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Kim Caldwell was introduced as the fourth coach in Tennessee women's basketball history (during the NCAA era) on Tuesday. During her news conference, she made it clear that she is ready to face the challenge of taking over one of the most accomplished programs in the sport.
"You want to be somewhere where the expectations are high," Caldwell told reporters. "I've never been interested in a job that didn't have high expectations and a loyal fanbase."
The expectation in Knoxville is for Caldwell to win championships and lift the Lady Vols back to the heights they reached under legendary coach Pat Summitt, who won eight national championships. Athletic director Danny White provided an incentive in Caldwell's contract to achieve that goal, putting a clause in the agreement that would make her the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball if she wins a national title.
"I did that because I wanted y’all to see that," White said, per the Knoxville News Sentinel's Mike Wilson. "I did that before I knew who we were hiring. I didn’t know if we were going to spend multi-(millions), seven figures on a new coach or if we were going to spend what we spent."
Caldwell's five-year contract will pay her a $750,000 annual salary. That figure ranks her seventh among SEC coaches. South Carolina's Dawn Staley and LSU's Kim Mulkey earn more than $3 million each.
The new Lady Vols coach did not flinch when asked if the high-scoring offense with an emphasis on three-point shots that she's featured throughout her career would perform well in the SEC against bigger teams like national champion South Carolina and LSU.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could do it here," said Caldwell.
Kim Caldwell's response when asked if she needs to change her style of play now that she's in the SEC.
Yet the new coach also showed a sense of humor, sharing that she was excited to get a text message from Peyton Manning. She also joked that all of her text messages to recruits are now getting responses.
Caldwell replaces Kellie Harper, who never finished higher than third in the SEC nor advanced beyond the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 during her five seasons.
When Caldwell's hiring was reported on Sunday, some Lady Vols fans questioned whether a coach who only has one year of Division I experience was up to the task of reviving one of the sport's acclaimed brands. But in her lone season at Marshall, the Thundering Herd won the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles with a 26–7 record (17–1 in conference).
Caldwell was tremendously successful at Division II , her alma mater. In seven seasons, she compiled a 191–24 record that includes a 35–1 record and national championship in 2022.
However, Caldwell knows that coaching in Summitt's shadow is a considerable endeavor. In addition to those eight national championships, Summitt had the most wins in women's college basketball (1,098) until Stanford's Tara VanDerveer passed her in 2020.
"I will never be Pat Summitt. Nobody can," Caldwell said. "But I will strive every day to be somebody she would be proud of."
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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