Why now was 'perfect' time for Angel Reese to visit LSU women's basketball

BATON ROUGE — There was only one proper way for LSU women's basketball to welcome Angel Reese back to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.Make history. Just like what Reese and Kim Mulkey accomplished together with the Tigers three years ago when the team captured its first national championship in 2023. With Reese looking on, the team did something no Division I team has done, beat an opponent by 109 points in a 131-22 victory over Texas Southern on Thursday, Nov. 5.LSU BEATS TEXAS SOUTHERN BY 100-PLUS LSU women's basketball beats Texas Southern by more than 100 pointsZAKIYAH JOHNSON Why ZaKiyah Johnson plays 'relentless' for LSU women's basketball"It's been three years now," Reese said of her return to LSU and the PMAC. "Being able to come back on a weekend where I can honestly hit a little bit of everything. Obviously, come and support the women's team. My brother's (Julian) now also part of the (New Orleans) Pelicans and then it's also a big weekend to come for LSU football."I thought it was a great opportunity for me to come back. My season ended last week and I needed something else to do. I'm always like, 'What's next? What's next?' It was the perfect time for me to come and see the girls. It's exciting to see how they continue to thrive."Reese and the Atlanta Dream played for the WNBA championship and pushed the Golden State Valkyries to a Game 7 before falling short for the title last week. LSU fans rained down big cheers on Reese when she emerged from the tunnel with Mulkey before the game, much like they did when she'd take the court during player introductions while she was an LSU player.The current LSU players were excited to see Reese as well."I'm so excited that Angel Reese is coming and like, she's here and I'm here and we are here together." said 17-year-old Russian freshman post player Anna Minaeva. "I was so shocked when I saw her for the first time in my lift. I'm really glad she's here."Mulkey said Reese reached out to her and the program about her coming to visit the team and see them play. And the lessons she hopes her current players are learning from Reese are boundless."To be proud of your alma mater," Mulkey said. "You see so many times players leave their alma mater and they don't engage with their school anymore. They go on to their pro careers and their pro lives but this is their school and they want to see it excel. For them to see her in that locker room and they all had her shirt on, they can be Angel one day."All of them watched her play here. And hopefully because she played here, it helped us recruit those players. Everybody's got to have somebody they look up to."Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Why now was 'perfect' time for Angel Reese to visit LSU women's basketball