Say goodbye to the Van Wagon.
An updated model has pulled into Baton Rouge — the Caldwell Chopper.
LSU showed off its new women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell on Monday to the media, current players and fans. Caldwell will take on the responsibility of steering the women’s basketball program back into its glory after its recent rut.
The LSU Athletic Department promoted the women’s basketball team the past couple of years using a purple van with a larger-than-life portrayal of Van Chancellor, the 67-year-old former coach of the Lady Tigers turned assistant to the athletic director.
Now the program has a fine-tuned, 38-year-old leader in Caldwell, who rides a Harley Davidson and led a motorcycle charity event to raise money for breast cancer awareness at her former home UCLA.
There’s no denying the stark contrast between Chancellor and Caldwell. The commonalities between the two stop at the fact they are both women’s basketball coaches.
Chancellor was always seen drinking sweet tea from McAlister’s Deli. Caldwell probably enjoys cosmopolitans.
Chancellor largely sat back during practices, preferring the pace of the golf course, while Caldwell claims she preaches a high-octane offense, which will “run, run, run.”
“They come from two different sides of basketball,” said senior forward LaSondra Barrett. “She’s more young, in today’s culture … Coach Chancellor had a lot of old fashioned coaching styles.”
The Lady Tigers respected and enjoyed Chancellor’s expertise and legendary status in the world of women’s hoops, but Caldwell will be a coach they can relate to on a more personal level.
Chancellor’s four-year tenure with the Lady Tigers started off at the pinnacle of college women’s basketball — the Final Four — but ended a good conference win shy of the NCAA tournament.
“He’s been a tremendous asset to the women’s game, not only at the collegiate level but also professionally,” Caldwell said. “He’s going to be missed, but again when you look at opportunities and the opportunity for me to be here, I’m extremely excited.”
Caldwell made another thing clear — her passengers on the sideline this season will be from her former staff at UCLA.
Gone at LSU are 22-year mainstay Bob Starkey, youngster Joni Crenshaw and recruiting guru and bowtie-wearing Travis Mays.
“[Losing] somebody that’s been in this program for 20-plus years … that’ll probably be tough,” Barrett said.
Starkey has been on staff at LSU since 1990, including seven seasons as an assistant for the men’s basketball team.
As hard as it is to see such a dedicated coach get the boot, Caldwell has every right to want her own coaching staff.
“I already told him I’d like to pick his brains,” Caldwell said. “I look forward to speaking with him.”
The defensive mastermind also took the role of acting head coach, including a Final Four appearance, while LSU dealt with the removal of former coach Pokey Chatman.
Caldwell brings a youthful exuberance not found since Chatman’s time in Baton Rouge.
But Caldwell said she wanted to use the example of the late Sue Gunter, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame former coach of the Lady Tigers, to guide her tenure.
If Caldwell comes anywhere close to the way Gunter pioneered the sport and achieved 442 wins at LSU, she will be in Baton Rouge for the long haul.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]