Season preview: LSU WBB reloads, Kim Mulkey hungry for more

LSU basketball is back. Kim Mulkey’s women’s team opens the year on Monday night in the PMAC against Bellarmine, while Matt McMahon’s men’s team opens its season on Wednesday at home against Missouri-Kansas City,

Both programs are coming off of NCAA Tournament appearances, but for the women, it’s the start of year two under Mulkey, while McMahon inherited a program that at one point early in the offseason had zero players committed to play for the upcoming season.

It’s going to be a long trek to March, but the road to the tournament starts this week. Here, we’re going to take one final look at the women’s basketball team and I will set my expectations for them in the 2022-23 season. Men’s preview coming soon.

Preseason rankings: No. 3 in SEC, No. 16 in Top 25

Talent on roster

It’s a new roster for Kim Mulkey as she lost her incredible group of seniors from last year, including Khayla Pointer, her star point guard. Mulkey quickly reloaded, with several talented transfers and a handful of freshmen poised to make an immediate impact.

This team is much deeper than last years, which Mulkey has talked about over the offseason. There was not much depth at all last year and the team heavily relied on Pointer, Alexis Morris, and Jailin Cherry as a trio of guards to set the tone on both ends. With four starters gone, it’s going to be a new roster for Mulkey, but she proved last year that she’s a fast worker.

The addition of the No. 1 transfer in Angel Reese and veteran SEC forward LaDazhia Williams solidifies the frontcourt, while freshman Flau’jae Johnson and transfer Jasmine Carson join returners Alexis Morris and Ryann Payne in the back court rotation. Ohio State transfer Kateri Poole and junior college scoring guard Last Tear-Poa will also be role players in the guard rotation.

Coaching

Mulkey is obviously beyond reproach, but what she did last year was unexpected and spoke volumes to the potential of this program. She turned LSU into one of the better defensive teams in the country, then picked her spots on offense, maximizing her talent.

We know who Mulkey is and what she has accomplished, but it’s clear she’s hungry to win a championship at LSU. I’m interested to see what she focuses on with this team.

Schedule

Mulkey hated last year’s schedule, but it was awesome for fans. The win over Iowa State put the Tigers on the map and got everyone excited about her program. Sure, a couple losses hurt, but in the end, the strength of schedule was a plus for that veteran team.

This year, though, Mulkey got her wish. The Tigers do not play a high-major program for the first 12 games of the year before playing Oregon State in the final contest before conference play starts. I’m not an oddsmaker, but I’d guess LSU will be 25-point favorites in almost all of its first 12 games of the year. The only true road game LSU plays is at Tulane.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for people who want to be excited about the women’s basketball season (me), but we just have to accept it and check back in a month.

Season expectations

Without a challenge in the non-conference, I expect LSU to comfortably climb inside the top 10 before the start of SEC play. The SEC will once again be a very solid conference, but the Tigers only play Tennessee and South Carolina once, with Tennessee in Baton Rouge. I think a 13-0 non-conference record followed by something like a 13-3 conference season is a likely outcome for this season. A 26-3 season would be awesome, but with this schedule, all that matters is the postseason for this program. 

My biggest question for this team is the point guard position. Alexis Morris will be filling the role of Khayla Pointer and while Morris is an awesome player, I’m hesitant to say she can get in the paint at the same rate and create for others like Pointer did. Mulkey alluded to the fact that she’s so good off the ball, I wonder how long before Poole gets inserted to help create in this offense.

Regardless, having Williams and Reese in the post will simplify the offense and force teams to double the post, opening up the floor for everyone else. Defensively, I have some questions as well after losing Jailin Cherry and Autumn Newby, the best two defenders on last year’s roster.

Regardless, Mulkey will have more depth, more skilled forwards, and plenty of time to tinker before the rubber hits the road.