Angel Reese: 'We're the good villains'

Angel Reese heard a lot of talk about heroes and villains when it came to LSU women’s basketball.

As the Tigers’ star put it, LSU is “the good villains” of women’s college basketball. Following an interesting, to say the least, LA Times column pitting UCLA against LSU as a hero vs. villain story, Reese is ready to embrace the moniker, in her own way.

LSU plays Iowa Monday night, a rematch of last year’s national championship games and Reese talked about being the team to beat.

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“We’re the good villains,” Reese said ahead of the Elite Eight. “I was talking to Kramer about that. Everybody wants to beat LSU. Everybody wants to be LSU. Everybody wants to play against LSU.

“You’ve got to realize like we’re not any regular basketball team. Like Coach talks about it all the time, she calls us the Beatles. People run after our butts. People are coming at games. You’re seeing sellouts, you’re seeing people buying jerseys, you’re seeing more sellouts than the men.”

The impact is undeniable with TV ratings and interest up among the women’s teams playing at a high level. The Sweet 16 proved to be entertaining with close games, drama and storylines.

“We’re impacting the game so much and all of us are super competitive and want to win and do whatever it takes to win. We’re just changing the game,” Reese said. “We were talking about we’re doing the unknown. Me being able to be on the court but also off the court, I like to model and do other things. I can do both.

“Flau’jae can do both. Aneesah (Morrow) can do both. We can all do both. That’s what people don’t believe in. Like they don’t think that we’re focused, and we prove every single night when we get between those lines, we’re focused.”

But in the end, it’s all about basketball and being together as a team.

“That’s what we’re worried about,” Reese said. “Just being able to have teammates that have my back, have teammates, have coaches just have each other’s back this whole time, I don’t care what the outside thinks. I know what’s going on in that locker room.”

Reese has a loaded squad with her this year. Players like Flau’jae Johnson and transfer Hailey Van Lith, it’s tough to beat the Tigers with their depth.

But in a star studded matchup, all eyes are on the good villains as Reese battles with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, once again.