The Lady Vols and Vols will once again tip off the preseason fan event in an outdoor venue with the return of Market Square Madness. The celebration, now in its third year, converts the popular downtown spot into a makeshift basketball court with a runway entrance.

Located about 1.5 miles from the UT’s basketball arena, Market Square Madness is a free event for fans. The pre-festivities start at 7 p.m. today, Oct. 18, with Smokey and the Tennessee Spirit Squads, face painting stations and on-court contests for prizes. DJ Sterl will provide the sound and entertainment. The teams will arrive at 7:30 p.m.

Based on the first two events, get there early to get a spot near the court or along the runway ropes. Fans and downtown dwellers and visitors pack Market Square with some scoring vantage points from the rooftop bars and residential units and balconies.

The players for both the women’s and men’s teams will participate in on-court contests against each other and fans. The point is to have fun, so don’t expect to glean much about either team in terms of hoops. The court is a plastic composite and the event is outdoors, so it doesn’t simulate a game in any fashion. The players are in jerseys but also sweatpants and hoodies to ward off the evening chill.

With that in mind, take a jacket as the temperatures drop when the sun goes down. Downtown Knoxville will be packed with fans on the evening before the Tennessee vs. Alabama football game, and Market Square Madness is quite a show to watch. Park in the Market Square, State Street or Locust Street garages and it will be free to exit after the event.

SEC MEDIA DAY

Market Square Madness is one indicator that basketball season is almost here. The other is SEC Media Day, which was held for the Lady Vols on Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama. A full story can be read HERE with input from coach Kim Caldwell and players Sara Puckett and Jewel Spear.

Here are some other quotes that provide some preseason insight.

Puckett: “We have a lot of big personalities, and they definitely come out, but we all get along. We have great team chemistry, and it starts off the court. We do have a lot of new faces. We all respect each other. We have fun around each other.

“We all make jokes, and there are no cliques. I think that is really special. I think the personalities are big, but it is really good for us.”

Tennessee is a mix of returning veterans, one new freshman, the eligibility of sophomore Talayia Cooper and five newcomers from the transfer portal. Of course, the biggest change is a new head coach in Caldwell and five new assistant coaches.

Sara Puckett and Jewel Spear attend SEC Media day at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham. (Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics)

Team chemistry is vital to overall success and not always an easy potion to mix. Cliques form when teams fragment. If the preseason equilibrium can be maintained when the games get underway, that will help a team find its footing.

Caldwell: “It’s a fine line because we don’t ever put players in a box. We let players play every type of way because I want to get the most out of them. We do talk about roles. We talk about it publicly. We talk about it in a room. Everyone goes around and says their roles.

“But because we practice and play so free, our first couple games, scrimmages, some people will still try to do things out of their roles. That’s where film comes into play, having conversations. Having had those conversations prior is really important.”

Caldwell was responding to a question about players settling into roles before the games count in the win-loss column starting Nov. 5 against Samford.

It was a good question because Caldwell brings a new system to Tennessee that seeks a fast tempo, quick shots in transition and pressure defense. The high-octane style will require some rapid rotations – that keeps players engaged – and it could take some time for Tennessee to adjust. As Caldwell pointed out earlier in preseason, none of the players is familiar with the style in live games.

Jewel Spear and Coach Kim Caldwell handle SEC Network duties at SEC Media Day at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham. (Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics)

Enjoy Market Square Madness for the fun. Get the first real look at the new-look Lady Vols on Oct. 31 against Carson-Newman in an exhibition game. And then get ready to watch a team run.

“It’s so much more than I could have dreamed of to actually be the head coach at the University of Tennessee,” Caldwell said. “It’s amazing. You take it day by day, stride by stride, moment by moment. You really have to focus on basketball, being around your team, or you could get consumed in all of this.”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.