Angel Reese has signed an exclusive deal with Reebok, becoming the first athlete to join the sneaker brand since Shaq became the company's President of Basketball. In an interview announcing the deal, Reese said that Shaq's presence was a prominent factor in sealing the deal. "Now that he's just been announced as their President of Basketball, that is inspirational to me, just being able to see an athlete or former athlete shift from not just being an athlete, but being the president of the brand is something that's important. I would love to do that one day," Reese said.
Shaq has previously called Reese the LSU GOAT and the two Tigers appear to share a close bond. While the terms of the deal were not announced, it's a fairly unsurprising move given their history. Shaq was announced as the company's new President of Basketball last week after the brand announced a major re-investment into the basketball market. Fellow Hall of Famer Allen Iverson was named the VP of Basketball at the same time.
Reese & LSU Preseason #1 In AP Poll
The news comes just a few days after the Reese-led LSU program was ranked #1 in the first women's basketball AP poll of the year. The Tigers received 35 of 36 first-place votes after adding Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow in the transfer portal. It's the highest preseason rank the Tigers have ever held and their first top-three preseason ranking since 2005. LSU was ranked #2 in the 1977 preseason poll. The Tigers open the season against #20 Colorado in Las Vegas on November 6.
The return of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd from injury saw UConn take the #2 spot in the poll. The appearance marks UConn's 565th consecutive week on the AP Poll, tying the record set by Tennessee. Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark and Iowa sit at #3. UCLA and Utah round out the top five. 2021 champions Stanford find themselves ranked at #15, their lowest preseason spot since 2015. This comes after losing several prominent members of their team to graduation and transfers.
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