Angel Reese

Angel C. Reese (born May 6, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She attended Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was awarded with McDonald's All-American honors in 2020 and was ranked the number two player in her class by ESPN. Reese joined Maryland as the highest-ranked recruit in program history, but her freshman season in 2020–21 was interrupted by a fractured right foot. She was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press as a sophomore, before transferring to LSU, where she was nicknamed the "Bayou Barbie". In her junior season, Reese was a unanimous first-team All-American selection and led LSU to its first national championship, where she was Most Outstanding Player. She set the NCAA single-season record in double-doubles and the SEC single-season record in rebounds.

Angel Reese
Reese with Maryland in 2022
No. 10 – LSU Tigers
PositionPower forward / Small forward
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2002-05-06) May 6, 2002
Randallstown, Maryland, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3[1] in (1.91 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolSaint Frances Academy
(Baltimore, Maryland)
College
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

Reese was born on May 6, 2002,[2] in Randallstown, Maryland, to Angel and Michael Reese.[3] She grew up taking part in ballet, swimming and track, in addition to basketball. Reese played the point guard position before having two growth spurts by her first year of high school.[1] She attended St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was a four-year varsity basketball player.[3] Early in her high school career, Reese was teammates with Nia Clouden.[4] As a freshman, she averaged 11.1 points and 11 rebounds per game, earning All-Metro first team honors from The Baltimore Sun.[5] Reese posted 20 points and 24 rebounds in a 56–55 overtime loss to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy at the High School Nationals semifinals.[6]

In her sophomore season, Reese was an All-Metro first team selection after averaging 17.6 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.[7] As a junior, she averaged 22.6 points and 19.3 rebounds per game and was named All-Metro Player of the Year.[8] In her senior season, she averaged 18.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, repeating as All-Metro Player of the Year. Reese won her fourth straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) A Conference title.[9] She was named to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic rosters.[10][11] Reese left St. Frances with the second-most career points in program history. Her number 10 jersey number was retired by the program, and she became the first player to receive the honor.[4] Reese competed for Team Takeover on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit and helped the team win the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League championship in 2019.[4] She played volleyball for St. Frances, with whom she won two IAAM titles.[3]

Recruiting

Reese was considered a five-star recruit, the number two player and the top wing in the 2020 class by ESPN.[1][12] On November 1, 2019, she committed to play college basketball for Maryland over offers from South Carolina, USC, Syracuse and Tennessee.[13] Reese became the highest-ranked recruit in program history.[14] She was drawn to the program in part by her relationship with head coach Brenda Frese, who had recruited her when she was in eighth grade.[13]

College career

Freshman season
Reese shooting a free throw for Maryland in 2021

On November 27, 2020, Reese made her debut for Maryland, recording a freshman season-high 20 points and nine rebounds in a 94–72 win over Davidson.[15] In her fourth game of the season, on December 3 against Towson, she suffered a Jones fracture in her right foot.[16] She underwent surgery and was sidelined until February 23, 2021.[17][18] Reese came off the bench following her return from injury.[19] As a freshman, she averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game,[20] earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors.[21]

Sophomore season

Reese assumed a greater role in her sophomore season, developing into one of the top offensive rebounders in the nation.[22] In her season debut on November 9, she recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds in a 97–67 win against Longwood.[23] On December 2, 2021, Reese posted a season-high 26 points and 15 rebounds in an 82–74 win over Miami (Florida).[24] She led Maryland to the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA tournament, where she had 25 points and nine rebounds in a 72–66 loss to top-seeded Stanford.[25] As a sophomore, Reese averaged 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, becoming the first Maryland player to average a double-double since 1975 when Angie Scott did the same.[14] She was named first-team All-Big Ten and made the All-Defensive Team.[26] Reese received third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and made the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-American honorable mention.[27][28] On April 5, 2022, she entered the transfer portal with several of her teammates.[29] She was the most heralded transfer in the nation and took visits to LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee.[30][31]

Junior season

On May 6, 2022, Reese transferred to LSU, as announced by the program, which competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[32][33] She made the decision due to her trust in head coach Kim Mulkey and a desire to join a winning culture.[32] In her junior season, Reese emerged as one of the best players in the nation.[34] On November 7, she made her debut for LSU, recording 31 points and 13 rebounds in a 125–50 win over Bellarmine.[35] On December 14, Reese posted a career-high 32 points and 15 rebounds in an 88–42 victory over Lamar.[36] On January 5, 2023, she scored 26 points and grabbed 28 rebounds in a 74–34 win over Texas A&M. She surpassed LSU's single-game rebounding record, held by Maree Jackson since 1977.[37] On January 23, Reese had her 20th straight double-double, with 14 points and 14 rebounds in an 89–51 win against Alabama. She broke the program record for consecutive double-doubles, set by Sylvia Fowles during the 2006–07 season.[38] On February 16, Reese had a career-high 36 points and 20 rebounds in a 69–60 win over Ole Miss.[39] In the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament, she recorded 34 points and 15 rebounds in a 73–50 win against Hawaii.[40] Reese posted 25 points, 24 rebounds and six blocks in a 66–42 second-round win over Michigan.[41] In the Elite Eight, she registered her 32nd double-double, breaking the SEC single-season record held by Teaira McCowan of Mississippi State. Reese was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the Greenville Regional 2.[42][43] In the Final Four, she set the program and SEC single-season rebounding records after posting 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 79–72 win over Virginia Tech.[44]

Reese helped LSU win its first national championship, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 102–85 victory over Iowa in the title game. She won the tournament Most Outstanding Player award and set the NCAA single-season record with 34 double-doubles.[45] In the closing minutes of the game, Reese followed Iowa star Caitlin Clark around the court and waved her hand in front of her face, a taunt popularized by professional wrestler John Cena, before pointing to her ring finger in reference to a championship ring. Her actions came under scrutiny on social media, with some criticizing her for poor sportsmanship and others, including Reese herself, pointing to a double standard, because Clark did not receive similar backlash for making the gesture two games earlier.[46] Clark later defended Reese from criticism over the gesture.[47] The incident drew attention to the roles of race and gender in the perception of trash talk in sports. Reese is Black and Clark is White.[48][49][50] Following the game, First Lady Jill Biden remarked that she wanted Iowa to be invited to the White House along with LSU, as an addition to the custom of the president and first lady hosting the national champions. Despite Biden's press secretary clarifying that only LSU would be invited, Reese initially rejected the invitation and said she would prefer to celebrate with the Obamas,[51] before accepting it with her team later that week.[52] President Joe Biden called Reese individually to congratulate her on LSU's victory.[53]

As a junior, Reese averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, becoming the first women's player in over 15 seasons to reach those marks.[54] She led the NCAA Division I in total rebounds and offensive rebounds per game and ranked second to Lauren Gustin of BYU in rebounds per game.[55] Reese earned unanimous first-team All-American, first-team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team honors.[56]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career high ° League leader

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020–21 Maryland 15415.1.467.167.6716.01.10.61.31.510.0
2021–22 Maryland 323125.9.500.182.68310.61.51.71.12.517.8

Source[57]

Personal life

Reese's mother, Angel, played basketball for UMBC and professionally in Luxembourg. Her father, Michael, competed for Boston College and Loyola (Maryland) before embarking on a professional career.[58] Reese and her younger brother, Julian, were competitive rivals when they practiced together.[59] He plays college basketball for Maryland and competed for St. Frances Academy.[60] Her stepbrother, Mikael Hopkins is a professional basketball player.[58] Her cousin, Jordan Hawkins, plays for the UConn Huskies. In 2023, she and Hawkins helped each of their teams win NCAA titles.[61]

Reese majored in communications at the University of Maryland, College Park and aspires to be a television commentator after her basketball career.[59] She was a member of the honor roll in high school.[3] Reese has signed name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with several companies, including Amazon, Xfinity, Outback Steakhouse, Wingstop and supermarket chain Giant Food.[62][63] In February 2023, she signed an NIL deal with fashion brand Coach and gave bags to her teammates at LSU.[64]

Reese was nicknamed the "Bayou Barbie" after transferring to LSU. In her first season with the program, she filed for a trademark on the nickname.[65]

Reese was portrayed by comedian Punkie Johnson on the April 8, 2023 episode of Saturday Night Live. Johnson's skit parodied Reese's gesture at the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I championship game and her dispute over Jill Biden's comments about inviting Iowa to the White House.[66][67]

In the weeks following LSU's championship, Shaquille O'Neal, an LSU alumni, called Reese the greatest athlete to ever come from the school. Reese contacted O'Neal after he made the comments and said that she had not done enough to earn that level of praise.[68]

In May, 2023, Sports Illustrated announced that Reese would be featured in the magazine's annual "swimsuit" issue. Reese posed for the magazine in Los Angeles, wearing a purple string bikini. Sports Illustrated said they selected Reese as part of their efforts to "empower women."[69]

References
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  2. "Angel Reese (USA)'s profile - FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2021". FIBA. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  3. "Angel Reese". USA Basketball. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  4. Andrews, Kyle J. (February 10, 2020). "St. Frances star, Maryland recruit Angel Reese builds a legacy with a love of basketball". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. Dunn, Katherine (March 31, 2017). "All-Metro girls' basketball first and second teams". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
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