After former LSU assistant coach Stacie Terry left Baton Rouge to become head coach at San Diego State, LSU coach Nikki Caldwell faced the challenge of finding a replacement who had similar values and could quickly assimilate to the system and culture of her program.
She found just that in former LSU Director of Video Operations Angel Elderkin.
Elderkin spent a year at LSU before leaving last season to be an assistant coach at St. John’s University.
“I screamed for a straight minute, because I was so excited,” said senior guard Jeanne Kenney about the moment she found out about the hire. “… To bring somebody in who already understands us and knows the ropes and who we know, it is great.”
Elderkin’s path to LSU began when she was a graduate student at the University of Virginia, where Caldwell was an assistant coach at the time.
Caldwell was more than generous when the ambitious Elderkin, whom she had never met before, confronted her in search of an internship.
“I walked into Nikki’s office and started talking to her when she said, ‘Why don’t you just live with me?’” Elderkin said. “… So I lived with her throughout the summer, and I worked there as an intern.”
Elderkin went on to be a volunteer assistant at East Tennessee State before being hired as an assistant at Siena College.
She was in her fourth year at Siena when she ran into Caldwell again, almost literally.
“I was in Orlando, and I almost hit Nikki with my car,” Elderkin said. “She jumped out in front and invited me to dinner.”
It was at this dinner when Caldwell offered her a graduate assistant position at Tennessee, where she was then coaching under legendary coach Pat Summitt.
Elderkin said experiences like these made the job offer almost impossible to refuse.
“That’s what really separates LSU, in my opinion, and why I wanted to come back here,” Elderkin said. “… When you coach, it is not just a job. It is working with people you want to do life with, and these are all people I could say I want to spend my life with.”
But what Elderkin lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in work ethic and loyalty.
Kenney said this was clear the moment Elderkin returned.
“She literally picked up like she never left,” Kenney said. “It was impressive. She was literally in the gym the next day going to town.”
Intangibles like these are what make her a perfect fit for Caldwell’s system.
“I think that’s why I am an attractive hire to Nikki,” Elderkin said. “She knows I will always have her back, and the basketball stuff, I am going to learn, because I am going to work harder than anybody else.”
Elderkin said she was also attracted to Caldwell’s vision for the program.
During Elderkin’s interview for the position, Caldwell made it clear that she expects nothing less than the best from her staff, as well as her players.
“I don’t think it is going to be enough for us to get to the Final Four,” Elderkin said. “We need to cut nets down and win a national championship.”