Hailey Van Lith’s decision to transfer from Louisville to LSU was a bit of a surprise in terms of fit. There was a lot of offense returning to the Tigers after their national championship run and it wasn’t quite clear as to where the superstar guard might be able to find her place in the offense.
That continues to be a struggle.
LSU moved to 17-2 with a bounce-back win over Alabama on Thursday night after a frustrating loss to Auburn on Sunday. Angel Reese threw a no-look laser over her head to Van Lith during the game and it would have been the assist of the year if she was able to knock down the triple.
Van Lith was unable to convert, which only added to recent frustrations on offense. Although she has 10 games with 10 or more points and was dealing with a foot injury, her role has yet to fully click.
While at Louisville, Hailey Van Lith was not the primary guard. Kim Mulkey asked her to make that transition to point guard if she was going to transfer-in, so she did. There has been an adjustment period.
Hailey gets in the transfer portal knowing what we have. That told me first that she’s got some unselfishness in her. She’s a very confident kid, but you’re going to sacrifice your comfortable position to come and try to learn a position that we need and a position that will help you go on and have a pro career.
— Hailey Van Lith on Jan. 11
The transition remains a work in progress and that’s okay as long as the Tigers keep winning!
Typical process of building team chemistry. We’re not immune to the natural process of that. We’re getting to know each other better. We’re getting around each other more often. Now we’re playing tough competition, so it’s bringing out that competitive fire in all of us. We’re definitely having fun.
— Hailey Van Lith on Jan. 11
Both Mulkey and Van Lith’s comments came after a 17-point win over Texas A&M. The latter scored 14 points in 35 minutes, but the tape shows that it should have been more. There were multiple instances in which LSU’s offense was able to get her the ball even though she was wide open.
Van Lith literally did jumping jacks in the corner by herself to try and get the ball. Her efforts failed.
In HVL's defense, it's normal to shoot like shit when in general you haven't been shooting.
— DeBananalove (@DBananalove) January 15, 2024
For whatever reason Kim hasn't managed to help HVL get comfortable in LSU's offense and in most games she is left screaming for the ball without getting it. pic.twitter.com/rIY4rWdE6h
To make matters worse, Van Lith scored just three points with one assist in 28 minutes during the loss to Auburn and only eight points in the win over Alabama. She isn’t getting the ball in a position to score as often as she has in the past and she struggled to convert on Thursday when she did.
Mulkey will need to figure that out. Her LSU team is still coming into its own as March approaches and Van Lith’s role needs to evolve.