The Lady Vols' first year under Kim Caldwell is over.
This means the careers of Favor Ayodele, Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Sara Puckett, Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer and Destinee Wells came to an end.
While their lone year with Caldwell resulted in a Sweet 16 berth before falling 67-59 to Texas, their coach wants them to know they deserve credit for what is being built in Knoxville.
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"I am incredibly thankful for this group that I got to coach," Caldwell said. "They did exactly what we said we were going to do, which was get Tennessee back into the top 25. They bought in, they played hard, they've been a joy to coach. God blessed me to be able to coach this group of kids. I am thankful for them. Any success that we have at Tennessee from here on out is because of this team."
Spencer, the Lady Vols' point guard who started the majority of games this year, accepted the challenge of playing for the first year head coach as an incoming transfer.
After starting her career at Arkansas, she made the move to join Tennessee and Caldwell.
To be a part of the first year under Caldwell isn't lost on her.
"It's meant a lot to me to play for Coach Kim, especially this being her first year at the University of Tennessee," Spencer said. "I think we did something special and I really think we put Tennessee back on the map. I'm glad our group to do it for her first year and I'm excited to see what the future holds for them."
As a group, Caldwell noted the team emptied the tank for her.
This helped the Lady Vols reach the heights of beating UConn during the regular season and making a run to the Sweet 16 while upsetting Ohio State on its home floor in the Round of 32.
"I think they gave me everything they had," Caldwell said. "Every single ounce of anything they had, I think they gave it for this program."
Now, there's a chance to expand upon this first season. Caldwell noted in year two, there is a significant jump that can be had.
This means possible returners such as Ruby Whitehorn, Talaysia Cooper, Zee Spearman, Kaniya Boyd and Alyssa Latham have the opportunity to take a massive step.
If they can do that while supplementing the roster with five highly-touted freshmen and potential transfers, the team could take that next step to the Elite Eight or Final Four.
"It's so much better. It's so much easier for the players that have done it once to do it again," Caldwell said. "Everyone's second year is usually their better year and people always ask, how long does it take to figure it out? Sometimes it takes a year. So all of our returners should be better and then we will have more coaches on the floor. We won't be having to teach 15 players a completely new brand of basketball."
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