Hailey Van Lith to LSU

[Rowdy831]

LSU ain't winning next year. Ask SC how difficult it is to repeat.

All the stars aligned for them this season and that seldom happens two years in a row. They had the benefit of other teams beating teams that they had matchup issues with and had a couple sleepers to beat in the FF. I live in BR and the locals are putting tons of money into all the sports teams so maybe they still have a couple purchases to make but right now I think they are top five but not the frontrunner.

 

[bballnut90]

Should be interesting at LSU. With #1 Mikaylah Williams coming in, and Van Lith with 2 years remaining that means Williams will be behind Van Lith for 2 years. Im sure she will get playtime and Van Lith has earned playtime. If Morrow goes to Louisville, well I dont think that will happen. It will me interesting to see how things develop at LSU at the guard spots.

Williams likely starts by her sophomore year if she doesn't start as a freshman. Also no guarantee Van Lith stays 2 years. Morrow isn't going to Louisville (finalists are LSU/USC/SC). LSU definitely has a pool of elite guards now between Van Lith, Poole, Flaujae and Williams.

 

[bballnut90]

They have the biggest personalities in the country for sure but I don't see how they are the front runner. I think they'd still need to add a few more pieces to IMO to be competitive with a healthy UConn team.

They have a legitimate POY candidate in Angel Reese, an All-American caliber guard in Van Lith, one of the nation's best freshmen last year in Flau'jae Johnson, and they bring in the #2 overall recruit. Plus several other proven returnees (Smith, Poa, and Poole). Not sure what pieces are missing here.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Huge pick up for Coach Mulkey, and not all that surprising. She wants to get that bag and a natty. If they grab Morrow too, they'll be the odds on favorite to go back to back.

 

[oldhusky]

I’m not a betting man, but it would be interesting to see if the SC , LSU or UCLA betting lines for winning the Championship have changed based on their portal signings so far. In either SC or LSU also the DePaul player, yikes!!!

They should, many of the contenders improved themselves since the end of the season, and not just by the portal with plenty more to come there. A number of top teams also had key players return like Holmes at Indiana and Kitley at Virginia Tech. The portal still has a number of guards left that could make a difference, plus of course Morrow, so some of our competition is probably not done yet even if we are.

 

[bballnut90]

Van Lith/Morris is a good comparison. As a team they'll be better next year though. A lot of their young talent likely makes strides as sophomores (Flaujae/Smith), and Reese also likely continues to improve. No offense to Edwards but Reese is the far superior player. The gap between those 2 is similar to the gap between Hailey Van Lith/Bueckers IMO.

Williams is a big loss but I think Smith slides in perfectly for her. She's extremely athletic, scores/rebounds/blocks shots well. That mixed with everyone back, plus a strong recruiting class makes them a clear favorite to make the Final Four again next year.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

They have a legitimate POY candidate in Angel Reese, an All-American caliber guard in Van Lith, one of the nation's best freshmen last year in Flau'jae Johnson, and they bring in the #2 overall recruit. Plus several other proven returnees (Smith, Poa, and Poole). Not sure what pieces are missing here.

Well a point guard for one and they also have no depth in their front court. They brought on Hailey Van Lith who's a good scorer but she's not a great shooter and was terrible this past year from 3, and she is turnover machine. They have a lot inefficient ball dominant scorers and some freshman that might be great but it might take a few years to get there.

I think people underrate the role Williams and Morris had for LSU last year but I guess we'll find out.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Van Lith/Morris is a good comparison. As a team they'll be better next year though. A lot of their young talent likely makes strides as sophomores (Flaujae/Smith), and Reese also likely continues to improve. No offense to Edwards but Reese is the far superior player. The gap between those 2 is similar to the gap between Hailey Van Lith/Bueckers IMO.

Williams is a big loss but I think Smith slides in perfectly for her. She's extremely athletic, scores/rebounds/blocks shots well. That mixed with everyone back, plus a strong recruiting class makes them a clear favorite to make the Final Four again next year.

Angel Reese cannot hit a left handed layup or shoot outside of 5 feet. Edwards is already a better all around player than Reese. Just looked out how Angel looked against South Carolina's front court versus Aaliyah if you want to compare the two. She also performed better against Tennessee. To say there is wide gap in Angels favor is just not reflective of reality.

 

[Fowlball]

Van Lith is going to be their point guard? If not not whose running point?

 

[BobbyJ]

Should be interesting at LSU. With #1 Mikaylah Williams coming in, and Van Lith with 2 years remaining that means Williams will be behind Van Lith for 2 years. Im sure she will get playtime and Van Lith has earned playtime. If Morrow goes to Louisville, well I dont think that will happen. It will me interesting to see how things develop at LSU at the guard spots.

Williams isn't going to be behind anybody in that backcourt even if Mulkey has to play 3 guards. Her defense at 6 foot is already better than Johnson or Hailey Van Lith not to mention that she can help out rebounding.

 

[Iluvacc2]

Well, what else can you say...LSU is west of Louisville after all.

Don't want to toot my own horn but I will....

View attachment 87831

I was going to comment on this, so much for her transferring closer to home.

Mulkey, Reese, and Hailey Van Lith. Ladies and gentlemen we now have a new Axis of evil

 

[cancontent]

Should be interesting at LSU. With #1 Mikaylah Williams coming in, and Van Lith with 2 years remaining that means Williams will be behind Van Lith for 2 years. Im sure she will get playtime and Van Lith has earned playtime. If Morrow goes to Louisville, well I dont think that will happen. It will me interesting to see how things develop at LSU at the guard spots.

Louisville isn't part of Morrow's top 3. Definitely not happening.

 

[bballnut90]

Huge pick up for Coach Mulkey, and not all that surprising. She wants to get that bag and a natty. If they grab Morrow too, they'll be the odds on favorite to go back to back.

I think if they get Morrow they might be too overloaded with talent. Van Lith fits in well since she slides into Morris's role as the creator and being a strong perimeter threat, but LSU doesn't really need Morrow, adding her takes away looks from others and I think it'd be too much talent. The best teams usually consist of a couple of stars and a slew of supporting players who fill their role. I think LSU has a really solid roster makeup right now, with a couple of starts (Hailey Van Lith/Reese), a couple of budding stars (Williams/Flaujae), and solid role players (Smith, Poole, Pao, maybe Del Rosario). Adding in Morrow alters the role of Reese/Smith/Del Rosario and I'm not sure the tradeoff will benefit them.

 

[Ozimoto]

Hey, once Morrow decides where she is going, we can all start sleeping peacefully again.

 

[Blueballer]

This is why Mulkey is the clear #3 wcbb Coach of all-time...

Well a #3 recruiter anyway. I still think it's interesting that Walz beat her team when they were heavily favored with Griner and Odyssey Sims and now Hailey Van Lith is leaving him to play for her.

 

[CL82]

This is why Mulkey is the clear #3 wcbb Coach of all-time...

Geno
Staley
Mulkey?

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Geno
Staley
Mulkey?

Pat Summit, are you joking?

Its a bit premature to put Staley ahead of Mulkey imo.

 

[darrell]

Geno
Staley
Mulkey?

Big omission is Pat Summit. “All-time”, not presently.

As it currently stands: Geno, Pat, then Kim. Dawn is currently behind Kim, in my opinion.

 

[TheGOAT23]

Lemme check the maps, again, Jeff. (Don’t know why he keeps texting me) Hmm…which is closer to Washington state? Louisville or Baton Rouge?

 

[Longtime fan]

They were already going to get better with Del Rosario and former #1 Mikaylah Williams coming in, now Mulkey and the Tigers add in elevated scoring with Van Lith and potentially Morrow still in the mix.

They will win it all unless CONN is 100% and their freshman class is aces.

 

[Huskie02]

True. You did but it is still a surprise when the dust finally settles. I wish Hailey Van Lith all the best at LSU.

They were a powerhouse before and now they should be highly favored to repeat. Kim has that magic touch.

 

[CL82]

Lol

 

[uconnfan68]

Big omission is Pat Summit. “All-time”, not presently.

As it currently stands: Geno, Pat, then Kim. Dawn is currently behind Kim, in my opinion.

What about the all-time games won leader?