ESPN analysts critical of Kim Mulkey leaving Hailey Van Lith on Caitlin Clark

ESPN’s First Take crew of Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Andraya Carter weren’t fans of Kim Mulkey’s decision to keep LSU’s Hailey Van Lith on Iowa’s Caitlin Clark throughout Monday’s clash.

On Tuesday’s show, Sharpe started the conversation by explaining his opinion that Mulkey’s decision to wait too long to adjust the defense was the main reason the Tigers won’t be repeating as national champions this season.

“When you look at what she was able to do, and the fashion in which he was able to do it, and I don’t want to take anything from it, but I thought this was a horrible coaching job on Kim Mulkey,” Sharpe stated. “Because you had Hailey Van Lith, and she was the three S’s. She’s short. She’s slow. And she was sick. Flau’Jae Johnson, all year long, guarded the best perimeter player. You get into a game of this magnitude Stephen A, and you put Hailey Van Lith on her, who’s 5-foot-7, against the six-foot guard. She’s sick. They talked about it. She had to get an IV. So she’s been under the weather, and she’s slow.

“Flau’Jae Johnson is your best athlete on that side of the ball. And that’s not to say, that still might would have happened. Caitlin Clark might still would have got 41. She might have got 51. But I’m gonna put my best defense — I’m gonna do what I’ve done to get me there. Flau’Jae Johnson is your most athletic young lady on the court. She should have had the assignment, because that’s the assignment she had all year.”

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In response, Smith rebutted with the fact that Mulkey might’ve wanted to save Johnson for the end of the game, and not have her gassed from trying to stop Clark in her tracks.

“We get all of that. What I will say to you about this and Andraya, you’re perfectly suitable to answer this better than any of us. I would say this to you. When you’re talking about Shannon, putting Johnson on Caitlin, as I watched Johnson, athleticism. Quick, high end competitor. Big time. No doubt about that. If I’m Mulkey and I expect this game to go down to the wire, I’m thinking I’m gonna need Johnson, and if I got her preoccupied with Caitlin Clark early, she might get in foul trouble,” Smith responded. “And if she gets in foul trouble, that might neutralize you know, what she can do for us down the stretch.

“That’s the only thing that made sense to me, as to why you wouldn’t have Johnson on Caitlin Clark to start off the game. That’s the only thing Andraya.”

Nevertheless, Carter believes Mulkey didn’t put Van Lith in a position to succeed, and the Tigers needed a different gameplan on Monday evening.

“I hear you, but then after Caitlin Clark comes down and goes behind the screen and knocks in a three on Haley Van Lith. And then you put Last-Tear Poa on her and that doesn’t work either. Like at some point, I think you should have started maybe with Flau’Jae, just to give her some length and give her a little pressure early, and then switch it up. Then go with Haley Van Lith, then go with Last-Tear Poa. But to have Haley Van Lith as the primary defender for the majority of the game. There was a time where I was sitting there and it wasn’t even to be dramatic, I was like, this almost feels like self sabotage. Like, why would you create this matchup? And to me, it’s not fair to Haley,” Carter added. “Like, anatomically, the height difference is something that is extremely difficult to overcome. And guarding Caitlin Clark, I’m gonna put it this way. You are in constant conflict with yourself when you’re guarding Caitlin Clark. You don’t want her to go right, because when she goes right, she gets to the rim and she gets fouled. So you want to force her left. But when she goes left, she can create space and pull up. So you’re in constant conflict with yourself. And then even the help side defense is in conflict, because when Caitlin gets past the first defender, do you want to flood to Caitlin? Because she’s such a great passer.

“The level of conflict that is internal for defenders guarding Caitlin Clark. I haven’t experienced it myself, but I’ve experienced things similar, and Caitlin Clark takes it to another level, because we just talked about her great she is. You’re constantly thinking. Do I want to force her left? But she likes to shoot when she goes left. I want to force her right. Well, she’s got the inside out. She can blow by me. It’s conflict. Then to put Hailey Van Lith in that situation? It’s not fair.”

Alas, LSU will be wrestling with what they could’ve done different all offseason, as Iowa is on to the Final Four after getting a measure of revenge on the Tigers.