SEC Women’s Basketball Media Day took place on Oct. 16 in Birmingham, Alabama.
As each school brings its head coach and two chosen players, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey was accompanied by Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson on the trip to Birmingham.
Mulkey met with the media for about 15 minutes. Here’s everything she spoke on during that time.
Transition offense this season
“I hope so. We are pretty stacked at the guard spot. We’ve got a lot of experience at the guard spot. We’ve brought in newcomers that are quick. You can only run if those posts will get up and down the floor as well. So, yeah, we’re gonna push the ball. Nobody wants to come watch you walk the ball up the floor.”
The role of Jersey Wolfenbarger
“Well, Jersey, I recruited Jersey out of high school when she was at Fort Smith in Fort Smith in high school, so I was very familiar with her game. Obviously, her size is a big part of my attraction to taking her as a transfer. I think she had probably, last week, the best practice that she’s had since she’s been at LSU. And [if] she keeps practicing like that, her role will be, you’re going to be a part of the rotation. You know, she’s been away from the game for a year. She didn’t play at all last year, so she’s got to get back in the flow of understanding what we’re trying to do, offensively and defensively, and relax and become comfortable instead of thinking too much. But she’s doing fine.”
Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC
“Well, the history of the sport or the history of the SEC, you know, you can’t compare apples to oranges, but adding Texas and Oklahoma and how good they are is only making us better, and it brings a lot more attention to our league.”
Aneesah Morrow
“Aneesah Morrow, you know she was a transfer last year, had an unbelievable year. Look for her to be one of our leaders and captains this year. She can take you off the dribbles. She can shoot the three ball, she and Angel Reese were just dominant on the glass for us last year, and I expect her to be the same way.”
Flau’jae Johnson
“Flau’jae, what more can people say about her? She’s just a joy to coach. When you look at Flau’jae Johnson, the word joy just jumps at you. She’s happy, she’s pleasant, she plays hard. She brings attention to our team because of her basketball skills, but also because of her rapping. Those two young ladies (Johnson and Morrow) are, I think you guys voted on two of the top three. If I remember, I may be wrong. I don’t pay much attention to that, but I don’t know in the history of basketball if I’ve ever seen three preseason MVPs, but that’s an honor for both of them.”
Summer preparation
“You’ve got to stay hungry. You’ve got to stay in the know. You surround yourself with young people so that you can relate to this generation, but not shy away or go away from what you believe are the fundamentals of coaching collegiate athletics. And I’m probably one of the few that’s been able to adapt and adjust. That’s my age, and because it’s not difficult, it’s very comfortable for me to be able to coach this generation of players with all the new things that are taking place in college athletics. But I enjoy it, and as long as my health is good, and I’m putting a product on the floor that’s competitive, I might be here a while.”
Angel Reese and future stars emerging
“Well, we certainly are proud of Angel Reese. She’s one of us, and she brought so much attention to not only LSU and winning the national championship, but women’s basketball, good or bad, whether you like her or you don’t like, you’re an LSU fan or you’re not, it brought eyes to the television, and certainly Caitlin Clark did that for her team.
“And I think through the history of women’s basketball, you have different decades that that happens. You have young players, or players that people can relate to and bring new fans. And those young ladies brought new fans to the game. Both at the college level and I think at the pro level, someone else will evolve. When that will be, might be this year, it may be five more years. It happens. That’s just the evolution of sports. Coaches do the same thing. There will be coaches that retire, and the next generation of coaches, people will relate to.”
Shayeann Day-Wilson
“For her to be a point guard, only. Some of the guards we have are interchangeable; they can play multiple positions on the perimeter. I think once she becomes comfortable in understanding everything that’s required of her as a point guard, she will shine. She can shoot the three balls. She’s quick as lightning. She is [in], you know, her last year in college. So she has collegiate experience, and we sure are excited she’s on our team.”
Aalyah Del Rosario and other injuries
“Yes, Aalyah is back out on the floor practicing with contact now, which is good. Obviously, having the cleaning up of the ankle set her back some, as far as conditioning is concerned, but she’s still the same height. She hadn’t shrunk any and I’ll take that big height any day.
“Injuries, yes, Sa’myah Smith, you know, we lost her early last year. She was in the starting five and almost averaged a double-double when she went out. She’s back practicing every day. Nicks, you might have a growing pain, or sprained ankle here, and things like that, that’s every day in the preseason because that’s how hard we go. But everybody’s out there right now, today. Now that doesn’t mean tomorrow it couldn’t change. But today, everybody’s out there and fighting for playing time.”
Social media critics within women’s college basketball
“Society just loves to sit behind those computers and anonymously write what they write, and when you are in the spotlight, as much as Angel is and was, and any athlete is or was, everybody just sits down and decides what they want to write. Rather, it’s the truth doesn’t matter. Truth matters none anymore in this world. I don’t have social media. I don’t see that unless it’s brought to my attention. I deal with the truth. I deal with realness. I deal with trying to be a better basketball coach, and being a better basketball coach. It’s not just teaching them X’s and O’s, it’s helping them manage things that they have to deal with as student-athletes now. And obviously I can’t help them in that area, but I make sure that we have people on staff that can make sure that there are people within our program that can help them deal with all the things that come with being a popular or a visible person.”
What to expect from Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC
“Well, basketball is basketball. Vic [Schaefer] was in the SEC, so it’s not foreign to him. I don’t know that Jennie [Baranczyk] has ever been in the SEC. All they need to know is they have outstanding teams, and they’re as good as anybody in the SEC and as good as anybody in the country, and we welcome them because it brings more popularity to the SEC, better games to the SEC. Honestly, me personally leaving the Big 12, I thought I’d never have to go to Austin, Texas or Norman, Oklahoma again, and I have to.”
Scheduling disputes
“Well, we’ve had that discussion. It seems like forever. Every time we have our meetings in the summer or in May, I kind of tune it out, quite honestly, because Matt Mike is the math wizard, so he can try to sell it to everybody. Because he’s figured it all out at the end of the day.
“What I would love to have, and I don’t think that you can ever have it, because you have 16 teams or 15 opponents, we’re playing people twice. Now, some of us in the league are playing people twice. I’m not for that, but I remember, to answer your question, it’s above my pay scale. I just do what you know, the administrators decide. And what I have found, honestly, it doesn’t really matter what we think as women’s basketball coaches. That decision is going to be made at another level, and we can tell them what we like, they’re going to take it to the administrators at each school, and that decision is going to be made. But yes, we’ve had that discussion, and I can’t even tell you what everybody thought, but it’s a tough league, it’s a tough league.”
