When you search ‘LSU basketball’, you’d expect the men’s team to be the first result. However, in the last year, the women’s team has helped turn that cliche on its head. After winning the National Championship in 2023, LSU had aspirations to win back-to-back titles but came up short after being knocked out by Iowa in the Elite Eight, a team they’d previously beaten to win last year’s title.
Despite the sad end to a season for the team, the viewership was the opposite, with more than 12 million viewers (per ESPN). But why were so many people tuned in?
For one, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has been one of basketball’s female icons in recent years, gaining attention from fans everywhere for her fiery competitive spirit and outstanding talent on the court. She’s the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer (men and women), has the most 30-point games of any man or woman in the NCAA, and has made the most 3-pointers in a single season in the NCAA (man or women). However, it was a rematch between the two stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark that added some drama to the matchup, as media members cooked up a story that would have fans glued to their screens.
Who is Angel Reese
Angel Reese started her career at the University of Maryland but later transferred to LSU after her sophomore year, looking for a fresh start, with a coach who would better prepare her for a future in the WNBA.
In her junior year alone, Reese led the team to the program’s first-ever National Championship, breaking the program record for most consecutive double-doubles (20), setting an NCAA single-season record with 34 double-doubles. That season, she averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds, received the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player award, and recorded 830 points, the 3rd-most in LSU history.
But it was in the final minutes of that game against Iowa when the media narrative against Angel Reese reached a new level and made her an angel in the eyes of the media no longer – if she ever was one in the first place.
The media makes a Villain out of (an) Angel
As the clock wound down, Reese knew victory was imminent, and did a little trash-talking back to Clark who’d done it to them all game. She taunted her, using the same “You can’t see me” taunt Clark had used to them before, before pointing to her ring finger while walking to the team huddle.
While both these actions are generally regarded as trash-talk, a normal component of any competitive sport, not everyone saw it that way. Even Clark mentioned she hadn’t paid much attention to it, focusing on finishing out the game with her team. However, after LSU secured the Championship, media members took to social media platforms like Twitter, criticizing Reese’s actions and calling them “unsportsmanlike” and “classless”.
Even some bigger names in media were caught up in the hate towards Reese, with guys like Barstool Sports owner David Portnoy calling Reese a “classless piece of s***” (later deleted), and Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho, who apologized after describing Reese as “villainous”.
It was a lack of a double standard. Caitlin Clark, who’d been receiving most of the attention surrounding the tournament, was a fierce competitor just like Reese and had done plenty of trash-talking throughout the tournament. Despite her chatter and taunting during that game and the ones before, she was already America’s Basketball sweetheart. So when she did it nobody cared, but when Reese did, critics were quick to grab pitchforks and torches.
This wasn’t breaking news to Reese though, as she knew the narrative and had dealt with the same comments and hate all during the season. She was more than familiar with the lack of a double standard and understood the labels people assigned to her as a black woman from Baltimore. “All year I was critiqued about who I was. I don’t fit the narrative. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto…when other people [taunt]—you all don’t say nothing,” said Reese.
The Head that Wears the Crown is Heavy
Since this year was Reese’s final season, an early exit from the tournament was heartbreaking, but in the post-game press conference, we saw a team united adamantly against the media for Reese’s sake.
Teammate Flau’jae Johnson attested to Reese’s character and the impact she’s had on her teammates, saying, “The crown she wears is heavy…the media and how they like to twist [it] and call her a villain…y’all don’t know Angel ”. After seeing Angel Reese crying during that press conference, it should be clear where the line is now, and it should be drawn when the players step off the court. In the way players leave beef and trash-talk on the court, anything that’s said or published by the media or by critics should be about the player on the court and nothing beyond that.
An Exciting Silver Lining
While many media outlets have spoken out condemning the criticism directed towards Angel Reese, the narrative between Clark and Reese stands out as the one positive element surrounding the whole ordeal. There was no love lost between the two, as both players exchanged encouraging words after the game, but it showed that the future of the sport is dependent on players like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. Talented players who are fierce competitors that fuel narratives with their personalities and get fans invested in players and teams.
With her entry into the WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark ended her time at Iowa without winning a national championship, yet she’s still one of the most talked about college basketball players this year. And even though Angel Reese was forced to be the villain, she led her team to LSU’s first-ever National Championship when the hate was the highest, inspiring the younger generation to stay strong and true to themselves, regardless of what people say. Clark is projected to be the #1 pick in the WNBA draft this year, and Reese will follow soon behind her as another near-guaranteed first-round pick. It’ll be interesting to see how the college game continues to progress and build off the precedent these athletes have set, and how players like Clark and Reese will continue to evolve and change the game at the professional level.
