Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers lost their first game of the season on Friday when they were defeated 66-56 by the South Carolina Gamecocks. This was a much-anticipated tip-off as the last time these teams played each other was during the SEC championship last year, which ended in a scuffle.
In the post-game presser, Mulkey, who is yet to win a game as an LSU coach against Dawn Staley, made a comment about South Carolina playing with 10 McDonald's All-Americans. Comedian Plies took offense with her remarks and criticized her.
The $6 million worth (per Celebrity Net Worth) rapper posted a video on X sharing his thoughts. In the caption, he wrote:
"🤣🤣🤣 'I Never Seen Nobody Have 10 McDonalds All Americans On One Team'…. 🤷🏾♂️ (I Thought That Was The Goal). That Just Didn’t Sit Well With Me. Take The Lil Azz Whooping Put A Lil Ice On It & Come Back!"
What did Kim Mulkey actually say after loss to Dawn Staley?
While it is true that Kim Mulkey made a comment about Dawn Staley's roster, it seems like Plies may have misread her intention. When commenting about South Carolina's run this season, Mulkey said:
"I don't know that I've ever coached against a team that's got 10 McDonald's All-Americans on a roster. How do you even keep 10 on a roster and that's what we faced today and what a challenge it was.
"It was an enjoyable game to coach in and man, was it good for women's basketball but it was good for the SEC."
Kim Mulkey's comment came from a place of admiration, as it is hard to retain players of high caliber. In most cases, if a player feels like they're not getting enough time on the court, they would opt for the transfer portal. However, Dawn Staley has managed to keep her players through the years, even though they play restricted minutes.
Even Staley commented on her team's sacrifices in a chat with the media after the 101-60 win over Oklahoma.
"It means — I'm going tell you what it means — It means we sacrifice SEC player of the week," she said. "We sacrifice having a National Player of the Year candidate. We sacrifice possibly some All-Americans."
"We give that up but for the greater good of winning. And doing things that we need to do to get better as a team and doing things that promotes great basketball," she said
One example of this is MiLaysia Fulwiley. The top recruit from the 2023 class has played an average of 18.5 minutes in her two years at South Carolina. In a similar way, most players play a specific role within Dawn Staley's game plan and it has helped them win three national championships.
Kim Mulkey's Tigers will next face Texas A&M on Sunday where they will hope to recover from the loss.
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