BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU ahead Angel Reese was speaking to reporters even earlier than she sat down in entrance of a microphone to take questions.
“How happy are y’a’ll to see me? I know you all are,” she stated as she walked right into a postgame interview room for the primary time in about two weeks. “Let’s have some fun.”
Reese was as able to play as she was prepared to speak.
She went straight again to the beginning lineup upon her return from a four-game absence and scored 19 factors to assist No. 7 LSU defeat No. 9 Virginia Tech 82-64 on Thursday night time.
“It was a long two weeks to be away from the team,” Reese stated. “Taking time to yourself is really important. I just felt like that was something that was important, resetting and refocusing within the team. I’m just happy to be back and this place was amazing tonight. I’m just happy to be here with them.”
Reese, whose momentary departure from the staff stemmed from unspecified “locker room issues” that coach Kim Mulkey has declined to disclose, rejoined her teammates at follow this week.
But Reese made some normal references to her psychological well being and never wanting her habits to be detrimental to the staff.
“Mental health is the most important thing before anything and I’m going to make sure I’m OK before anything because I don’t want to cause harm or any cancer in the locker room,” she stated, warning folks in opposition to believing every little thing that will have been written about her throughout her absence.
“I’m back and I’m happy and I’m here and I’m moving forward and I’m going to help take this team as far as I can,” Reese stated.
Before the sport, it was virtually as if Reese had by no means left. She was introduced with a commemorative basketball throughout a pregame ceremony recognizing her 1,000th profession rebound earlier this season.
When the beginning lineup was introduced, Reese was launched final, as she normally is throughout dwelling video games. And the gang, which included LSU soccer quarterback Jayden Daniels and receiver Malik Nabers, cheered enthusiastically.
Reese began LSU’s first 4 video games, averaging 17 factors and 10.3 rebounds because the Tigers went 3-1 – the lone loss coming of their opener to now fellow No. 7 Colorado.
LSU gained all 4 video games she missed, three of them by lopsided margins.
When Thursday night time’s recreation ended, Reese shared an extended embrace with Mulkey, who could possibly be seen saying one thing in her 6-foot-3 ahead’s ear.
Mulkey stated what she informed Reese was “something I probably won’t share, but it was from my heart.”
Mulkey added that she was pleased with Reese, “Just proud of how she handled herself, proud she’s back to the Angel everybody knows. … There’s nothing but positive things about what happened on that floor.”
Reese stated final season that she wants Mulkey in her life and reiterated that Thursday, including that she wants her coach, “Today, tomorrow, next year, ’til the day I die. I’m at LSU because of Kim Mulkey.”
Reese stated former LSU basketball star and present Reebok govt Shaquille O’Neal checked in on her each day throughout her absence from the staff. O’Neal was influential in Reebok signing Reese to an endorsement deal earlier than this season.
“He told me every day, like, ‘This, too, shall pass,’” Reese recalled. “Just being able to have somebody like that was something that was really good for me. He told me when I was right. He told me when I was wrong. He told me what I needed to do to get back to where I am.”
“I want people to realize that I’m not just an athlete. I’m a human,” Reese stated. “I go through things. We all go through things.”
