early returns on transfer

[Gordo]

Obviously, I take a different tact.
Per your point about conjecture and possible harassment in social media by giving a basic statement of truth., I think that's a heck of a lot better than saying nothing; thereby leading to what @Gordo writes:
"She -(Kim) believes it's none of our business, and besides it's much more fun to read between the lines and speculate."

Angel Reese was/is arleady getting slammed over this a heck of a lot more than Kim Mulkey is and I've read a few articles asking why Kim can't state the basic nature of the issue (Reese/Poole after all are at the heart of it). The more you let it linger, the more it festers. State what's going on and the news cycle moves on. (As for those who live on social media, there will always be the haters: just look at how some fans won't give things up years/decades later.).

I've been a coach and for middle school - early high school female athletes (yes, the "mean girl" years) and
deciding how to work with various "publics" in an array of situation is always a challenge. One thing I learned is that things go public...fast. Better to get a handle on it.

That said, I highly doubt that Mulkey is going to budge.

How you handled things while coaching middle/high school girls/boys is entirely different than top level sports with national recognition. Mulkey believes it's none of our business to know (and I agree with her). You disagree. That's your right.

 

[Charliebball]

In the video I mentioned above, there is a play when Van Lith attempts to feed Reese in the post. Reese does a terrible job of pinning her defender, who gets around her to steal the entry pass. Reese then proceeds to yell at Van Lith for not feeding her a “perfect” pass. With Poole also in the doghouse at LSU, Van Lith, who also plays very hard, is another critical addition for the defending champions.

I’m reasonably sure that grades have nothing to do with Reese’s absence. What is baffling is that if it was just about “lack of effort” Reese would be sitting on the LSU bench. But she has missed 4 games, and her friend Poole has missed 2games. Something else happened between Reese, Poole & Mulkey, that nobody is talking about. With Kim going radio silent, we will probably never know what happened to cause her to suspend her star player and supposed team leader for 4 games and counting.

Kim's no dummy.............I expect you'll see Reese and Poole reinstated just before LSU hits the main part of their season.......

 

[EricLA]

I would not be surprised to see Reese not play another game in a LSU uniform, nor would I be surprised to see her back suited up in the near future. It's not just between Kim and Angel, but the teammates as well. I'm sure everyone in her circle is giving her advice on what to do.

I give Kim credit for establishing herself as the HC in charge and not let the inmates run the asylum, so to speak. I get that fans "don't have a right to know", but how fun was it watching the drama with Philly and Harden play out across the NBA universe? Fans never really have a "right to know", but we all want to. I greatly appreciated the articles and information that came out, but also know there were probably parts to the story we will never know about. In the absence of information, people will speculate, and we've seen a lot of that (which BTW I also have no problem with).

I do hope that more info comes out, whether official, or leaked by other teammates, but no matter what, it won't stop the speculation. I've read a few articles about "poor Angel" as she's gone from golden child to villain on social media in a short period of time. But honestly, if she wants that to stop, all she has to do is come out and tell her story. I could understand her not wanting to do that if the truth paints her in a poor light.

And BTW, this is not tee-league or junior high school where the players are just children. These are young women, some who make hundreds of thousands of $ in NIL money. Many of these players are "brands" now. Good or bad, it's the way it is.

 

[oldude]

The lack of information from Kim most certainly leads to rampant speculation. So let me offer some speculation of my own on the nature of the problem. As I indicated earlier in this thread, I watched a video this morning that tracked Reese’s problems far earlier in the season: not posting up strong, not moving her feet and playing “ole” defense.

Last season Reese was spectacular in leading LSU to the national championship while being named MOP. From that point on everything was a whirlwind: SI Swimsuit photo shoot, music videos, NIL endorsements, hanging out with A-Listers on the banquet circuit, etc.

Here’s my speculation. Reese is out of shape. She probably ate well on the banquet circuit and was too busy to make it to the gym on a regular basis. Again, it’s all speculation on my part, but after watching her stand around on the court, barely moving on defense, lack of conditioning is certainly a plausible explanation.

 

[Gordo]

The lack of information from Kim most certainly leads to rampant speculation. So let me offer some speculation of my own on the nature of the problem. As I indicated earlier in this thread, I watched a video this morning that tracked Reese’s problems far earlier in the season: not posting up strong, not moving her feet and playing “ole” defense.

Last season Reese was spectacular in leading LSU to the national championship while being named MOP. From that point on everything was a whirlwind: SI Swimsuit photo shoot, music videos, NIL endorsements, hanging out with A-Listers on the banquet circuit, etc.

Here’s my speculation. Reese is out of shape. She probably ate well on the banquet circuit and was too busy to make it to the gym on a regular basis. Again, it’s all speculation on my part, but after watching her stand around on the court, barely moving on defense, lack of conditioning is certainly a plausible explanation.

All that plus "attitude".

 

[oldude]

All that plus "attitude".

Lack of fitness cost her PT. Attitude cost her a seat on the bench.

 

[Gordo]

Lack of fitness cost her PT. Attitude cost her a seat on the bench.

It probably also caused her to lose her seat on the bench.

 

[rubymae4]

One of my gripes with many coaches -- including Kim -- is going "radio silent" (as you put it) when dealing with issues. I'm not talking about medical issues, where the injured person is protected by law on disclosures, but on issues such as these. Angel turned 21 in May and is an adult. We're clearly beyond the time of "protecting the amateur student athlete," so what gives? If it's a violation of team rules or she looked at you funny, own up to it. Is she having personal issues and you've granted her time off? Well, state that, too. A coach can protect innermost secrets yet identify a root cause...there's an entire industry predicated on this.

Have to disagree. Do you feel entitled to know any personnel issues with your colleagues? Colleagues in the same industry? Any employed individual?

 

[Charliebball]

The lack of information from Kim most certainly leads to rampant speculation. So let me offer some speculation of my own on the nature of the problem. As I indicated earlier in this thread, I watched a video this morning that tracked Reese’s problems far earlier in the season: not posting up strong, not moving her feet and playing “ole” defense.

Last season Reese was spectacular in leading LSU to the national championship while being named MOP. From that point on everything was a whirlwind: SI Swimsuit photo shoot, music videos, NIL endorsements, hanging out with A-Listers on the banquet circuit, etc.

Here’s my speculation. Reese is out of shape. She probably ate well on the banquet circuit and was too busy to make it to the gym on a regular basis. Again, it’s all speculation on my part, but after watching her stand around on the court, barely moving on defense, lack of conditioning is certainly a plausible explanation.

I'm surprised that those in-game issues would get her booted from the team even temporarily...............I would have thought that she would have been just stuck to the end of the bench until her play/attitude improved............perhaps it's a bigger attitude issue or as some have said, an academic issue......either way, I bet she'll be back, probably not in time for the Virginia Tech game but surely by some time in December........although it will never happen, I know a team that could certainly use her if she does get permanently booted ........

 

[Gordo]

I know a team that could certainly use her if she does get permanently booted ........

She could never play for Geno ... unless perhaps she totally lost the attitude. But, if she did that she could play for Kim again and have a shot at another NC.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Holy thread drift Batman!

There's a dedicated LSU thread that might be a better place to discuss/speculate about their internal drama.

 

[Gordo]

Holy thread drift Batman!

There's a dedicated LSU thread that might be a better place to discuss/speculate about their internal drama.

What does it matter, neither are actually about UConn.

 

[Reypl21]

What does it matter, neither are actually about UConn.

Because people don't want to open a thread not about LSU and Angel Reese, and that's what it ends up being about.

 

[nwhoopfan]

What does it matter, neither are actually about UConn.

It's the general women's basketball forum. It not being about UConn is the whole point of why the mods created this forum. If posters aren't interested in something if it doesn't relate to UConn, there is absolutely no reason why they would need to wander into this particular area of the site.

 

[Gordo]

Because people don't want to open a thread not about LSU and Angel Reese, and that's what it ends up being about.

Just ignore those posts then. Geez, how difficult is that? This thread is a melting pot of many topics.

 

[nwhoopfan]

This thread is a melting pot of many topics.

Not really. It was meant to talk about how this year's transfers are doing so far with their new teams.

 

[Dillon77]

Just ignore those posts then. Geez, how difficult is that? This thread is a melting pot of many topics.

I'll take the blame for this one going off-kilter when @oldude and I talked about Angel Reese and segued into the Kim-Reese/Poole situation, since it involved transfers (kinda ) and then it took off from there.
Mea culpa (lapsing into Pope John 1 mass-speak!

That said -- upon closer inspection -- most of the posts on this thread are about impactful transfers from and at many different schools. (I wrote two of them.)

 

[oldude]

Holy thread drift Batman!

There's a dedicated LSU thread that might be a better place to discuss/speculate about their internal drama.

Guilty as charged……

 

[Gordo]

I'll take the blame for this one going off-kilter when @oldude and I talked about Angel Reese and segued into the Kim-Reese/Poole situation, since it involved transfers (kinda ) and then it took off from there.
Mea culpa (lapsing into Pope John 1 mass-speak!

That said -- upon closer inspection -- most of the posts on this thread are about impactful transfers from and at many different schools. (I wrote two of them.)

And you felt it necessary to respond to my post which suggested that people simply ignore any comments about subjects that deviated from the thread topic? Hmm!

 

[Dillon77]

And you felt it necessary to respond to my post which suggested that people simply ignore any comments about subjects that deviated from the thread topic? Hmm!

I probably should've replied to @nwhoopfan's take, of which you and I kept going. But does it really matter? (As noted, I'm guilty as charged). Moving on from this subject....