Angel Reese had a lot to say at LSU's media day this week. First, she made it very clear that she has no issues with Iowa's Caitlin Clark. "I love Caitlin; we've been competing since we were in AAU. It was always fun, always competitive. One day, hopefully, we could even be teammates. She is a great player, shooter, person and teammate. The world is always going to have a good girl and a bad girl. I'll take that I'm going to be the bad guy because I know I've grown women's basketball and inspired people," Reese told reporters. The media-propelled feud between the pair stemmed from Reese trolling Clark with the "you can't see me" gesture during their National Championship face-off.
She also expressed her desire to mount a successful title defense this season. If the Tigers pull it off, they will be the first team to defend the women's title since the 2014-16 UConn three-peat. To maximize their chances, head coach Kim Mulkey built a superteam from recruiting and the portal. She has two top-7 freshmen and added Aneesah Morrow from DePaul and Hailey van Lith from Louisville.
Reese "Insulted" By First ESPN Mock Draft
However, the media day wasn't the first thing we've heard from Reese in the run-up to the season. Mulkey recently spoke on Reese's negative reaction to ESPN projecting her to go eighth in the 2024 WNBA Draft. “That was an insult to her. We talked about the things she needs to work on. Whether she gets picked higher than that or not, it still motivates her. She gets motivated in practice with someone going head-to-head with her or talking trash back at her. She’s a competitor," Mulkey said.
While Reese could play a fifth year in college thanks to the COVID exemption, she has made it clear that she is ready for the pros. “This is my senior year, and I have the opportunity to declare for the WNBA this year if I choose to. Personally, I aspire to make it to the WNBA. While I do have the option for another year, I do want to get out of college, start life outside of school, and pursue my WNBA dreams. It’s been a challenging but rewarding four years, and I’m excited to continue improving at LSU and beyond," she told WNBA legend Lisa Leslie for Glamour.
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