Criticism from the fans is one thing. But when it comes from someone who once wore the same jersey, that carries weight. After Andraya Carter questioned whether the Lady Vols “believed” in Kim Caldwell’s system during ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ segment, the spotlight quickly shifted from Tennessee’s on-court struggles to the foundation of the program itself.

After coach Caldwell called her squad, a team “that’ll just quit on you,” when they lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks, Carter, who played at Tennessee from 2012–16, didn’t hold back her thoughts. According to her, the team lacked belief, that players didn’t seem to know who to turn to, and that whatever confidence existed wasn’t translating to winning.

However, after Tennessee’s 89–73 loss to the LSU Tigers inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Feb. 26, Kim Caldwell has finally addressed the comments. And she didn’t sound defensive.

“I think that it’s fair for the most critical people of this program to be the people who have built this program,” Caldwell said. “And it’s hard for me to get upset with a lot of critique when I’m my biggest critic, and I know that things aren’t going the way that they need to be going. And I’m not leaving work every day, happy and satisfied and patting myself on the back. No one in our program is.”

She further added, “We have a program full of love, we have a program full of honesty, and we know that, and I think that that’s why they’ve been able to be so resilient through this.”

The Lady Vols are in one of their worst phases in the 2025-26 NCAA season. With five straight losses and eight defeats in their last ten games, the regular season begins to slip away. Even when the performances have shown flashes of improvement, the growing pains are visible.

But if Kim Caldwell’s response made anything clear, it’s that she isn’t running from the criticism, especially not when it comes from former players who helped build the standard in Knoxville.

Same Script, Different Night for Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols

The Lady Vols 16-point loss to the LSU Tigers followed a now-familiar pattern, and coach Caldwell admitted as much.

“We go in, we have conversations. They say it, they repeat it back, and then we come on the floor, and we don’t do it,” she said on the Lady Vol Radio Network.

Even though the Tigers entered this game as fan-favorites, Tennessee dominated the first half of the matchup by out-rebounding the Tigers, which left coach Kim Mulkey visibly frustrated. The halftime ultimately ended with LSU leading by just one point.

Even in the fourth quarter of the game, an 8–0 run from the Lady Vols trimmed an 18-point deficit to 10 with three minutes left.

But runs haven’t been the problem for them. Consistency has. Defensively, breakdowns in transition and undisciplined fouls continue to haunt them.

“Sometimes we’re trying to block shots at the rim, and they’re coming away with and-ones, and sometimes we’re standing there, not even moving our feet,” Kim Caldwell added. “We have to find that balance. I think that’s really been the detriment of our team, is guarding in transition, and when teams put their head down and go, we have to find a solution to that.”

The Lady Vols have just one regular-season game remaining, and it won’t be an easy one. Tennessee will host No. 5 Vanderbilt on March 1, a matchup that brings not just rivalry implications but postseason urgency.

It’s their final opportunity to prove that the belief Caldwell insists exists inside that locker room can translate into 40 disciplined minutes on the floor.