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Hailey Van Lith has had a very successful college career, and she has since taken her talents to the TCU Horned Frogs. Before that, however, she was a high schooler who played for Cashmere High School in Washington and was comparing herself to a certain eight-time NBA All-Star and former NBA champion.
She spoke with the Sports Stars of Tomorrow YouTube channel on January 25, 2020, and opened up about who her favorite player is — Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving. She said that he was fun to watch and noted that the two of them had the same playing style.
"I think Kyrie is one of my favorite players ever and not only is he fun to watch, we kinda have the same playing style, and I just, like, try to learn and I still watch videos of him," high school-aged Hailey Van Lith told Sports Stars of Tomorrow. (3:46-3:55)
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She also got to meet her favorite player and revealed about tearing up when that happened.
"I actually got to meet him, which was amazing," the point guard said. "Tears welled up in my eyes because I just idolized him, but I did get a talk basketball with him. I actually got to sit down and have lunch with him and mostly just like talking about his mentality and how it's been with him in the league." (3:55-4:11)
He also talked to her about what it was like transferring between teams and playing with different players, something she's familiar with, as she originally played for Louisville in college before her 2023 transfer to then-defending champions LSU, which was led by Angel Reese. This year, she transferred to TCU and made a career-high six steals in her debut game against Houston Christian.
Hailey Van Lith explodes in TCU debut after disappointing year with LSU
With her transfer to TCU, Hailey van Lith hopes to utilize her scoring more, as she felt that she did not really shine during her time with LSU, having to go for more of a playmaker role under Kim Mulkey.
She originally wanted to be drafted into the WNBA with her LSU stint, but this did not happen, leading her to transfer to TCU. During her debut with the Horned Frogs, however, she showed more of her old self, finishing the game with 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and a career-high six steals.
