Once again, Kim Caldwell addressed two of the three things she needs in a player to run her system with the new Tennessee Lady Vols transfer pickup. The unaddressed aspect is the same one it has been for all five of her transfer pickups this offseason.
UT announced the signing of Pittsburgh Panthers forward Rapuluchi Ayodele Tuesday. Initially from Madrid, Spain, Ayodele spent two years in junior college before joining Pitt last year, where she averaged under five points in under 18 minutes of play. However, she did average over six rebounds and half a block in limited action.
So what is Caldwell going for with a player like Ayodele? She’s targeting size and athleticism. Caldwell runs an up-tempo system that relies on athleticism and three-point shooting. However, to transition what she did with the Marshall Thundering Herd to UT and SEC play, she had to add size.
Although the Tennessee Lady Vols had size under Kellie Harper, few of those players were athletic enough for Caldwell’s system. This was why John Adams asked Caldwell about her transition to the SEC with her style, which led to this viral testy response.
Adams’ question, though, lingers more than ever. Ayodele’s one glaring weakness is the same as other transfers: She doesn’t or can’t shoot the three. In Ayodele’s case, she doesn’t shoot it. This was the problem with the other two forwards added to UT, Alyssa Latham and Lazaria Spearman.
Even the guards, Samara Spencer and Ruby Whitehorn, were highly inefficient from three last year. Caldwell retooled the roster to immediately improve it but didn’t add one sharpshooter. Hey, at least the size and athleticism is now there.
At this point, the Tennessee Lady Vols may look like those chaotic SEC teams in the mid-2000s that played out of control in trying to keep up with Bruce Pearl on the men’s side. Is this really the best decision Caldwell could have made for her personnel?
Now, to be fair, Sara Puckett is back, and Jewel Spear and Tess Darby can both be effective from outside. Maybe Caldwell just wanted to upgrade in the other two factors and is banking on the tempo generating open looks for those players.
If so, she’s been very forward-thinking and methodical with her pickups. However, on the surface, Ayodele adds depth to the Tennessee Lady Vols but doesn’t address that final, glaring issue. To be fair, Caldwell may not be done, so it’s still wait and see for this program.
