"Media never gets the full picture": Hailey Van Lith gets candid on LSU experience under Kim Mulkey

Fifth-year star Hailey Van Lith is enjoying her stint with the TCU Horned Frogs this season. Van Lith and the Horned Frogs are coming off a 78-42 drubbing of the Florida Atlantic Owls last Dec. 4, earning them a blistering-hot 9-0 start to their 2024-2025 campaign.

The senior standout is seemingly experiencing a resurgence in her play after a somewhat up-and-down fourth year with the LSU Tigers. In her post-game interview with SportsCenter after the Florida win, Van Lith gave more context to the public of what truly went down between her and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.

"Outside looking in, it's a lot different to what was happening in real life. Media never gets the full picture. But, I grew a lot in ways that are not gonna show on paper right away," she explained. (2:40)

"LSU will be an experience for me that will really pay off in the league. I think my transition to the league might be a little easier now that I've experienced a year like that," Van Lith further added. (2:51)

Van Lith then shared how she was able to go through her time at LSU while using it as experienced gained heading into the WNBA, saying:

"You got to have faith in these scenarios. I have a ton of faith in myself. I know that that year is going to pay off at some point in my career. I just got to trust that it'll happen." (3:04)

Now in her one-and-done tenure at TCU, Van Lith's draft stock is attracting more conversation after it dipped during her year at LSU. From averaging just 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists under Mulkey, the spitfire guard has returned to her Louisville-scoring days with 19.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.7 steals this season.

Sitting atop of the Big 12 Tournament, Van Lith and the Horned Frogs will have a tough task next game against the reigning national champions South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday, Dec. 8.

Hailey Van Lith says she'll be ready to take on the Gamecocks

Looking ahead to a powerhouse matchup against the 7-1 South Carolina, Van Lith shared her mindset on how she and the Horned Frogs will be tackling such an opponent.

"We're gonna have to be on our A-game. We get a couple of days to prepare for them. They have a huge game tomorrow that I look forward to watching...It's just going to be competitive basketball and I can't wait to get an opportunity to compete so that's what it's going to boil down to," Van Lith said (2:00)

The Gamecocks' much-awaited matchup against the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday, Dec. 5, is one that gives Van Lith the opportunity to watch Dawn Staley and her players in time for their Dec. 8 fixture.