Though Hailey Van Lith’s time at LSU didn’t go according to plan, Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey wished the star guard nothing but the best prior to her resurgence at TCU.
After leading Louisville to three straight Elite Eight appearances and a trip to the Final Four, Van Lith sent shockwaves across the college basketball landscape by announcing her transfer to LSU. Her brief tenure in Baton Rouge didn’t go as planned, however, as she never appeared to grow comfortable in her new playmaking role with the Tigers.
Over the offseason, Van Lith once again entered her name in the transfer portal – this time opting to join the Horned Frogs program. Prior to her departure, Mulkey expressed disappointment that the Washington native’s stint at LSU didn’t work out – but acknowledged that going elsewhere was the best decision for her career.
“Her aspirations were to get drafted this year,” Mulkey said of Van Lith during a team banquet last April. “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.”
“She wanted to improve her strengths by coming to LSU with a goal of expanding her game by learning a position that I played my entire life,” she continued, “because she knows at the next level that’s her only chance – to be able to tell them somewhat, ‘I can handle the ball if you need me to.’
“She had to embrace a change in her mindset of not shooting it 20-30 times a game, 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.”
Hailey Van Lith is thriving at TCU following an uncharacteristically down season with LSU (
Getty Images)
The change of scenery has done wonders for Van Lith, who’s helped propel No. 10 seed TCU to a stellar 26-3 record and first-place tie with No. 19 Baylor in the Big 12 Conference. Over 29 games this season, she’s averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 44.9% from the field.
During a 80-75 win over Baylor last month, Van Lith made history by recording her 500th career assist – becoming just the fourth player in TCU women’s basketball history to hit the milestone. While discussing the incredible feat with reporters after the game, Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell shed light on her seamless transition to Fort Worth.
“If you guys understand – the portal makes it tricky – to be a plug and play point guard … where you’re here for nine months with a new coaching staff, with new teammates and learn a brand new system on the fly and to do it at an elite level is really, really hard to do,” Campbell said at the time.
“For Haley to come here, get plugged in, change her game and play in a way that she hasn’t played – she’s always been used as a really dynamic score. And to be willing to be okay with that and want to learn that.”
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