The Tennessee Lady Vols suffered a disappointing 93-50 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks this week, a reality seemed to leave the team's head coach Kim Caldwell frustrated at the end of the game. While speaking to reporters about what went wrong for her team, Caldwell said she felt that her roster "quit" on the game — and that this isn't the first time they've done so.
"We just had a lot of quit in us tonight," Caldwell said of the 43-point loss — the largest in Tennessee women's basketball history. "And that's been something that's been consistent with our team is ― we're not comfortable, and things don't go our way, and I have a team that'll just quit on you. And you can't do that in big games, can't do that anytime in the SEC, but you certainly can't do that at a program like this."
Caldwell also said that her team needs to answer questions about why "they can't stick together."
Dawn Staley weighed in on what went wrong for Tennessee
South Carolina's coach Dawn Staley was asked if she had any advice for Caldwell, who is in her second year with the program. After she was told what Caldwell said about her team, Staley admitted that she wouldn't have been as quick to admit what Tennessee's coach said out loud.
"For a young coach like Kim [Caldwell], coaching for the traditional powerhouse of Tennessee ― for me, I probably wouldn't say it publicly. That's one," Staley began.
After that, it comes down to learning how to encourage your team to get out on the floor and produce the results you want, she continued. "For two, you gotta get your team to buy in, and sometimes, it's tricking them because it's a game. It's a game that you really have to balance playing with the players because they know they played like ish, right? They know they did. Sometimes you need to bring what good happened. If you can find some good in it ... some of that might just kind of relax them a little bit."
Tennessee could benefit from Coach Staley's advice
The Lady Vols have a 7-2 record and are fourth in the SEC, though it's not a secret the team has greater aspirations. They also have the ability to pull those goals off — and Caldwell isn't wrong when she says cohesion is necessary.
But it could serve her to internalize some of Staley's advice ahead of Tennessee's next game against Missouri on February 12. The Lady Vols will likely be on a bit of a revenge tour during the match, and could be more motivated to do well if they feel that their coach was able to find something good about their performance against South Carolina, even if it didn't result in the outcome they all wanted.
Every coach has to find their own style and stick with it, but there's always a little room for adjustments as needed (if they're needed at all).