 foul shots, and it’s a one-possession game. We got out-rebounded by 13, it’s a one-possession game. Let’s fix some of those things.”
On lessons learned from how last year’s season ended
“No, I think that, grand scheme of things, when you look at records, and you look at progress, and you look at seeds and what we did last year compared to this year, we’re in a spot to where we can still do what we want to do.”
On players wanting to win vs. not wanting to lose
“Yeah, I think we’ve kind of struck a balance of just becoming obsessed with getting better. Of this is what the stat sheet says, this is what we need to improve.”
On big-picture goals, not getting caught up in struggles
“I think that has been impressive, but also, when you think about young people, it’s probably what they’ve dealt with their whole lives. So they’re used to this, and they’re built for it, and they’re made for it, and resilient enough to just continue to do what we do.”
On the freshmen leading, Talaysia Cooper helping
“I think it’s consistent across. I do think that we had an early morning shoot around, and I think we gave them an option: ‘Do you want to go?’ It was a 7 a.m. shoot around. ‘Are we going to go to this? What’s better?’ Our travel again got a little mixed up to where we couldn’t go the night before, and they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going.’ So (Talaysia Cooper) was excited by that. They got up. They had good energy. They got a lot of shots up in real time, and I think that the more of a leader she can be for our young ones, the better.”
On what stands out about LSU
“They get fouled just as much as anyone in the country, and they go in transition. They’re very good at all of our weaknesses, so we’re gonna have to, again, have a great practice here in a few minutes to try to go and compete in that one.”
On if the fouls are a fatigue or fundamental issue
“I think it’s a fundamental thing. I think, every foul, it’s an undisciplined thing and a fundamental thing. We are late, so we use our hands. Somebody is coming at us too fast, our feet are not in position, so we are touching with our hands. Every now and then, it’s, ‘Hey, I’m gonna try to block this shot.’ I can’t block this shot. Just stay up and stay vertical.”
On LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley
“She’s surrounded by a bunch of good guards. She can go in a straight line, where it’s gonna be a situation where we’re gonna have to corral her and not let her have a straight path to the rim. And then again, she’s coming off a phenomenal game, I think, where she hit six threes, so it just makes it even tougher.”
On a coach telling her year two is the most difficult, keeping confidence
“I’m always gonna be consistent. That’s one thing about me. Whether we’re winning or losing, I’m always trying to try to fix things, and nobody’s gonna be a bigger critic of me than me. And I think that’s why we’ve been able to get through this patch of, if we could be winning every single game, we could be undefeated, and I’m still gonna come into work, and I’m not gonna be happy, and I’m gonna be trying to fix things, and I’m gonna find problems, and so we’re doing the same. It’s consistent through and through.”
On having a mental reset, if the team seemed recharged at practice
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, it’s hard to tell. I think we’re so far deep in it now that I don’t know how much a one-day reset does on a day that they have classes, but it was good to have a break on their bodies.”
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