Angel Reese has not been kicked off the LSU women’s basketball team. She remains with the program.
That is all we know after a bizarre sequence of events surrounding the Final Four MVP from a year ago.
Head coach Kim Mulkey made a statement on the status of Reese moving forward after Friday’s game as promised. It did not provide much clarity.
Reese was not with the Tigers in Hammond. She did not dress. She did not travel.
Mulkey said that she hopes to see Reese sooner than later.
When asked if it was Reese’s decision to step away from the team, no further explanation was given. There was some sass involved with the response, as is often the case with the legendary (but ever controversial) 61-year-old.
Reese’s absence came just three days after being benched for the entire second half during LSU’s win over Kent State. She recorded 11 points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes against the Golden Flashes and then did not return to the court. Mulkey called it a “coach’s decision” at the time.
Reese riding the bench reportedly had/has something to do with her attitude. In wake of the benching, she showed her character on Instagram.
However, not long thereafter, her mother (accidentally?) sparked serious drama. Flau’jae Johnson’s mom popped off online and insulted Reese’s allegedly embarrassing GPA, which led multiple WNBA players to chime in.
Meanwhile, LSU went 2-0 on the court.
Other guards and forwards stepped up without Reese against the Golden Flashes on Tuesday.
Hailey Van Lith scored 15 in 34 minutes. Five-star freshman Mikayla Williams dropped 42 in 36 minutes. Aneesah Morrow played 31 minutes. Last-Tear Poa played 27. Johnson played 21.
They all played similar minutes in a 23-point win over Southeastern Louisiana to close out the week. Sa’Myah Smith also played 33 minutes in Reese’s place. The latter did not record a single minute because she was not there.
Hopefully Angel Reese is okay. Mulkey’s statement did not help to clear anything up.