Coach Kim Mulkey was the missing piece to the LSU Women’s Basketball program. Many were surprised that Mulkey made the move to LSU after building Baylor into a predominant women’s basketball powerhouse, but the chance to return home was something she could not pass up.
As expected, the six-time National Champion, eight-time National Coach of the Year and most recently the fastest women’s college basketball coach to reach 650 wins has turned the program around in her first season. Mulkey has managed to lead the team through its best start through 22 games in the last 14 years. After the team started 6-1 in the year, including a 69-60 win over a No.14 Iowa State team, the Tigers made their first appearance of the season in the Women’s Basketball AP Top-25 Rankings. That was only the beginning for them, however, as they have not been ranked lower than No.11 so far.
While Mulkey’s basketball expertise and valuable coaching experience has led the Tigers a long way, her inspiration off the court is what keeps this team going.
The Tigers faced an obstacle by losing two straight road games: a 73-72 heartbreaker at Florida, and a 90-76 loss at Arkansas. This was the first considerable road block the team has faced all season, but Mulkey remained calm, cool and collected.
“There’s nothing to change; it’s not broken,” Mulkey said in her press conference following their loss against Florida, and “the sky’s not falling,” she said following their loss to Arkansas.
Coach Mulkey may be considered one of the best women’s college basketball coaches of all time, but what sets her apart is her ability to keep her team focused when things may not be going the way they planned.
“Things aren’t always going to go to suit you,” she said in the press conference after the Florida loss. “You have to fight through mistakes.”
Mulkey has also been able to gain the trust of a new team, school and state so quickly because she loves what she does: she loves coaching basketball.
“I absolutely love what I do,” Mulkey said at a recent seminar for the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. “I’m intense, I’m passionate, I’m real, I’m honest and I think if you lead your people and your business like that, they have to appreciate it.”
It is safe to say that her players do appreciate her, and that they have bought into her process of turning the women’s basketball program around. She has proved that she will support her players in any situation.
“Let me fight for you,” she said in response to Jailin Cherry’s technical foul against Florida. “Let me be the bad guy.”
Just as Mulkey has backed her players, her players have backed her, and have never backed down from a fight for her. They have proved people wrong all year and won games they were not projected to win. Yes, they have lost games, but they always fought and made the game close, and they are now one of the best women’s basketball teams in the SEC and the country. None of this would be possible without Mulkey’s love for and support of her players.
Coach Mulkey has been a successful women’s college basketball coach since she started at Baylor for the 2000-2001 season. While many marvel about the number of games won, the tremendous number of national championships and the accolades scored under her leadership, what truly makes Mulkey a legendary coach are the things that do not always get recognized.
How Mulkey carries herself is the reason why she has been so successful as a coach, and how she coaches and raises her teams is why her teams win games and championships. With her tried and true philosophy present within this year’s team at LSU, it is no surprise she has been able to turn the program around so quickly. But it is hopefully far from finished, and she will use her substantial postseason experience to her advantage to lead the Tigers in a deep postseason run.

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Chynna McClinton

LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey hugs graduate student guard Khayla Pointer (3) as she walks off the court Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, during LSU’s 82-64 win against Vanderbilt in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.