Tag: kim mulkey

Angel Reese continues to impress as a WNBA rookie with 3rd double-double in return to DMV

Kim Mulkey was sitting courtside as Angel Reese earned her third double-double, a mark that leads all WNBA rookies.

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] continues to impress just nine games into her WNBA career.

Making a homecoming of sorts on Thursday night against the Washington Mystics — with LSU coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] in attendance — Reese turned in a 16-point, 11-rebound performance in a Chicago Sky’s win.

It was Reese’s third double-double of the season, a mark that leads all WNBA rookies. It’s one of several categories in which Reese ranks at or near the top of the rookie leaderboards. She also leads WNBA rookies in rebounds, steals, win share and PER while ranking second in points, offensive rating and defensive rating, as well.

Reese is currently averaging 11.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the 4-5 Sky, which will return to the court on Saturday for a game agianst the Atlanta Dream.

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Kim Mulkey attends former LSU star Angel Reese’s WNBA homecoming

“I want people to realize Kim Mulkey loves you off the court too. And she’ll support you no matter what. She’s like a mother to me,” Angel Reese said

It was a homecoming of sorts for [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] as she returned to the DMV area on Thursday night for the Chicago Sky’s game against the Washington Mystics.

Reese had a lot of family members on hand for what was a 79-71 victory over the winless Mystics, but she also had a special guest in attendance: LSU women’s basketball coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag].

The two shared some special moments before the game, in which Reese recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Reese has had a strong start to her rookie season and leads WNBA rookies in several categories despite her field-goal percentage being a problem so far.

“I’m just happy she loves me, supports me,” Reese said of Mulkey after the game. “I want people to realize Kim Mulkey loves you off the court too. And she’ll support you no matter what. She’s like a mother to me, she calls me still, she checks in on me making sure I’m good. Checks on my family, calls my grandma.

“It’s a relationship a lot of people obviously fail to realize and don’t see, I love coach Mulkey. Go Tigers.”

While Mulkey has a tough-love approach at times, it’s clear she has an quite impact on her players’ lives.

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Former LSU basketball player Hailey Van Lith headed to 2024 Olympics

Former LSU basketball star Hailey Van Lith will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Former LSU women’s basketball player got some good news on Wednesday after being selected to compete on the USA’s 3×3 Olympic basketball team in Paris.

In a video posted to social media, Van Lith got emotional upon hearing the news. Van Lith was given her jersey before a call with USA 3×3 women’s head coach Jen Rizzotti.

“We got a lot of work to do,” Rizzotti said, “Enjoy the day, congratulations.”

Van Lith said the emotion of the moment was hard to describe.

“I’m excited to wear USA across my chest and be in Paris for the first time. I’ve never been to Paris and I think it’s just such a cool reason to go to Paris, so I can’t wait,” Van Lith said.

Van Lith is no stranger to high level 3×3 basketball. She played in the 2023 3×3 world cup and in 2019, won the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup MVP.

Van Lith, one of the biggest names in the sport, transferred to LSU last spring. After playing one year with the Tigers, she hit the portal again, landing at TCU.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Van Lith as she played true point guard for the first time in her college career. She went from scoring nearly 20 a game her junior year at Louisville to just 11.6 with LSU, but she was still a key member of a team that made an Elite Eight run.

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No. 1 women’s basketball recruit in 2025 class sets visit with LSU

The Tigers already have one five-star guard on board and are hoping to add another.

The LSU women’s basketball team has been acquiring talent in droves since Louisiana native [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] arrived as head coach three years ago, and it could be in line to land the best prospect in the 2025 class.

Five-star 5-foot-9 Monterey (Lubbock, Tex.) prospect [autotag]Aaliyah Chavez[/autotag], the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class, will be in town for an unofficial visit on Wednesday, according to a report from On3’s Talia Goodman.

Chavez recently trimmed her list of contenders down to 10 schools, featuring South Carolina, LSU, Texas, USC, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, UCLA, Tennessee and Arizona. LSU will hope this week’s trip helps it stand out from the pack.

The Tigers already hold a commitment from a five-star guard in [autotag]Bella Hines[/autotag], who committed in April. They’re hoping to add another elite prospect.

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LSU to face UIC in December, Aneesah Morrow set for Chicago homecoming

Aneesah Morrow will return to her hometown on Dec. 19 as the Tigers face the Flames.

LSU women’s basketball star [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] will be making her return to Chicago this December.

On Monday, the Tigers announced a game scheduled for Dec. 19 on the road against the University of Illinois Chicago. That game will come two days after the Tigers face Seton Hall at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

For Morrow, it marks a return to her hometown where she starred at Simeon High School and later spent the first two years of her college career at DePaul before transferring to LSU.

“We are very excited to have a game in Chicago against UIC which allows Aneesah to play back in her hometown,” coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] said in a release. “There will be a lot of people that have followed Aneesah from the beginning of her basketball career that will have the opportunity to come out and see her play with LSU. Chicago is a city with rich basketball history so we look forward to bring our team there for a game.”

UIC is coming off an 18-16 season that saw the team reach the WNIT. It returns 11 players from last year’s team.

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Kim Mulkey says Seimone Augustus’ hiring was announced to the team during awkward Zoom call

It seems the announcement over Zoom threw off LSU’s players.

The LSU women’s basketball program is adding some big-time experience to its coaching staff as former Tigers and WNBA star [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag], a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, is joining as an assistant.

Augustus brings professional assistant coaching experience to the table in addition to her legendary playing career, but it seems the Zoom call in which coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] announced her hiring was a bit awkward.

“The players learned through a Zoom call the night before it was announced. And it was kind of a strange Zoom,” Mulkey said during Augustus’ re-introductory press conference, per On3. “They were quiet and I don’t know if they were quiet because I don’t do Zoom calls and they were thinking ‘How is Coach doing this, who’s doing this for her?’ Or if they were in awe. Some of them clapped and some of them smiled, but it was just — it was really quiet and I thought that was not so typical of my team, so maybe they’re just waiting to see her in person.”

While it may not have been the reaction Mulkey expected, it’s hard not to be excited about the prospect of Augustus joining a staff that already has quite an impressive pedigree.

The Tigers will hope her expertise helps aid the transition for what will be a transfer-heavy roster next season.

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Seimone Augustus describes phone calls that led to her joining Kim Mulkey’s LSU coaching staff

Seimone Augustus explained how Kim Mulkey went about reaching out to her.

LSU made a splash with its women’s basketball coaching staff, adding legendary Hall of Fame former player [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] to Kim Mulkey’s group.

Mulkey previously went into detail on the process that led to Augustus’ hiring, which she called a “no-brainer,” and at her introductory press conference last week, Augustus further explained how that process played out.

“When I got the call I was kind of shocked,” she said. “I knew Johnny (Derrick) was retiring but I obviously didn’t expect to get a phone call from coach Mulkey. And she did and she said, ‘Baby, Johnny’s retiring, and I’d love for you to have the position if you want it.'”

“We had another call after that that was more in-depth, went into detail about the role… and the third phone call was on a Friday, I called her and she said ‘What do you got for me, baby?’ and I said, ‘I think I’m coming home coach.’ And she said, “You’re going to make me do work on a Friday?'”

Augustus is one of four basketball players (and the only women’s basketball player) with a statue outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. After a storied career in the WNBA ranks, she’s now returning to her alma mater looking to bring it back to the Final Four next season.

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LSU AD Scott Woodward on the secret behind hiring successful coaches

It’s hard to deny Scott Woodward’s track record when it comes to hiring coaches.

Even before he arrived at LSU, athletics director Scott Woodward has been known as a big-game hunter.

He hired Chris Petersen away from Boise State while at Washington, picked up Jimbo Fisher and Buzz Williams while at Texas A&M, and since arriving at LSU in 2019, he has made his splashiest hires yet.

In football, he poached [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] from a blue blood Notre Dame program. In women’s basketball, he convinced [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] to return to her home state after winning three national titles and Baylor, and in baseball, he hired [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag], a successful head coach at Arizona.

Since then, the latter two have won national titles.

Speaking to Paul Finebaum while at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida, Woodward revealed the key to bringing successful coaches on board.

“Two things that are really important to me, Paul, and they’re obvious,” Woodward said, per On3. “One of them is their past record. Now, Kim (Mulkey) has been a winner everywhere she’s been, whether it’s valedictorian of her high school class or winning at a junior level in little league softball with the boys, or even through college as an Olympian. Everything she’s done, she’s won. Brian Kelly, same thing. Won at Grand Valley State. Won at Cincinnati. Won at Notre Dame. It’s hard to screw that up.

“Then, the second thing that’s really important to me is I try to hire guys that are a lot smarter than me. Really high IQs. Kim is smart as hell. BK is smart as hell. Jay Johnson, you know. They have that and I kind of think that when you have that formula that you just feel it. That’s just how I’ve always done it and I kind of focus on it in a big way.”

While Kelly and men’s basketball coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], who Woodward also hired, are still seeking national titles, it’s hard to deny Woodward’s track record when it comes to head coaching moves.

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LSU’s Kim Mulkey explains ‘no-brainer’ process behind hiring Seimone Augustus as assisant

Kim Mulkey said it took “seconds” for associate head coach Bob Starkey to suggest hiring Seimone Augustus.

The Tigers made a splash in women’s basketball last week as they added legendary former player and 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] to the staff.

Augustus is one of four LSU basketball players, men’s or women’s, to be honored with a statue outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. She brings coaching experience to the table after two seasons as a WNBA assistant following a phenomenal playing career.

[autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] said that when former assistant coach [autotag]Johnny Derrick[/autotag] — who coached with Mulkey for 24 years dating back to her time at Baylor — retired following the season, Augustus was the first name she and associate head coach [autotag]Bob Starkey[/autotag] considered.

“When (Derrick) came at the end of the season and said that he was definitely gonna retire I had a staff meeting with all my staff, and because I am not in the trenches like they are in recruiting and seeing who the up and coming coaches are, I asked each of them to give me suggestions,” Mulkey said, per On3. “And I think it took maybe seconds for Bob (Starkey) to speak up and he says we need Simone. And I asked him if he would reach out to her to see if there was an interest first before I called her.”

Mulkey later said that the decision was a “no-brainer,” especially with the expected changes allowing more assistants to coach on the floor.

“It’s a no-brainer,” she said. “It was just a matter of changing responsibilities because Johnny’s responsibilities were totally different than what Seimone’s will be. We would not be doing this if Seimone could not be on the floor sharing her knowledge and her experiences not just in college, but in the league, in the WNBA.

“And so with the rules changing in our sport where we can now soon probably have six (coaches) on the floor and in August voting again where we can have the rest of the staff doing the limited roles on the floor, it was just great timing. And so I think that’s what we spent a lot of time talking about is your role will not be what Johnny’s role was, here’s what I’d like you to do and I think that was really really important to her.”

Derrick’s official title with the program was “assistant athletic director for women’s basketball operations,” so Augustus will be taking on a different, more coaching-centric role.

In what will be a year of great change for the program, LSU will hope Augustus’ championship pedigree will help ease the transition.

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LSU draws Seton Hall in Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase

The Tigers will travel to Connecticut in December to participate in another Hall of Fame series event.

The LSU women’s basketball team is heading to Connecticut in December to take part in the 11th annual Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase. The Tigers will face Seton Hall at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Dec. 17.

LSU opened last season playing in a Hall of Fame series event in Las Vegas against Colorado.

“We are really excited to bring LSU to the Mohegan Sun to play Seton Hall in December,” coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] said in a release. “We have participated in Hall of Fame events before and are looking forward to do so once again.”

Mohegan Sun Arena is an hour from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, into which Mulkey was inducted in 2020 and [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] — a former star player at LSU who was hired as an assistant last week — will be inducted in October as part of the 2024 class.

This will be the second meeting between the two teams after LSU won 58-40 during the 2010-11 season. The Pirates are coming off 17-15 season in which they lost in the first round of the WBIT.

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