After playing for head coach Kim Mulkey for just a single year, Hailey Van Lith decided to depart LSU and re-enter the transfer portal. Her fifth and last season of eligibility will be this one.
Van Lith and Sam Purcell will most likely work together again at Mississippi State.
She has been through this process previously, though, so she will take her time. There’s not a rush.
Mulkey disclosed on Friday that Van Lith, the former five-star recruit, will play college basketball in 2024–2025 and will revert to her natural position, regardless of where she ends up. That’s what spurred them to leave Baton Rouge. At least that’s what the 61-year-old head coach believes.
It wasn’t until Thursday night that she and Van Lith had discussed the exit. The former only had good intentions toward the latter.
With an embrace, you send her best wishes.
— Kim Mulkey
Mulkey said that Van Lith “lived up to her commitment,” which was to play for the Tigers for a single season, to the admirers and boosters. Regretfully, turning pro was the intended outcome. That is currently what took place.
When Van Lith switched positions, her WNBA Draft stock dropped. She wanted to go back to where she was comfortable, so she decided to drop out of the league and get back to college.
Her goal for this year was to be drafted. “I need another year, and I need to return to a place where I can unwind and return to my regular position,” she realized.
— Kim Mulkey
Van Lith’s actual senior year of last year was not always easy. She repeatedly displayed overt signs of dissatisfaction toward her coach, her teammates, and herself. And there was (at least) one definite instance in which Angel Reese expressed his frustration with Van Lith.
It never quite made sense.
Van Lith gained a lot of knowledge despite the difficulties posed by his eventually unsuccessful position shift. Mulkey praised her greatly for moving outside of her comfort zone and for being “one of the hardest working players” she has ever taught.
She came to LSU with the intention of strengthening her areas of strength and learning a position that I had played my entire life. Because she is aware that, at the next level, that is her sole opportunity to be somewhat capable of telling them, “I can handle the ball if you need me to.”
She had to adopt a new perspective that involved locating open players and passing the ball to them rather than shooting the ball 20–30 times in a game. Additionally, there were moments when she was under pressure and was beating the living daylights out of that ball.
— Kim Mulkey
In comparison to her junior year at Louisville, Hailey Van Lith took seven fewer shots per game in her only year at LSU. She scored eight fewer points a game on average. She shot 38%, the lowest percentage in her career.
Mulkey claims that Van Lith is prepared to go back to her more at-ease position as a scorer now that she has mastered the art of being the primary ball-handler. The 5-foot-7 guard wants to develop a valued skill set that will attract more attention from the WNBA and better position her for success by combining her talent to score with her (newfound) ability to distribute as the floor general!
