Well, it isn’t an excuse if you were genuinely disadvantaged. It was certainly the case with Mia Pauldo during the Tennessee Lady Vols’ worst defeat of the season (93-50) to South Carolina. It was agonizing to say the least, but Mia must find comfort knowing that her family has her back, especially her father, who revealed the reason behind her terrible day on court.

“Hit twice in the face 1st quarter & played the 1st half w/no contact lens, which certainly explains the bad misses. Yet & still, both her & MyMy locked on D while handling & sharing the ball well ( 1 turnover, a missed accurate pass). I can assure you, NEVERRR any quit in PAULDO blood,” said DJ Pauldo on his X handle as he gave his daughter praise for her resilience and courage.

Pauldo senior shared a pic of his daughter pulling at her eye, along with the tweet. Mia Pauldo went on to miss 10 of her FG attempts, and was 0-of-9 on her 3-point shots, with 0 points scored during her 24 mins spent on court.

Right after her 21-point game against Georgia, Mia Pauldo endured this nightmare as she was trying to build on some momentum. The positive words from her coach did offer her some solace.

“I don’t think she made bad plays. I think she still played hard. I just think her shot didn’t fall tonight. And we are better when she’s better,” added Kim Caldwell, appreciating Pauldo’s efforts for the team.

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But it wasn’t just Caldwell who stood up for Mia Pauldo when she had an off day. Plenty of fans poured in to offer their words of support as DJ Pauldo’s post went viral.

Fans Show Their Support For Mia Pauldo After the South Carolina Game

Some heartwarming words of encouragement came flooding in the moment DJ Pauldo lauded his daughter’s efforts.

“Don’t quit. I love what you are doing. Keep speaking up. I hope you keep believing in Tennessee. You got this,” said a X user.

Mia Pauldo doesn’t have many off-days on the court. She played every game for the Lady Vols this season, averaging 11.6 ppg, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 37.5 FG%. The fans know how to stick with her even on a bad day. It’s quite rare in basketball to find players who have such a big game mentality, but the Pauldo household is blessed with two: Mia and Mya.

“I love them both so much, and I hope they stick it out at UT. They’re sooo fun to watch, and both play with pride and effort every second they’re on the floor,” felt another X user as he credited the Pauldo sisters (Mia and Mya) for their efforts.

Mya might not have gotten the opportunity to play as many games as Mia, but she is a perfect rotation player. Mya made 3 points against South Carolina, grabbed 2 rebounds, and had an assist in her 9 mins on the court. The Paterson, NJ, natives have had no problems in winning over fans in Tennessee, from the looks of it, and it’s the “No Quit” mentality that resonates from them, which makes the Lady Vols supporters cheer for them even more.

“Fans love the Pauldos! No quit in them, but lack of ability from our coach is certainly there,” said one fan, which would definitely make you think.

While the fan was willing to give a pass to the Pauldo sisters, Kim Caldwell wasn’t so lucky. Inconsistent adjustments when it came to defense, along with fast rotations, have exposed issues in the half-court, leading to gaps culminating in blowup losses.

Guess the “five in, five out” hockey-style substitutions would now have to be forgone, as it breaks the rhythm of the team, and that must be what was bothering the fan. While hockey is played at extremely high intensity, such changes make sense compared to basketball, where rhythm, spacing, and chemistry take center stage. More so, unlike hockey, basketball has star players and subbing them off while they are on a flow can prove to be detrimental for the team at large.

While basketball players can easily sustain themselves for 30-40 mins hockey players won’t be able to do so, which makes Kim Caldwell’s quick changes meaningless

Either way, the SEC has never been a walk in the park, either, and a simple slip-up here can prove to be very costly, so Caldwell will have to exercise caution from now on because she is swimming with the sharks.