I know that when I usually write these columns it’s to positively highlight a female athlete. My goal was to shed some light on some lesser-known female athletes, whether they are in college or have a professional career.
Today, however, I’m changing things up just a bit. I’m not saying that I’m going to talk badly about an athlete, but I’m writing more of an opinion piece on a certain female athlete: Angel Reese.
Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great basketball player, and she has the stats to prove it, but I think she’s a little bit overrated.
Reese transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU) last year after spending her first two seasons at the University of Maryland and immediately became a star for the Tigers. She played in all 36 games last season and started all of them. Between those games, she averaged 23.0 points 15.4 rebounds, and accumulated 57 blocks and 66 steals.
The reason why I think she has these stats, though, is because she’s 6’3”. The average height of a Division I female basketball player is only 5’6”, which would put her at a 9-inch advantage over her opponents. Height is a key component in the sport of basketball, so I don’t see how being 6’3” wouldn’t put her at a significant advantage. I’m aware players with height often play center, where they are matched up against other players similar to their height, but not every center is as tall as Reese is.
Another thing that I don’t particularly like about Angel Reese is that it seems as if she’s forgotten her roots. Soon after her transfer to LSU, whenever the media were interviewing her, it seemed as though she had forgotten where she had originally played, completely leaving Maryland in the dust. She was deemed the ‘Bayou Barbie’ by sports analysts, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think she deserves the nickname. She was born and raised in Maryland, played her first two seasons of college ball there, and only transferred to LSU last year.
Maybe she had good reasons for leaving Maryland behind, but I still think that if you’re going to play at your ‘hometown’ school for two years, help lead that team to a Sweet Sixteen appearance, and still have family ties to the school, it’s not something that should just be forgotten about.
NIL is also something that Angel Reese has benefitted from, and it’s something that I think has changed her for the worse. Reese has the highest NIL value of any female college basketball player and the ninth highest in all of college athletics, with an estimated amount of $1.7 million. She has inked deals with Reebok, ZOA Energy, Tampax, Airbnb, and Amazon, among other brands. NIL is a world I think athletes should experiment with but not get too caught up in.
In Reese’s case, I think she’s gotten too involved with making money and has deviated too far away from basketball.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Angel Reese, but I think that if she wants to be drafted into the WNBA (which is predicted), she needs to focus more on basketball and simmer down a little.
