It's unclear why Angel Reese, who guided LSU basketball to the national championship last spring, was absent for a second straight game Monday.
“You always have to deal with locker room issues,” Coach Kim Mulkey told reporters following the Tigers' 106-47 win over Texas Southern. “That is part of coaching. Simply said, coaches do that. Sometimes you don't know.
You sometimes want more than you deserve. I constantly defend my players. They matter more. Similar to family. Do you deserve to know if you discipline your own kids?
She gave no timeline for Reese, the NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player, to return to the seventh-ranked Tigers. They leave Wednesday for Friday and Saturday games against Niagara and Virginia in the Cayman Islands. Mulkey wouldn't say if Reese would travel.
LSU finished 3-1 with Reese starting all four games and averaging 17 points and 10.3 rebounds. She was benched in the second half of the Tigers' 109-79 win over Kent State on Nov. 14. Mulkey said it was a “coach’s decision.” Five rebounds and 11 points for Reese.
Reese, known as “Bayou Barbie,” is one of the highest-earning female college athletes with over $1 million in name, image, and likeness endorsements.
Mulkey told reporters after Friday's game that Reese is still on the squad. Angel was clearly not in uniform. Mulkey said he hoped to see Angel soon on the basketball squad.