Practice Notes: Day one of LSU WBB’s title defense

LSU women’s basketball enters year three under Kim Mulkey after ending year two with a national title in Dallas. The program blew up afterwards with stars exploding onto the national scene, then the staff brought in the two top transfers in the country to compliment a talented returning core.

The pieces are there for LSU to win another national title, but head coach Kim Mulkey knows better than anyone how challenging it is to repeat.

On Monday afternoon, the Tigers started their 2023-24 season with their first official practice, allowing the media and fans to come watch at the PMAC. Here are my notes from the practice with a full roster rundown.

First impressions

The first thing that stood out was how physically imposing this team looked. With six players listed between 6-foot and 6-foot-3, then Aalyah Del Rosario who towers over everyone at 6-foot-6, that’s seven out of 12 players who are 6-foot and up. Even beyond the height, the strength that Mikaylah Williams, Aneesah Morrow, and S’Myah Smith have will be a huge boost in holding up throughout the SEC season as three key players for this team.

The shooting versatility is on full display as Hailey Van Lith, Morrow, and Williams are lights out and Flau’jae Johnson, Kateri Poole, and Janae Kent all were sharp from deep as well.

It was great to see them go against the men’s team for a lot of practice, which matches up with them physically. You get to see how they look against different players and where everyone is on both sides of the ball.

The main focus was defense. Outside of drills, there was much less time spent on offense than defense. The team guarded the Dream Team for most of practice and worked on ball screen coverages and helpside tendencies. Kim Mulkey and Bob Starkey were heavily invested on the defensive side of the ball throughout practice, especially with the newcomers, as they continue to learn the system.

There was a great crowd and great energy from the team today. Mulkey showed them a video saying that it takes everything to win a title and it clearly got everyone excited for the year ahead. 

Player by player thoughts

Angel Reese

The rebounding motor was still there. A lot of today was teaching the new players how to practice and not as much tailored for Reese to show her skill sets, but Reese’s fluidity on the court is always great to watch and her comfort level with Mulkey is evident now entering year two together. The jump shot is still not as far along as I was hoping, but that’s probably the only area she needs to really work on. Overall, she looked the part of a returning All-American.

Aneesah Morrow

Perhaps the most impressive player to me on first watch, Morrow checks every box. The shooting is legit both stationary and on the move. The rebounding is also impressive as she went up and snatched a few rebounds with great intensity. The length and frame is exceptional and really makes her a versatile piece for this team. She looked even better than I thought she would and I knew she was an all-american last year.

Hailey Van Lith

The shooting was evident both from three and the mid range. She has great body control and is able to create separation in tight spaces well. The passing looked good and the defense was fine. She communicates well and works hard on both ends. Excited to see her more.

Flau’Jae Johnson

Limited in practice after tweaking her ankle a few days ago, Johnson spent most of her time between the stationary bike and cheering on her teammates. On a couple of occasions, she stepped in to do a catch and shoot drill and I thought the jumper looked much more fluid and consistent in a small sample size. She shouldn’t be out too long. Loved her energy.

Mikaylah Williams

The star freshmen lived up to the billing. The shooting, physicality, patience, coachability, everything was on display as Williams went through practice today. I said over the summer Williams might be the best shooter on the team and I think there’s still a chance that’s true. We’ve heard Mulkey and the coaching staff talk about her strength over the offseason and it’s evident she’s ready to go toe to toe with older players as a result.

S’Myah Smith

Smith legitimately looked stronger and more comfortable on both ends. Defensively she’s still flying around and trying to affect everything, but on offense she has a nice floater and a solid jumper that will make her extremely valuable. She spent so much time at LSU over the summer that it’s good to see that hard work begin to pay off as practices start. 

Kateri Poole

Poole shot the ball really well from what I watched and has a good understanding of her returning teammates and how they move on the court. I was impressed with her defensive intensity, similar to last year, and could see her as a 3-and-D weapon Mulkey utilizes often this year.

Angelica Velez

Velez didn’t have a ton of time showing her offensive ability, but was constantly learning from the staff on the defensive end. The way she handles the ball shows me she has more than enough ability as a ball handler to earn the trust of Mulkey over the fall.

Last-Tear Poa

Poa was in and out of practice as she recovers from her hand injury. She was able to lightly shoot and went through some stationary drills. 

Aalyah Del Rosario

The freshman center had some impressive flashes on offense, moving well in the post and getting to her spots for nice hook shots. The defensive end was a blur, as she continued to learn from Starkey and Mulkey on different coverages. She had great effort throughout the day, but it will take a while for her to get comfortable with the physicality and the defensive side of the ball. I trust Mulkey and Starkey to develop her this year.

Janae Kent

Kent is another freshman that is as advertised with her skillset. The 3-point shooting has been a major point of emphasis for her this offseason and she certainly shot the ball well today. At 6-foot-1, Kent’s length on the wing is a welcome addition. She moves really well too, both with and without the ball.

Amani Bartlett

Didn’t see much from Bartlett today besides watching her shoot before practice. We’ll see if she gets worked in as fall continues as  her size provides some value for the Tigers at 6-foot-3.

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