Lady Vols legend Candace Parker, one of the greatest basketball players of all time (her résumé more than speaks for itself), is a big fan of Tennessee's Kim Caldwell.
Caldwell, who is in his first season as the head coach of the Lady Vols, is 13-2 in her first 15 games on Rocky Top. This past week, Caldwell nearly led Tennessee to an upset win against LSU, falling 89-97 to the Tigers.
"I would want to play for her," wrote Parker, who played under Pat Summitt at Tennessee from 2004 to 2008).
Caldwell likely won over quite a few fans (if she hadn't already with the way the Lady Vols are playing this season) with her comments after Tennessee's loss to LSU.
"I think for me personally...I get offended with [people saying] you have time to rebuild, you have time to rebuild, these seniors aren't your players," said Caldwell after the two point loss to LSU. "That offends me. They are my players. They chose to stay and I chose to coach them. And so I don't want to wait. I don't want people to say 'when you get your players in here' -- these are my players. I want to win for them and I want to win right now. So these games that we can't get back, and they can't get back, yes maybe they are establishing something for the future, but I want them to be able to have the experience, too. I want them to get what they deserve."
Tennessee athletics have been on a roll over the last few years, but the athletic program was never going to be truly "back" until the Lady Vols hit their stride again. And under Caldwell, the future of the Lady Vols basketball program is extremely bright.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!