Why Kim Caldwell says Kaniya Boyd is the future of Lady Vols basketball

Kaniya Boyd has grown into a key player for Lady Vols basketball over her redshirt freshman season.

She’s the kind of player who feels tailor-made for coach Kim Caldwell’s system with her defensive ability, athleticism and speed. The 5-foot-9 point guard from Las Vegas has been a spark off the bench, and her minutes are increasing the deeper the Lady Vols get into the season.

Boyd is averaging 16.9 minutes, which is sixth-highest on the team. But over the last six games, Boyd’s minutes have jumped up to 19.5 per game.

She’s starting to hit her stride in SEC play to become a consistent contributor, but it’s everything beyond the stat sheet that’s earning her more minutes.

“She doesn’t act like a freshman,” Caldwell said Tuesday. “She has some moments where she has some freshman eyes, but in practice, she’s on her teammates. She’s leading. She’s on our leadership committee, because she is vocal. She is the future of this program.”

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Caldwell called Boyd one of their best, if not their best, on-ball defender. Boyd makes things happen in the press, and she can “go get rebounds anytime she wants,” even if she needs to be reminded of that at times.

Boyd is constantly giving the effort Caldwell wants to see, from taking charges to diving on loose balls.

She’s doing a really good job of realizing she’s one of the fastest players on the floor every night,” Caldwell said. “So if you want to go get a layup, turn the jets on, kid, go get a layup, and I trust her. I trust her to be out there. I trust her playing hard.”

Over the last six games, Boyd has averaged 5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and a steal. But Boyd also rarely makes mistakes on the court, and that’s half of what makes her so valuable – she’s pure energy, but she doesn’t do too much. In four of the last six games, Boyd has had the second-highest plus-minus on the team.

Boyd shot 12-for-15 from the field (80%) and 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the free throw line over the last six games – and she has only committed three turnovers.

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Her best performance over the last six games was against Auburn when she had 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. She had a plus-minus of +22 in 21 minutes.

Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina was the first game of the season Boyd played more than 20 minutes, and it started her streak of strong performances.

“I thought she was the best player for us on the floor tonight,” Caldwell said after the South Carolina game. “She played hard on defense, she went and got offensive rebounds, she was making things happen. She took good shots, she was all over the place. It was big for us.”