LSU taps Caldwell as new coach

Nikki Caldwell reached into her pocket last week and picked up her phone.

On the other end of the line was her mother, Jean.

She was inquiring about the rumors ablaze throughout the Internet that her daughter was about to leave UCLA to become LSU’s new women’s basketball coach.

Caldwell, despite knowing negotiations were looking promising, shied away from the question.

“My mom said, ‘I’m hearing things Nikki, on the Internet, that you’re leaving. Is that true?'” Caldwell said. “And I said, ‘No mom, it’s not true. Not yet.’ I had to tell her that. My mom talks a lot, and I didn’t want her to talk because she’ll tell everybody in Oak Ridge, Tenn.”

Jean Caldwell learned the truth just hours later, LSU has its new coach.

The Tigers announced Caldwell as the new leader of the Lady Tigers’ program last week, a move LSU Athletics Director Joe Alleva said is a “Sunday clothing” affair for the team’s program.

“I don’t wear this purple jacket very often. I love this purple jacket, but I don’t wear it very often,” Alleva said. “I wear it on special occasions. To me, this is a special occasion. … This is a bright, new day for LSU basketball. The future here is really, really bright.”

Caldwell landed on LSU’s radar after spending the past three seasons turning around UCLA’s program.

After winning just one NCAA Tournament game in the nine seasons prior to her arrival, Caldwell posted a 72-26 mark with the Lady Bruins, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in both 2010 and 2011.

In the three seasons prior to her arrival, UCLA posted just a 51-44 record.

Caldwell said the decision to leave the budding program she created wasn’t easy but she added she wanted to be closer to home.

In addition to being a Tennessee native, the coach is also a former University of Tennessee player and assistant coach.

“Get back to the South, closer to home and to family,” Caldwell said when asked about her decision. “Also, this program is very rich in tradition. LSU has been committed to women’s basketball when it wasn’t popular. I just hope that we are able to continue and move this game to the next level and keep moving it into the right direction.”

The team Caldwell will inherit at LSU is a group that went just 19-13 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.

But the Lady Tigers return most of their contributors from that team and also add one of the best prep players in the country, McDonald’s All-American Krystal Forthan.

Despite the returnees, LSU won’t look quite the same next year.

That’s because where the team’s previous coaches Pokey Chatman and Van Chancellor stressed defense, Caldwell is more an offensive-minded coach, saying she likes to play an up-tempo style.

But she also cautioned fans to not expect the team’s defensive ways to fade.

“We are going to run, run, and run. I love up-tempo,” Caldwell said. “I love quick, early shots when they’re going in, and when they’re not, we’ll be patient. The cornerstone of our program will be our defensive play, and then on the other side will be our offensive play. To me, that is the difference between winning championships. You have to be able to defend and you have to be able to rebound the basketball.”

Caldwell’s contract will pay her approximately $700,000 per year over the next five seasons. That contract is almost identical to the one of her predecessor, Van Chancellor, but is more than double the $300,000 per season Caldwell received at UCLA.

While the jury is out on whether the coach will give LSU bang for its buck, one opposing coach knows the Southeastern Conference won’t be the same with Caldwell back in town.

“The Southeastern Conference will become much stronger with Nikki joining the league,” Tennessee Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt said. “Her accomplishments in the three short seasons she was at UCLA is indicative of more of what will come from Nikki and her staff at LSU.”

Alleva agreed and said he plans to wear his purple coat plenty times in the future while watching Caldwell rebuild the team.

“When I started making phone calls around and asking people who I should look at to take this position, Nikki Caldwell’s name came up every single time, and I’m not kidding you,” Alleva said. “Every single person I talked to brought up her name, so I said I need to meet this lady, and I did. I was obviously very impressed. She’s a star, she’ s a role model.”