“Emotionally I Was Very Tied”: Reflecting on Difficult Decision, Angel Reese’s New Teammate Admits Challenges of the New Season

The basketball leagues are full of trades, and transfers. Due to this, there are a lot of times when players representing one team go to some other team that excites the fans. One such coveted team has been the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers which has been making a lot of trades and transfers under their coach Kim Mulkey. One such star opened up about her decision to transfer to LSU.

For the unversed, the LSU Lady Tigers bagged the NCAA Championship title during the 2022-23 season and hence became the most preferable team for athletes. Let us have a look at what an LSU star had to say about her emotional decision.

What did the LSU Lady Tigers star say

LSU point guard Hailey Van Lith opened up about her difficult decision of leaving the Louisiana Cardinals in April this year. She had caught the flurry of fans with her surprising decision and there were a lot of speculations regarding her reasons. She finally divulged the reasons behind her decision.

“I think transferring for me was very thought out but last-minute decision. It wasn’t until at least probably two weeks after even won the National Championship that I decided it would be best for me to enter the transfer portal…

I had the idea pop up in my head but emotionally I was very tied to my teammates at Louisville but just individually the best thing for me in my personal wellbeing, my happiness, my basketball development was to transfer.”

As per a previous interview with Fan Nation she had stated the culture at LSU and a prevailing support to women’s basketball as the chief reasons. Thus, this was the second consecutive season when the LSU Tigers acquired the top player in the transfer portal- the first being when Angel Reese had transferred from Maryland.

For the unversed, Van Lith was an impact player at Cardinals and the leading scorer during two seasons. Overall, she averaged 15.4 points with an outstanding 4.4 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per contest. Media outlets also attributed her transfer decision to her closeness with Kim Mulkery since high school. But is Kim Mulkey building a winning team?

READ MORE: Welcome Party for Hailey Van Lith Continues as New Teammate Angel Reese Celebrates Special Day

Kim Mulkey had previously grabbed Angel Reese, Kateri Poole, LaDazhia Williams, Jasmine Carson, Last-Tear Poa during the transfer season and sure seems to be building a winning combination. This was pretty evident when the LSU Tigers dominated the IOWA Hawkeyes, winning the game 102-85.

How has women’s basketball advanced

The women’s basketball certainly seemed to be advancing as a record 9.9 million people tuned in to watch the most anticipated Finals. Another reason for such a high record viewership was attributed to the antiques and rivalry building up between IOWA’s star Caitlin Clark and the newly transferred LSU Tiger’s Angel Reese. Both had trash-talked each other which was also evident from their gestures. LSU won the NCAA.

Thus, Van Lith was the newest addition to the LSU family. Will a stronger Kim now replicate her success? Will the LSU Lady Tigers win the title again? Do let us know in the comments below.

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