How Kim Mulkey guides LSU's shift in focus entering Final Four

Kim Mulkey jogged up the stairs and onto the stage on Thursday afternoon’s media availability, quickly catching the room’s attention wearing a black cowboy hat. It clearly showed her excitement to be back in Texas and gave the room a nice ice-breaker.

“I was looking for some cowboy boots, but they didn’t have any,” Mulkey said, receiving a laugh from the media.

Kim Mulkey is full on Texas mode with the cowboy hat in the presser#LSU #WFinalFour @LSUwbkb pic.twitter.com/Xyr5I8SK1Z

— Chessa Bouche (@chessabouche) March 30, 2023

For the hall-of-fame coach, this is nothing new. It’s her fifth Final Four appearance in 19 years and she’s ready to enjoy it. She’s laid back, confident, and clearly energized reaching this stage in just her second season at LSU.

For her players, though, it’s a very different feeling. 

“I was just telling my teammates I don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’m actually in a Final Four,” star forward Angel Reese said. “It’s just like another game, another tournament. I’m actually in the Final Four. I don’t realize how big this is yet. We’re trying to keep our emotions down of course because this is a lot of our first time. Just trying to be focused. We’ve been really focused on scout these last four days, so just being able to do what we’ve been doing all year.”

The disciplined approach is something Mulkey has instilled throughout this run. The defense has been elite. The rebounding effort has been tenacious. As a result, the Tigers have managed to win despite shooting 4-of-25 from 3-point range in the last two rounds.

It’s not a perfect roster, but behind its veteran head coach, LSU is in the Final Four and has a chance at advancing to the program’s first national title game.

“I’m the only one in our locker room that has done this, but I’m not going to shoot, dribble, pass, guard any of them. So it’s not a matter of what I have done,” Mulkey said. “All I’m going to do is tweak a thing here or there throughout the course of the game, but it has nothing at all to do with coaching or how many times a coach has been somewhere.”

Senior forward LaDahzia Williams is the only player who has advanced past the Sweet 16 in her career, doing so as a bench player at South Carolina in 2018, reaching the Elite Eight.

Now, The Tigers take on a team that also is void of Final Four experience, but is significantly older than LSU entering this contest. The Tigers have a trio of seniors in Williams, Alexis Morris, and Jasmine Carson, but also rely on two freshmen and two third year players in their rotation.

Virginia Tech has nine seniors on its roster and an experienced junior point guard in Georgia Amoore leading the way. It’s a group that has stayed together for multiple years and has grown tighter and better with every passing season. Now, they pose a massive mountain for LSU to climb.

“I look at it this way. It may be [Virginia Tech’s] first time to be in this situation, but they’re all seniors,” Mulkey said. “It’s the first time for my group to be in this situation as well, and we’re not all seniors. So I think they have the edge on experience. They’re on a roll. They’re confident. They’ve been together a while now.”

The goals for LSU entering the tournament were modest. The “Win one more game than we did last year.” mantra felt safe for a team that only had two losses on the season. While it sounded too modest, Mulkey wasn’t trying to put a ceiling on this team. It seemed she was genuinely unsure of what they could accomplish.

Now, she finds herself singing in press conferences and having a great time back in Texas. The competitiveness will certainly show itself in the game – that much is a given, but in the days beforehand, perhaps Mulkey’s experience can help settle her team down as the group approaches the moment they’ve all dreamt of their entire lives.

For star guard Alexis Morris who wanted to have her final game in the Final Four, she spearheads the shift in approach as this team sees the finish line.

“When I saw Coach Mulkey coming down the stairs in her cowboy hat, I was like, man, I wanted to wear mine. I forgot to put it on,” Morris said with a laugh. “I’m just super excited. I’ve changed my goal [from earlier this season]. I’m in Dallas. Now I want to have my senior night on Sunday. 

“My focus has shifted. I know my team’s focus is the same as mine.”