There's good cause for visit from Caldwell

The UCLA football team will add a pair of hitchhikers to its traveling party coming to Knoxville next week.

Bruins women's basketball coach Nikki Caldwell, a former University of Tennessee player/assistant, and her assistant Tasha Butts, another former Lady Vol, will be along for the ride. They have their reasons - specifically a cause.

Caldwell and Lady Vols associate head coach Holly Warlick will be hosting a fundraiser called "b3" - bikes, basketball and breast cancer. The event will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

"We have a great opportunity to capitalize on the UCLA-UT football game (Sept. 12 at Neyland Stadium), the whole atmosphere,'' Caldwell said.

The fundraiser will feature food, live and silent auctions and a performance by country music recording artist Matt Stillwell. Admission is a $100 donation. Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and longtime WIVK executive Bobby Denton will be special honorees. Caldwell said that the football coaching staffs of UT and UCLA have been invited.

Caldwell and Warlick have raised thousands of dollars - about $150,000 by Caldwell's estimation - on their motorcycle rides. In 2007, they started "Champions for a Cause" a non-profit fundraising organization. The hall of fame event is a more grounded variation of the same concept.

"Nikki and I have received such great support for our Cruisin' rides, it will be fun to share this event at home,'' Warlick said.

Caldwell said that she and Warlick are planning a motorcycle trip up the East Coast next spring.

Gray Visit: Lady Vols forward Amber Gray made her first UT visit this weekend since undergoing brain surgery for an aneurysm in July. Gray was accompanied by her mother, Tonya Carter.

"She looked great, amazing,'' Summitt said of Gray.

Summitt said that Gray's left eyelid no longer was drooping and that her walking stride was strong.

Summitt said that Gray attended the Lady Vols volleyball match Saturday night with her teammates.

There's no timetable yet for Gray's return to UT.

Return Trip: Caldwell will be back with her team for a game against the Lady Vols on Nov. 28.

The Bruins were 19-12 in Caldwell's first season. She previewed the 2009-10 edition as being quicker and more versatile but not as tall. Among the newcomers is freshman forward Markel Walker, a Parade All-American.

"I think we're going to be a better team as far as us playing together,'' Caldwell said. "(The players) know our system and our philosophy. They're more acclimated with our coaching staff."

Get Over It: With only three freshmen this season, Tennessee's individual sessions so far have a different tone than last year's, which were tailored for seven first-year players.

The workouts are more about defense, conditioning and mental toughness than teaching.

Freshman guard Kamiko Williams is gaining an early appreciation for fighting through fatigue. She described a session with assistant coach Dean Lockwood last Thursday as if it was more tug of war than basketball.

"I'm so tired I can't think straight,'' she said. "He's like 'Kamiko do this.' OK I know what you're saying but my body is saying 'No' but my mind is saying 'Do it.' It's just a lot of stuff going on at one time in this 18-year-old body. You know what I mean?

"... Once I get over this wall I've hit, I'll be straight. Right now I'm stuck, can't get through it."