L.S.U. Buoyed by Trash-Talking, Shot-Swishing Angel Reese

Reese’s trainer has often seen that intensity. Jimmy Price, a longtime friend of the family, said that drive stood out specifically after a game during Reese’s freshman year at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, “when I knew she arrived.” Reese had 24 points and 20 rebounds in a national semifinal, but her team lost in overtime.

“After the game, she was just crying and crying, and she just didn’t want to be bothered with anybody,” Price said. “And I see that’s a heart of a champion. Only champions do that.”

After four standout years at St. Frances, Reese joined Maryland as the No. 2 recruit nationally in her class, behind only Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers. Her brother Julian joined the men’s team at Maryland the next season.

A Jones fracture in her right foot limited Reese to just 15 games as a freshman, but she broke out as a sophomore, averaging a double-double with nearly 18 points per game. In the Terrapins’ N.C.A.A. tournament loss to Stanford, their second consecutive defeat in the round of 16, Reese had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. It would be her last game at Maryland.

After the season, she decided she “needed something new.” A third-team all-American, a local prospect who had joined Maryland as the top recruit in program history, suddenly entered the transfer portal as one of the most talented players available.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/sports/ncaabasketball/lsu-tigers-angel-reese.html