LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey is never one to mince words, and she certainly didn't when speaking about the impending transfer of Hailey Van Lith from the program. Lith's transfer was easy to see coming as she didn't seem to fully fit into LSU's system.
After averaging 19.7 points per game for Louisville in the 2022-23 season, she finished this season averaging 11.6 points per game. The Tigers consistently tasked Lith with being the point guard, a role that she didn't acquiesce to well enough to yield continued success.
She didn't fare well in her time in the NCAA Tournament. Lith only averaged 6.8 points per game and 3.0 assists in the four March Madness games played. She also was at a noticeable disadvantage when LSU faced Iowa in their well-anticipated National Championship Rematch. Lith couldn't stop Caitlin Clark, as she finished the game with 41 points and nine 3-pointers.
Lith just simply didn't look like the same player for LSU that she did for Louisville this past season, which was sure to drastically hurt her WNBA Draft stock. Even Kim Mulkey saw the writing on the wall of Lith's move from the program, as she said in comments obtained by NOLA.com.
“Her aspirations were to get drafted this year,” Mulkey said, “and she realized, ‘I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position…And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well.”
Mulkey is a point-guard whisperer, having played the position at a high level in her time at Louisiana Tech. But Lith is a natural two-guard who takes a high volume of shots. Lith attempted 16.5 shots per game in her final season at Louisville. That total dropped to 9.9 shots per game for LSU.
“She had to embrace a change in her mindset of not shooting it 20-30 times a game,” Mulkey commented in a quote obtained by NOLA.com, “but finding who's open and getting them the ball. And sometimes it was hard because she would be pressured, and she'd be pounding the heck out of that ball.”
Lith's future appears uncertain. While she will likely find a role that aligns with her talents, she has not yet chosen her new destination.
Per The Next Hoops' Talia Goodman, she will make a visit to fellow SEC program Mississippi State this weekend. The Bulldogs had a nice season, finishing with an overall record of 23-12 but they were 8-8 in conference play.
Perhaps her consideration of Mississippi State is because of head coach Sam Purcell, who was an assistant at Louisville for two seasons. It could be an interesting landing spot for her as she would play for a coach who is familiar with her ability.
Nevertheless, Lith faces a significant decision as she seeks to make the most of her final college basketball season.
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