BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell opened her third preseason with the Lady Vols at SEC Tipoff on Tuesday by describing a team built almost from scratch around hustle plays.
Tennessee has an entirely new 15-player roster this season. Caldwell said that having so many newcomers made it easier to set the program’s standard exactly the way she wants, because the players arrive with no old habits to unlearn.
She brought two transfers with her to the podium, Maryland transfer Kaylene Smikle and Georgia transfer Rylie Theuerkauf. Caldwell said the two are older, experienced competitors who embody the team’s theme of working hard and getting better all season, not just in the preseason.
Smikle is coming back from a knee injury that required surgery last season, when she averaged 13.1 points in seven games at Maryland. The year before, she averaged 17.9 points and was named first-team All-Big Ten by the media. Caldwell said Smikle’s competitive mindset impresses her most and predicted this will be her best year.
Theuerkauf started 31 of 32 games for Georgia last season, averaging 11.9 points while shooting 40.6% from 3-point range.
The identity Caldwell described is about effort: getting to 50-50 balls first, taking charges, saving balls from going out of bounds and chasing offensive rebounds. She said the Tennessee bench is always on its feet for those plays.
Size is the concern. Caldwell acknowledged the Lady Vols are undersized inside and said guarding the post will take a whole-team effort built on ball pressure and help defense, with Zhen Craft adding SEC experience to the front court.
Tennessee plays its first public game Oct. 27 in an exhibition against Florida A&M, and the regular season opens Nov. 2 against Duquesne.
