Kim Mulkey is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the NCAA. She has proven her incredible ability to develop players on her LSU Tigers team. However, she may now regret mishandling one of her former players, who is currently shining in the Big 12 Tournament.
While she may have made a mistake, it only adds more pressure on her at this moment. Her goal is to take LSU to the highest level of the tournament. But that won’t be easy, considering that other NCAA teams also have rising stars.
Kim Mulkey’s big mistake
Hailey Van Lith is one of the standout players in the Big 12 right now. The 5-foot-7 guard was part of Kim Mulkey’s LSU squad, but she wasn’t valued as expected—at least according to her fans.
Well, the stats also show that Mulkey did not fully utilize Van Lith’s potential. In fact, during her time at Louisville, she averaged 15.4 points on 13.2 shot attempts per game. However, with LSU, that dropped to 11.6 points per game. Additionally, her shooting efficiency fell from 42.2% to 37.8%.
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Given the situation, Van Lith decided to enter the transfer portal for her final year of eligibility. The TCU Horned Frogs took full advantage of this, signing her because they knew exactly how talented she was.
Now, she is shining again. This likely puts even more pressure on Kim Mulkey, as it proves that she failed to recognize one of the best players she had at LSU.
In the Big 12 Championship, Van Lith scored 20 points, leading her team to a 64-59 victory over Baylor. The Horned Frogs hadn’t won a conference tournament title since 2005. Today, she is averaging 17.8 points per game, the best mark of her college basketball career.
This has sparked frustration among LSU fans, who feel that the team could have performed better in the tournament with Van Lith on the roster. This only increases the pressure on Kim Mulkey, as it highlights that Van Lith was never given the freedom to play her way with the Tigers.
