Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell will be back on the sideline Monday night when her 17th-ranked Lady Volunteers host No. 2 South Carolina, the reigning national champion.
Exactly one week after giving birth to her first child, a bouncing baby boy.
“It’s nice to be back,” Caldwell told reporters Sunday.
Caldwell gave birth to Conor Scott Caldwell last Monday while dealing with the flu. She missed exactly one game, Thursday night’s 80-76 loss to No. 7 Texas in Austin, where assistant Jenna Burdette filled in as acting head coach for the Lady Vols as they fell to 15-4 overall this season and 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play.
“It just was more of a helpless feeling than anything else,” Caldwell said of having to watch from afar instead of coach, though she added that Burdette did a great job in her absence handling a game that came down to the final seconds.