The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team has had an extremely challenging year, to say the very least. Things got off to a shocking start when, in early November, right before the season, head coach Kim Caldwell dismissed arguably the program’s best player, Ruby Whitehorn, after campus police found Whitehorn in possession of marijuana.
“In light of recent events, Ruby has been unable to reflect those standards, and I have made the difficult decision to dismiss her from our team,” Caldwell said in a statement. “I love Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols.”
With such a major change, some on-court challenges were to be expected, and those expectations have certainly been met. The once-proud Lady Vols have been a largely inconsistent team on the court.
Following a historic and catastrophic loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in February, Caldwell called out her own team’s effort.
“We had a lot of quit in us tonight. And that’s something that’s been consistent with our team is when we’re not comfortable, and things don’t go our way, I have a team that’ll just quit on you, and you can’t do that in big games,” Caldwell said after losing to the Gamecocks by a staggering 43 points.
It’s March, and things are still trending in the wrong direction for Caldwell and Tennessee.
On Wednesday, fifth-year Senior Kaiya Wynn, who spent her entire career as a Lady Vol, a rarity in the current landscape, made the surprising announcement that she was stepping away from the team following another embarassing loss, this time to their bitter rivals, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
“This decision was not made lightly or instantly. For the past five years I have given my all for Tennessee and have not regretted doing so once,” Wynn’s statement read.
“Obviously, my last two seasons on the team have been less than ideal for many reasons, but the one night I was most looking forward to was senior night. As someone who has never started a career game, I was hoping to start in my last appearance in Thompson-Boling. That obviously did not happen, and to be asked to check into the game with 15 seconds left while losing was not how I wanted to spend my final moments in my arena after five years.
“Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me. I have the utmost love and respect for my teammates and this program and wish everyone nothing but the best. Thank you Lady Vol Nation for the past 5 years, you all made this kid from Tennessee so extremely happy.”
As poorly as things have gone, and it’s hard to imagine them getting much worse, Tennessee athletic director Danny White is standing firm in his support of Caldwell.
“I think she’s doing a great job,” White said onWNML Sportstalk. “I’m as confident in her as I was the day I hired her. More confident, [after] just getting a chance to work closely with her and see how talented she is as a basketball mind and as a leader…
“I think it takes time to get it right and to get to where we want to be. But Kim’s doing a great job. I think the recruiting has elevated significantly, and I’m really excited to see these young players continue to grow and next year’s additions as well.”
Cladwell almost certainly appreciates the public support after such a frustrating season, but it’s worth wondering how much longer she has, given the program’s storied history and excellence that Pat Summit established.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.