LSU women’s basketball is on top of the college basketball landscape right now. Coming off the first national championship in program history, coach Kim Mulkey somehow made the team even better in the offseason. However, with NIL also being big with this squad, it begs the question, are they still hungry heading into 2023? Earlier this week, coach Kim Mulkey spoke on this subject and how star forward Angel Reese feels about it.
LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese is ready to be back on the court
LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese is a bonafide star on and off the court. On the court, the Tiger forward is coming off her best collegiate season yet, averaging 23.0 points, 15.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
Off the court, she’s about as big a star as you’ll find in college athletics. You can find her face in big-time magazines such as Sports Illustrated and TIME. Furthermore, she ranks in the top 10 for college athlete NIL, with a valuation of $1.7 Million.
With all that success having come in the last year or so, it becomes easy to wonder if she can hold on to that motivation heading into 2023. When speaking with the media earlier this week, coach Kim Mulkey addressed this and didn’t sound concerned in the slightest.
“Your concern is, what all my concerns will be, is Angel Reese hungry? She’s making money like crazy. Is she gonna be hungry for another ring? And so, you get a feel for that in your first individual meeting. And so, when I sat down with Angel, we talked about her summer, and then we talked about her being here. And I won’t ever forget it. She said, ‘Coach, I’m tired. I’m so glad to be back. I’m ready to play basketball.’ So, I was looking to hear that and not have to pull it out of her.”
“She understands; Angel doesn’t have all of that when she got here. She doesn’t have all of that if she doesn’t have success on the court. And she understands that she just had the most unbelievable year of her college career, and it was fun. And you’re not entitled to that again unless you work. And she’s working. She’s done her obligations. She understands as soon as I reported here, it’s LSU time.”
Coach Kim Mulkey is constantly learning how to motivate both new and veteran players
Heading into 2023, LSU women’s basketball star forward Angel Reese isn’t the only big name on roster. Coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers are bringing in what could be described as an all-star caliber class when looking at both recruiting and the transfer portal.
Among them are Mikaylah Williams (No. 2 player in the class of 2023), Aalyah Del Rosario (No. 7 player in the class of 2023), Hailey Van Lith (former Louisville guard) and Aneesah Morrow (former DePaul forward).
There’s no denying the talent on this roster. However, the challenge for coach Kim Mulkey is working out team chemistry and motivation. It’s a matter of getting to work and seeing how the pieces fit together with the returning players.
“And I know Flau’jae and all those returning players feel the same way. It was so much fun. And you’re not gonna get back there because you’re supposed to, or on paper, you’re supposed to. You’ve gotta work,” coach Mulkey said about her new look roster.
“This is part of what we do as coaches, is you’ve gotta motivate young people. And what motivates those new ones will be a lot easier than what motivates those returning players.”
LSU women’s basketball opens their 2023-24 season vs. Colorado on November 6. The game will take place at 6:30 p.m. CST at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
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