BATON ROUGE, La. — It’s not that she blocked the shot. It’s not even that she did it while holding her left shoe in her hand, or even that she immediately launched into trash-talking the Arkansas guard before her feet even hit the ground. No, it’s that the more you watch that video over and over, the more it’s clear there was never even a single moment Angel Reese considered not doing it. Not a single second of pause. That’s the key to this entire thing — the NIL deals, the national attention, the sensational play — none of it works if Reese is not unabashedly herself. That’s why we’re all watching. That’s why Reese is taking over the women’s basketball world. It’s her.
The eyelash extensions. The lip gloss. The long pink nails. She is a singular presence in the world of college basketball, the “Bayou Barbie” finally comfortable being herself in her new home at LSU on an undefeated 23-0 Tigers team coached by a woman in Kim Mulkey who Reese credits for encouraging her individuality. Reese is the star on a team full of large personalities, a 6-foot-3 National Player of the Year candidate with guard skills who goes viral for goofy dances after game-sealing baskets, who posts her unfiltered emotions and who swats opponent shots while holding a shoe.
