Fifteen Newcomers Are Building a Family Bond Inside the Lady Vols Program

Fifteen new Lady Vols are learning to become a family, and that process is the subject of a University of Tennessee Athletics feature on this season's team. With that many new faces in one group, the connections off the court matter alongside everything the team is building on it.

A roster turned over to that degree has to grow together quickly. Players arriving from different places and different backgrounds are being asked to trust one another, communicate, and play as one unit, and the sisterhood theme running through the program is Tennessee's way of describing that work.

For Kim Caldwell's team, how fast that bond forms could shape the season. Chemistry does not decide games by itself, but a group that genuinely plays for each other is better placed to handle the difficult stretches a long season always brings.