LSU's hopes for a repeat national championship could depend on whether Angel Reese can find the right blend of fire and fun.
a pass just beyond the free throw line, steps into the shot and lets it fly over South Carolina centeroutstretched hand. The LSU superstar drains the jumper -- not the type of bucket she's known for -- to tie the SEC championship game earlier this month. She holds her follow-through as she backpedals down the court.
"As a person at my STATUS, sometimes you have to walk away from certain situations," Reese posts on X after LSU's 79-72 loss."Mind you the play before that I had rolled my ankle AGAIN and was already walking to the bench. I ALWAYS ride for mine. I'm super proud of this team & super excited for march."March is now.
This trip to Baton Rouge is part of my mission to get a better understanding of the woman who has transcended basketball. Her calendar is crammed, so I take my minutes where I can. Colorado Springs, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Las Vegas, Starkville. I want to figure out why Reese elicits such strong emotions. To understand how those emotions could be so different from person to person. To understand the fire and the fun that coexists within her. And how they impact LSU's chances.
She has seen the critical posts on social media about her battles with opponents, her commitment to the game, her big personality. "I played with the boys and my brother," Angel says."I used to win all the time. And I used to trash-talk. They hated it." Her competitive edge cuts both ways. During her junior year of high school, Reese earned a three-game suspension after getting into a fight with an opposing player during a scrimmage. Reese also helped St. Frances win multiple IAAM"A" Conference championships. Her No. 10 jersey was retired by the school. Reese has donated money to the school to cover the tuition -- which amounts to $12,000 per year -- for one student, as was done for her.
After the season, five Terrapins entered the transfer portal. Reese was one of them."I think it was just time for me to see something different," she says. The first-team All-Big Ten honoree packed her fire and her fun and went to LSU. With unorthodox talent and an abundance of passion, Reese was the undisputed motor behind LSU's unexpected run to the national championship. She's unapologetic for who she is and how she plays. That is celebrated by some, but it is hated by others.
The next day, Reese was awarded a key to the city by Mayor Brandon Scott. She stood next to Scott to accept the award, towering over him in her black vest and trousers. There's no crowd, no outside noise, just the sounds of sneakers squeaking against hardwood and the smattering of claps from players. Reese, who had previously been invited to Team USA tryouts but had never made a roster, sports the single leg sleeve she typically wears during games and a No. 39 practice jersey. She has her braids pulled back in a long ponytail. Lashes on. Shorts rolled.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey and Reese have had their moments, but Mulkey knows LSU's hopes for a repeat rest on Reese's shoulders. Sitting on the bench after practice, Reese takes a breath. The attention, the accolades, the chatter on social media, it has all been a lot in the nearly three months since the national championship game. Cardi B added a line about LSU in a rap song she did with Latto.Reese has been ballin'. She got a new Mercedes-Benz.
She isn't with the team when LSU travels to Southeastern Louisiana three days later. She doesn't play against Texas Southern three days after that. When I ask Van Lith how Reese's absence is affecting her after LSU's 76-73 victory over Virginia, her response is quick."We don't really want to speak on that," she says.Then, back in the Bayou on Nov. 30, Reese returns to lead the Tigers against Virginia Tech in a top-10 showdown. She runs out of the tunnel, down the purple carpet into the PMAC, receiving her customary crown from a teammate as the packed arena cheers.
"Those kids are like my children, and I'm not going to tell you what you don't need to know," Mulkey says."That's just the way I address things." This game is Reese's homecoming game, so it's not a surprise that she got 20 tickets for friends and family. When the fans pack the 4,100-seat arena, many crane their necks waiting to see Reese on the floor.
"As female athletes in the spotlight who are aggressive, talk on the court, love to be energetic and passionate, I think a lot of the times people try to portray that as something that's negative," Van Lith says."Or that we're selfish or that we're rude or mean and things like that." Those memories tug at Reese's heart. So much has changed since she was making shrimp for her friends. She gets mobbed at the airport and stopped at the grocery store. Forget going out with friends. When she leaves her house and doesn't want to be spotted, she pulls up her hood and wears sunglasses. But there's nothing she can do about her 6-foot-3 frame. Reese stands out in a crowd. She has gotten used to TMZ showing up when she lands in large cities such as Los Angeles.
The single largest criticism of her game is her struggles to shoot outside the paint. At 6-3, Reese is undersized as a true center in the WNBA.Being able to reliably hit outside shots has become a staple of the power forward position in the WNBA. Lauren Jackson was doing it in Seattle from 2001 to 2012. The two players Reese mentions as her primary basketball influences,may have stayed glued to the paint 10 or 15 years ago, but now rove the perimeter and stretch defenses.
"She catches the ball, and she's wide open, and then she's looking for somebody to pass to, and then she's like, 'Oh, I'm the one open,'" Redus says."She's like, 'All right, I'm going to shoot it.' And now I'm like, 'You took too long. Catch it and shoot it.' When she just catches the ball and shoots the ball she can make shots.
A lingering question among WNBA scouts is what happened in November. One coach says"of course" her absence matters. Another evaluator describes it as"another data point." They also notice Reese's sometimes chippy play, including the back-and-forth with Cardoso.
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