Hailey Van Lith is the latest big name in college basketball (man or woman) to enter this year`s transfer portal. The former Louisville Cardinal is leaving the Bayou after a season with Kim Mulkey and the Tigers, who bowed out of this year`s NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight.
The reasons behind Van Lith`s decision to leave Baton Rouge are unclear, but here are a few educated guesses:
Playing out of her strengths
Before Hailey Van Lith came to LSU, the five-foot-seven guard was known as a scorer.
That was her main calling card in her four total seasons at Louisville. She averaged in double figures every single year, having her best season 2022-23 when she averaged 19.7 PPG on 41.1% FG shooting.
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Clearly, that wasn`t Hailey Van Lith`s role on LSU. It`s clear why: the Tigers already had a high-level scorer in Angel Reese, and they couldn't have two ball-dominant players butting heads deciding who scores next. So Kim Mulkey put Van Lith in a facilitator role, where she did well enough, leading the team in assists (3.6/game).
However, the average is incredibly telling, as getting just under four assists per game from your team`s best passer really isn`t doing much. Hailey Van Lith was a scorer through and through, and she was basically forced out of her element by being the point guard on an already stacked team.
Potential defensive liability
One could argue that the biggest indicator of Hailey Van Lith being out of place in LSU is their Elite Eight matchup against Iowa.
Most notably, Van Lith was made to guard the six-foot Caitlin Clark, and everyone knows what happened, including Van Lith herself. The NCAA D1 basketball leading scorer was scoring, seemingly at will, against her undersized defender.
At five-foot-seven, the LSU guard really just couldn`t do much against a bigger, equally talented offensive player who got her rhythm going. It was a matchup that clearly favored Iowa, so they were hunting the matchup all night.
Now, Hailey Van Lith is not a bad defender at all. But LSU not making any defensive adjustments cost them the game, and the soon-to-be-former Tiger can`t be at fault for something she can`t control.
Hailey Van Lith might want to be the best player on a team again
As a former five-star recruit, Van Lith was used to being the best player on her squad. So for her to leave Louisville and be a rotation player playing second-fiddle was a bit strange. Nevertheless, this could also be a potential reason why leaving LSU is in her best interests.
Angel Reese already declared for the WNBA Draft and is likely due to leave --leaving her spot for the taking. But maybe it would`ve been far too big of an adjustment for Van Lith to make, considering she already spent the entire year playing point guard and would have to hunt for her scoring rhythm back.
For now, the only choice for her to be the best player on a squad again is to join a team that needs a high-scoring guard at their backcourt.
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