"She’s the LeBron of college," "She’s not even good": Fans react as TCU's Hailey Van Lith becomes sole college hooper in any of 4 USA Basketball teams

Hailey Van Lith made her Olympics debut on Tuesday, playing 3x3 basketball against Germany at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has been representing the USA in 3x3 basketball since her high school days. This will be her attempt at winning the sixth gold medal of her USA basketball career.

This is the fourth time she has been named to a national team and is the first collegiate player to achieve this. Hailey Van Lith is also the only college player on the Olympics roster along with WNBA players Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Cierra Burdick.

ESPN shared Van Lith's achievements with Team USA in celebration of her debut.

Fans in the comments were split with some agreeing that she is a talented basketball player. However, some fans are still unconvinced about Van Lith after her poor showing last year with the LSU Tigers, especially in the post-season.

"She’s the lebron of college LMAO," one fan wrote.

"She’s not even good that’s crazy," another fan wrote.

Here are a few more fan reactions.

Fan reactions to Hailey Van Lith (Credits: Instagram/@espnw)

During an interview for the Olympics media, Hailey Van Lith explained that the 3x3 format was best suited for her.

“Everyone can play and be average at three-on-three but to be successful and win at the highest level with your team, there’s a special type of player that you have to get,” she said.

“It reminds me of high school where it’s just like pure love for the game. There’s a toughness and a grittiness about three-on-three that I feel like it fits my personality really well. So I just feel at home: I feel like it fits me perfectly,” she added.

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Hailey Van Lith's Olympics debut begins with a loss

In Tuesday's game against Germany, Hailey Van Lith and the USA lost 17-13, as the team struggled to score consistently. Assessing their performance, Van Lith said (via Mirror US):

"At the end of the game, honestly, we were winded. We started playing soft. And they played much harder than us. Actions that our bigs and our guards expect help, I feel like that’s when I see it the most.”

Hailey finished with six points in 6:57 minutes of game time. However, this is not to cause concern as Team USA also lost the opening game during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, they went on to win gold. Van Lith will play her next game against Azerbaijan on Wednesday evening.

What do you think of Hailey Van LIth's addition and her first performance? Let us know in the comment section below.