'Angel's Back,' LSU Coach Kim Mulkey Says Of Star Angel Reese, Who Will Play Vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech Thursday

BATON ROUGE, La. - The return of the prodigal "Bayou Barbie" is now.

"Angel's back," LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey said of superstar forward Angel Reese to open her weekly press conference on Wednesday.

Mulkey also said Reese practiced with the team multiple times this week since it returned from the Cayman Islands Classic over the Thanksgiving weekend and will play Thursday night. The No. 7 Tigers (7-1) host No. 9 Virginia Tech (5-1) at 9 p.m. on ESPN on Thursday. She also had been practicing and working out on her own for several days on her own while on suspension before the Cayman Islands trip.

Reese led LSU to its first national championship in basketball last season and was the MVP of the Final Four in Dallas. She was benched for the second half against Kent State on Nov. 14 and was suspended for the next four games for an "attitude adjustment," sources said.

"I really think Angel will be just like Angel," Mulkey said Wednesday when asked what she expects of Reese. "She's been really good in practice. It's a boost having her back period."

When OutKick was first told of Reese's suspension for an "attitude adjustment" on Nov. 16, a source indicated the Virginia Tech game on Thursday as a target date for Reese's return to the floor.

Without using the word "suspended," Mulkey suspended Reese going into LSU's game at Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond on Nov. 17. She was not dressed out or on the floor or with the team for that game. She remained away from the team on game day against Texas Southern on Nov. 20. She did not make the trip to the Cayman Islands Classic for two games on Nov. 24 and 25.

LSU's Kim Mulkey Hasn't Explained Angel Reese Suspension

Mulkey never gave specific reasons for Reese's suspension, only referring to "locker room issues" and did not again on Wednesday when asked multiple times.

Sources maintain Reese had not been practicing and playing as hard as she did last season, and teammates were upset about it. Sources reiterated Wednesday that Reese's issues were not grades, and she just needed a timeout so she could get her head on straight on the floor and in the classroom. Contrary to some reports and social media claims, Reese is not in imminent danger of being academically ineligible.

Mulkey was not asked if academics had anything to do with Reese's suspension. But coaches and schools generally do not comment on student-athletes' grades because of privacy issues. Unless, of course, student-athletes make various academic honor rolls.

"You always have to deal with locker room issues," Mulkey said on Nov. 20 after beating Texas Southern. "That’s just part of coaching. That’s what coaches do. Sometimes, y’all know about them, and sometimes you don’t. And sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know.”

LSU Tigers Have Done Well Without Angel Reese

LSU is 4-0 without Reese, but the competition gets better Thursday. Virginia Tech beat Kansas and Tulane at the same Cayman Islands Classic in which LSU won two games - 99-65 over Niagara and 76-73 over Virginia. Reese reposted news of LSU's success at the Cayman Islands.

Angel Reese, 21, became a multi-millionaire through Name, Image & Likeness promotional deals last season and after last season due to the Tigers' and her tremendous success.

Nicknamed the "Bayou Barbie," Reese finished No. 1 in the NCAA in double-doubles last season with an NCAA record 34. She finished No. 2 in the nation in rebounding with 15.4 a game and fifth in scoring with 23 points a game. She led the country in offensive rebounds with 6.4 per game.

A Baltimore native, Reese played her first two seasons at Maryland before transferring to LSU after the 2021-22 season and before Mulkey's second season last year.

Mulkey also delivered some bad news. Sophomore starting forward Sa'Myah Smith is lost for the season with a knee injury suffered against Niagara.

And another player, junior guard Kateri Poole of New York, remains under suspension for reasons Mulkey would not divulge. Poole last played on Nov. 17 at Southeastern. Reese was friends with Poole before they came to LSU. And it was Poole, a former Ohio State player, who convinced Reese to take a recruiting visit to LSU after the 2021-22 season. They each transferred to LSU after that visit.