After winning a title last season, LSU star Angel Reese is turning pro.
Reese, however, didn’t just make the announcement with a post on Twitter or Instagram like many other basketball prospects. Instead, she announced her plans with a photoshoot in Vogue.
She also tweeted some of the images included in the article with a caption quoting “Dip” by Nicki Minaj. It was a strong statement from Reese, who will hear her name called as one of the first picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
BAYOU BARBIE⏩WNBA. all that rah-rah never was the icon issue. Magazines, i’m covering the icon issue…VOGUE, I got REAL issues.💋 @voguemagazinepic.twitter.com/51MomWrEXr
Reese explained that she was inspired by Serena Williams, who announced her retirement from tennis in 2022 with a fashion photoshoot (via Vogue):
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese says: “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro—and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”
She added that she didn’t want to be basic with her announcement.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player led her team back to the Elite Eight this season.
The Chargers are hosting the dynamic wide receiver on a pre-draft visit.
The Chargers are hosting LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers on a pre-draft visit on Wednesday, according to NFL Media’s Cameron Wolfe.
Nabers is visiting the Cardinals, who have the No. 4 overall pick, on Tuesday.
Nabers has been pegged to Los Angeles at No. 5 overall in mock draft since the beginning of the pre-draft process.
The Bolts will be looking to add to their wide receiver room after the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and Nabers could be a welcomed addition.
Nabers is a dynamic playmaker whose release, play speed and run-after-catch ability make him a home-run threat each time he touches the ball.
Nabers is coming off his most productive season for the Tigers, which included 89 receptions for 1,569 yards (17.6 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns. Seventeen of those catches went over 30 yards.
Insert Nabers into the Chargers’ offense and he and Justin Herbert would do wonders together.
Cut down those Albany nets! A look back in pictures at Iowa’s confetti-filled celebration as the Hawkeyes punched their Final Four ticket.
The Iowa Hawkeyes put together a night that its fans will remember for the rest of their lifetimes.
After falling in the national championship game versus LSU a season ago, Iowa entered its Elite Eight contest against the Tigers with revenge on its mind.
Led by another historic performance from senior superstar Caitlin Clark, Iowa did indeed exact its revenge. Clark exploded for 41 points with an NCAA Tournament record nine made 3-pointers and 12 assists to guide the Hawkeyes’ 94-87 win over LSU.
Graduate guard Kate Martin scored 21 points and junior guard Sydney Affolter added 16 points as they both turned in strong performances as well.
As a result, the Hawkeyes are off to their second straight Final Four and the third in Iowa history.
Take a look back on the historic night and the celebration that ensued with these great photos from Iowa’s Elite Eight win over LSU.
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win! Thank you so much for being here with us this morning. We appreciate you taking the time.
Last night’s instant classic between Iowa and LSU might’ve been the last time we see Angel Reese suit up for the Tigers. She has a big decision to make — is she returning for another season at LSU or is her future with the WNBA?
She’ll figure that out in due time. When she does, we’ll know it. But for right now, I want to give her so many flowers for how incredible she’s been through it all.
So many incredible hoopers and their stories were but on the backburner in the year of Caitlin Clark. Reese might be chief among them. She’s been an amazing ambassador for women’s basketball through it all. Not perfect, of course. But always visible. And always being herself, authentically, through both the good and bad.
It hasn’t been the most fun ride. Let her tell it: The year she’s had since winning a national championship in 2023 has been awful. Follow the news stories, and you can see why.
At the start of the season, LSU loses to Colorado and the vultures begin circling. Then you’ve got Reese’s mysterious suspension that we still don’t know much about. That didn’t stop people from speculating — we heard rumors about everything from something as minuscule as a low GPA to something more soap opera-y like beef with teammates and their parents.
That time was awful. It felt so gross. And it wore on her. Her words from her press conference after the Iowa loss paint that picture for us. She felt the need to remind us of her humanity. Think about how that feels at 21 years old. She spilled her heart out in that presser:
“I’ve been through so much; I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time, and I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and, like, not be there for them. So, I just want them to always just now, like, I’m still a human.”
That’s a lot. But you can understand why she feels that way with all that she’s been through.
But that’s the thing, man. That’s why, to me, Reese is so admirable. Through it all, she’s never backed down. She’s never stopped talking. She’s never stopped playing. She never quit. She’s always been the same Angel Reese we’ve come to know, respect and love. That’s the best part about her.
No matter what happens next for Reese, she’ll always be one of the best ambassadors college basketball has ever seen. And I’m so thankful we get to watch her.
Folks, the moment has arrived. Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and part two. I cannot wait. They haven’t played against each other since 2021, when they met in the Sweet 16.
Honestly, it’s looking back on that moment is funny. Bueckers’ and Clark’s dispositions have flipped since then.
Clark was an incredible talent back then, too. But Bueckers was regarded as the best player in college basketball as a freshman. Watching that game, you can see why. She didn’t even give her best but still nearly came away with a triple-double on a stacked UConn team.
Today? Clark is a living legend. She’s the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and a player who some think is the best player they’ve ever seen. Because of injuries, Bueckers has moved to the back burner. It’s been an out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing. She went 720 days between playing in tournament games.
There’s a chance that Tiger Woods just might be playing in the Masters this year, folks. At least, according to the internet sleuths out there, anyway.
Here’s our Charles Curtis with more:
“Here’s what we do know: Per those who track his private jets, Woods took a plane to Augusta earlier this week, presumably to start ramping up his practice for the tournament next week, which is the first major of the PGA Tour season.
Which means that until you see absolutely official word from the actual PGA Tour or Tiger himself, assume that he’ll be teeing it up next week.”
It was the matchup we all anticipated since last year’s national championship game in women’s hoops: LSU and Iowa, with the winner heading to the Final Four.
Mulkey was asked about it after, and her answer was funny: “I sure am glad you leaving. I said, girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.”
Us, neither. Here’s that answer from the coach:
Kim Mulkey on what she told Caitlin Clark in the handshake line: "I sure am glad you leaving. Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it." 😅 pic.twitter.com/tIaW8ASBLD
Comedian Jason Sudeikis was in attendance for one of the best games of the year as the Ted Lasso star took in the Elite Eight matchup between the LSU and Iowa women’s basketball teams. Monday night’s highly anticipated game was a rematch of the 2023 National Championship game, which was won by Angel Reese and the Tigers.
Sudeikis is no stranger to supporting women’s hoops, with the Horrible Bosses actor frequenting games on both the pro and college level. Late in the fourth quarter, Sudeikis could be seen replicating the “you can’t see me” celebration made famous by wrestler John Cena and adopted by a lot of athletes, including Iowa’s incredible star Caitlin Clark.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 2, 2024
The celebration was the same as the one Reese used to taunt Clark in last year’s loss, but the record-setting Hawkeye got revenge in 2024 with a 94-87 victory to make the Final Four.
Fans thought Angel Reese was sending a message to Caitlin Clark, but she wears a crown before every LSU game.
The rivalry between arguably the two biggest stars in women’s college basketball — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese — is set to renew in the Elite Eight on Monday night.
We’re sure to see quite a bit of trash talk between the pair as we did during last year’s national title game, which was won by LSU. But after a pre-game moment caught fire on social media, some fans thought Reese was getting the mind games started early.
While Iowa was warming up, Reese placed a crown on the Tigers’ bench, appearing to send a message to the Clark and the Hawkeyes as they look to get their revenge for last April’s 17-point loss in the national championship game.
As she arrived for warmups, Angel Reese just placed this crown on the LSU bench while Caitlin Clark warms up in Albany pic.twitter.com/EZphO8WGhi
Reese wears the same crown during every game’s starting lineup introductions, and she also placed one on LSU’s bench before Saturday’s Sweet 16 win over UCLA.
Though it was nothing out of the ordinary from Reese, that didn’t stop fans from speculating that it was meant to play mind games with Clark and Iowa.
Trash talk between the two is nothing new, and Reese’s viral “Ring Me” celebration at the end of last year’s game has been one of the most lasting college basketball images in recent memory. Reese also mocked Clark’s “you can’t see me” celebration in that game.
Both have said there’s nothing personal behind the trash talk, merely two of the top competitors in the nation going at it. But personal or not, we’re almost certainly set to see an intense game between the defending champions and the favored Hawkeyes seeking revenge.
The Hawkeyes band is getting in on women’s college basketball’s biggest budding rivalry.
The budding rivalry between LSU and Iowa is one of the most endearing in women’s college basketball at the moment, and it’s set to renew on Monday night.
The two teams will square off in the Elite Eight in Albany, New York, in what will be a rematch of last year’s national title game, which the Tigers won 102-85 to capture their first championship in program history.
Now, they’ll meet again with the prize being a return trip to the Final Four, and Iowa’s band is getting in on the competition.
Ahead of Monday’s game, it was spotted playing “Neck” by Jacques Doucet of WAFB in Baton Rouge. “Neck” is a popular (and now banned) song that the LSU band routinely used to play.
A cover of Cameo’s (and later Dem Franchize Boys’) “Talkin’ Out Da Side of Ya Neck,’ the version by the LSU band was a fixture until it became rare at Tiger games when it was banned in 2010 due to the NSFW chant from the student section that accompanies it.
Well, we’re getting the rematch in the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament in the Elite Eight on Monday, so of course everyone is going to concentrate on that rivalry and how it’ll play out this time.
But Clark had the perfect answer on Sunday when asked about that rivalry. She decided to talk about how “women’s basketball is in a really great place” and that it’s not just about her and Reese:
Caitlin Clark shared her initial thoughts on facing LSU in the Elite 8 in a national championship rematch.
The top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (32-4, 15-3 Big Ten) punched their ticket to the Elite Eight with an 89-68 win over fifth-seeded Colorado (24-10, 11-7 Pac-12) to advance to the Albany 2 Region final.
With the win, Iowa moves on and will face a familiar foe. It’s the third-seeded LSU Tigers (31-5, 13-3 SEC) that await the Hawkeyes in the regional final.
LSU topped No. 2 seed UCLA in the Sweet 16, 78-69. Sophomore guard Flau’jae Johnson led the way for LSU with 24 points on a 7-for-11 shooting day.
Of course, this is a national championship rematch from a season ago. In its first-ever appearance in the national title game, Iowa fell to LSU, 102-85.
LSU star forward Angel Reese scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, assisted five times, came away with three steals and blocked a shot in that title-clinching win over the Hawkeyes. She was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after the title victory.
With the rematch now officially on the books, what does Clark think about facing off against Reese and LSU again?
“Yeah, I think we’re excited. I think any time you have a chance to go up against somebody you lost to, it brings a little more energy. But, at this point in the tournament, every single team is good. Whether you’re playing West Virginia, whether you’re playing Colorado, whether you’re playing LSU, you prep the exact same way. You come in with the same exact mindset.
“I think overall it’s just going to be a really great game for women’s basketball, and they’re really solid one through five. We know we’re going to have to rebound the basketball. But obviously I don’t know the ins and outs of everything about them, because we haven’t gone through the scout yet,” Clark said of LSU.
Iowa senior superstar Caitlin Clark was terrific against the Buffs, registering her 66th career double-double with 29 points and 15 assists. The 15 assists were here career-high in an NCAA Tournament game.
Clark knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and connected on 13-of-22 field goal attempts overall.
All five Hawkeye starters scored in double figures against Colorado. Junior guard Sydney Affolter continued her strong play since getting moved into the starting lineup, scoring 15 points.
Graduate guard Kate Martin and fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall each added 14 points as the pair combined for 6-of-9 treys. Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke also registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“More than anything I think just building off this win today. I think this was the first time in about three games we were able to put together what felt like a complete basketball game on both ends of the floor, whether it was in transition or on defense or just really executing our offense, so I think being able to build off of that and take that momentum into our next game,” Clark said.
Iowa’s Elite Eight matchup against LSU is set for Monday night at 6:15 p.m. CT on ESPN from MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.
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