"You can't just live off athleticism anymore": When TCU's Hailey Van Lith revealed what made her stand out among her AAU peers in high school

Hailey Van Lith is recognized as a top contender for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, as she was part of the preseason watch list. However, it was not all glory for her before college.

Van Lith knew early on that her path to success was not going to be easy. During her time when she was busy bagging gold medals for the US at the youth international level, Hailey Van Lith shared her mindset while in high school and playing AAU basketball.

In a 2019 video from Slam that recently resurfaced, she revealed what made her stand out among her high school peers.

“Everyone does their team practices," Van Lith said. "You can see a lot of the difference, especially now since we're all in high school, and you can't just live off athleticism anymore.”

Van Lith remained motivated and continued to work hard.

“You can see especially who I grew up playing at AAU with," Van Lith added. "Who's still working and who's not anymore. My dad kind of grew me up in this culture of always working and so I don't really know anything else."

Van Lith has also earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list, making it two honors she is in contention to win.

Throughout her college career, she has consistently received consideration for prestigious awards. During TCU's season opener against Houston Christian on Tuesday, Van Lith showed her all-around skills, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

Angel Reese is hopeful of Hailey Van Lith

Angel Reese has made her thoughts clear about Hailey Van Lith during the Sept. 5 episode of her "Unapologetically Angel" podcast, particularly following her transfer to TCU and her strong debut performance. After moving from LSU, where she faced challenges in integrating with the team and struggled to find her rhythm, Van Lith has a fresh start.

In her first game, she stepped into a pivotal offensive role, something she hadn't been given at LSU.

“We weren't super close, but I was one of the people closer to her on the team," Reese said. "She was really distant from everybody else, so I felt bad. I was like, 'Let me get close to her and see who she is' because she was the only white girl on the team, so I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable,” Reese recently said.

Reese has been vocal about the challenges Van Lith faced during their time together at LSU, acknowledging that the point guard was somewhat distant from the rest of the team. Despite those hurdles, Reese made an effort to reach out and make Van Lith feel welcome, given the dynamics of being the only white player on a largely diverse team.

Now that Van Lith has made the transition to TCU, Reese is excited to support her former teammate from afar and celebrate her success.