Kim Mulkey on why LSU women's basketball's Angel Reese 'insulted' by WNBA Draft projection
BATON ROUGE — Kim Mulkey's admitted she had an initial concern about this year's LSU women's basketball team, a team by all intents and purposes is stockpiled with talent, possesses some of the biggest names in the sport and will assuredly be the preseason No. 1 team in the county.
"Your concern is: Is Angel Reese hungry?" Mulkey said during her first media availability for the 2023-24 season as the reigning NCAA champions held its first official practice Monday inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
After the two's first meeting once Reese reported back to campus, four months after Reese helped the Tigers knock off Caitlin Clark and Iowa for the program's first national title, Mulkey's concern subsided.
"She's making money like crazy. Is she gonna be hungry for another ring? You get a feel for that in your first individual meetings," said Mulkey.
"When I sat down with Angel and talked with her about her summer. And then we talked about her being here. She said, 'Coach, I'm tired. I'm so glad to be back. I'm ready to play basketball.'"
Reese had an offseason like no one. Photoshoots, TV and radio talk show appearances. Starting up her own foundation that helps school-aged children back in her home city of Baltimore as well as in Baton Rouge.
Perhaps for Reese, something that was lost after her whirlwind of an offseason was her game and impact on the court. ESPN put out an early WNBA Draft projections recently and it listed LSU's 6-3 forward as the No. 8 pick.
LSU's star is back to what she loves doing. As Mulkey found out in her sitdown with her, Reese was carrying more motivation into this season.
LSU WBB PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS LSU women's basketball practice observations. Notes on Flau'jae Johnson, Angel Reese, more
HAILEY VAN LITH Hailey Van Lith arrives on campus, completes Kim Mulkey's LSU women's basketball squad
"That was an insult to her. We talked about the thing she needs to work on. Whether she gets picked higher than that or not, it still motivates her," Mulkey said. "She gets motivated in practice with someone going head-to-head with her or talking trash back at her. She's a competitor. I think she wants to be a good leader.
"Last year, she was learning as she went along in a leadership role. Because of that experience, I think now she may be a better leader. She's a special talent."
Mulkey has seen everything she needs to see out of Reese as the season opener in Las Vegas on Nov. 6 against Colorado approaches.
"I was looking to hear that and I didn't have to pull it out of her. She understands that she had the most unbelievable year of her college career and it was fun," Mulkey said. "You're not entitled to that again. She's working. She's done her obligations.
"As soon as she reported here, it's LSU time. Her, Flau'jae (Johnson) and all those returners feel the same way. It was so much fun but you're not going to back there just because you're supposed to."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU star Angel Reese driven by WNBA Draft projection, Kim Mulkey says
