It’s been tough sledding for Lady Vols basketball. Kim Caldwell’s Tennessee squad got off to a great start in SEC play, but has struggled in the back half.
Dating back to the Mississippi State loss, the Lady Vols are 2-6 and have lost three-straight games. Perhaps none were worse than this most recent one. Tennessee fell into a hole it couldn’t climb out of, losing 82-74 to Texas A&M. The Aggies came into the game just 10-11 (3-9 SEC) on the year with a loss to UT Arlington.
With things going poorly and Caldwell employing a unique system, it’s brought up the question: Is this philosophy really working?
After the loss to Texas A&M, Caldwell was asked what she has to say to anyone who is pinning this rough patch on her system.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t think we’re doing much of anything,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think we’re doing much of anything, and so I don’t have anything to say about that. I think that all of our errors are, at the end of the day, on me, and I think that’s understood. I think that comes understood with being in this responsibility.”
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Caldwell’s system is predicated on gaining ‘extra possessions’ on opponents. She wants to take more shots by creating turnovers with a full-court press, then running in transition for open shots at the rim. Caldwell also puts an emphasis on offensive rebounding to get second-chance looks.
It’s the press that’s been the shakiest aspect this year. Under the offseason assumption that this group would be able to take a step forward from last year, it’s looked far worse and done more harm than good at times against quality opponents.
Caldwell blamed the step back in this category on inconsistent substitution patterns. The players on the court aren’t coming in in waves as much as before, and it’s created some overall inconsistencies.
“I think last year we were very consistent in who we played and how we played them, and our substitution patterns were consistent all year long, and they’re not this year,” Caldwell said. “We don’t have consistent substitution patterns. We are not playing the same rotations. We’re very inconsistent about who can be on the floor, who shows up, who’s what, and then you’ve been inconsistent with injuries, as well. But I think consistency of knowing what we’re going to get out of each player can get better down the stretch.”
Next will be another big road matchup for the Lady Vols. Tennessee will meet No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN. The next games aren’t easy, though. After the break, Tennessee meets No. 7 LSU on the road before hosting No. 5 Vanderbilt to finish the regular season.
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