After a disastrous senior season at LSU, Hailey Van Lith is making great strides as a fifth-year guard with the TCU Horned Frogs. She is averaging 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals, leading TCU on a 16-1 run.
The "Big 12 Studios" Instagram account shared a video on Friday where Horned Frogs players and coach Mark Campbell were asked to describe the $779,000 NIL-valued (per On3) Van Lith.
"Dynamic playmaking combo guard," Campbell said.
Van Lith experienced scoring troubles last season as she struggled to find her spot on Kim Mulkey's roster. She is thriving this year and credits her improvements to her coach and teammates.
"That’s a tribute to a lot of the environment that I’m in," she said. "Obviously, everybody knows my story and it’s been far from what I thought it would be but at the same time that was a very personal moment for me.
"With my personality, it’s hard for me to let people see me get like that, especially the whole world saw it. It is an inspiring story and it’s a story about perseverance, it’s a story about self-belief and I couldn’t have done it without the people around me."
Hailey Van Lith explains her decision to play for TCU and coach Mark Campbell
Hailey Van Lith played three seasons at Louisville before moving to LSU. Her original plan was to join the WNBA after her senior year. However, her dismal performances affected her draft stock.
With the additional COVID-19 eligibility year, Van Lith made the decision to hit the transfer portal again. Explaining her choice, she said:
"I think TCU is obviously is great for a lot of reasons, but the style of play that I knew we were gonna have under Coach Campbell. Just the freedom I would have in the offense and the opportunity to showcase a lot of abilities.
"I knew it would be there, I knew him for quite a while in my basketball career before this moment and he's always genuinely wanted the best for me. So, I knew that I could trust coach with my last year."
Hailey Van Lith also spoke about the perks of playing in the Big 12, saying:
"I think that the Big 12 is unique, is very versatile teams who play a lot of different styles of basketball. So, I think it will make me a lot better and the Big 12 will help me improve."
Hailey Van Lith is set to declare for the 2025 WNBA draft in April.
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