Kim Mulkey "loves" LSU's underdog role vs. South Carolina

On Wednesday afternoon, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey gave her thoughts on her Tigers’ facing off with No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday night in the PMAC. The Hall of Fame head coach touched on the importance of the game, the fan fare, how her team is playing, and more in front of a packed room of reporters.

Here’s everything she said ahead of the blockbuster contest on ESPN.

Difference with this year’s South Carolina team…

“Obviously they lost a lot, but South Carolina just reloads. The players they have played their roles last year and they just bring the next man up. They do shoot the three ball. Paopao leads them in scoring, so you just have to hope they miss some of those because we have our hands full with Cardoso being as tall as she is. We don’t have anybody that can match that size.”

The fanfare around this game and staying focused…

“I don’t think it’s been a distraction at all. It’s been welcomed. It’s been exciting. We get in the film room, we talk, we show them things on the floor and we continue to work today. Our work is not done. Then tomorrow we put in the final things in our shootaround and things we do on the game of the day, but I don’t think fanfare is anything that affects my team. They’re used to big crowds, South Carolina is used to big crowds. When you’re looking at a lot of basketball history in this building tomorrow.”

On closing the gap with South Carolina…

“I don’t really look at it that way. I look at it as South Carolina has not been beaten. South Carolina is as good as they were last year with new players. No one has found the formula to beat them and we will try to upset them. We’re the underdog and I love underdog roles and I know it will be one heck of an atmosphere. It’s going to be good for us, it’s going to be good for South Carolina, and overall it’s going to be good for women’s basketball.”

South Carolina’s depth…

“You start with the five starters and then if they sub you have to rotate people on different matchups and certainly if you look at the two rosters, they seem to play a lot more players. If you really break it down, by this stage of the season, youre down to your main players and you can look on a statsheet who’s going to play unless they’re in foul trouble.”

How far do you think you’ll go into your bench tomorrow night?

“It depends on foul trouble. It depends on fatigue if they need a breather. I’m becoming more comfortable going eight deep, little by little. I have five timeouts I can use if we get fatigued. I don’t like to, but maybe I have to sometimes.”

Where are y’all defensively right now?

“We’re better, but we’re not anywhere near where we can get to. We’re better at helping each other, better at understanding when I need to help and recover and I always say it, that’s because we were all over the place in the non conference with different players out. We were never together for long periods of time and now that we have been, I’m seeing improvement. I still don’t like that we give up a lot of points, but we may be a team where I may need to be realistic and say that may just be our identity and who we are and I need to quit harping on that. [There are times] it’s just a good shot and we did good defensively.”

On the rivalry aspect of this game…

“Who is our rival? Back in the day it was Tulane. LSU and Tulane. With all the realignment, who is LSU’s rival? Is it A&M? I don’t know. I don’t look at it that way. I’ve played South Carolina when I was at Baylor. For the program, it would be a good thing, but it’s not going to be the end all. If we win, life goes on. If we lose, life goes on. There are bigger games down the road for South Carolina and for LSU. I view this game as a tremendous challenge and tremendous opportunity and it’s great for LSU. I’ve never had a College Gameday and I think that’s the coolest thing ever.”

Flau’Jae’s impact as a defensive stopper…

“I don’t think that’s her role. That’s been given to her because if you look at the three perimeter players she has the most experience in this system. She’s a different kind of player than Alexis is, but Flau’Jae is good with it. She gets frustrated at herself and what we have to realize, look at my perimeter: Freshman, sophomore, new player. Angel is older, but Morrow is a new player. I have to tell myself that sometimes and make sure I’m fair with Flau’Jae. She got a lot of minutes because we didn’t have depth and we were building the program. I have to make sure we don’t get frustrated with her defensively, because we don’t want her role to change. Flau’Jae has a joy about her when she plays and I want her to always maintain that joy.”

What does Gameday being at LSU mean?

“It sends a message to the LSU administration that you’re getting a return on your investment. The investment is hiring and paying a staff good, selling season tickets and selling out this arena, all that means a great deal. As an administrator, Scott needs to poke his chest out and say he’s doing right by females and doing right by this institution.”

Are there recruiting implications with this game?

“I can’t answer that for recruits, but we’re all battling with each other, South Carolina isn’t the only school we go against. In this business, you’re going to win some of those battles and you’re going to lose some. The crazy thing is you never know why a recruit chooses a school. Sometimes it’s close to home, sometimes it’s the players on the team, sometimes it’s being able to play quickly. Now, after being here for three years, it’s good to be a part of the conversation. Now, I don’t like just being in the top five. I don’t want to chase a wild goose, I want a legit shot at you. I think as we grow as a staff, I don’t care about numbers in front of kids’ names. There are so many overrated kids, then you watch those that don’t have a number in front of their names and they have great careers. I’m more into doing our homework, seeing who we like and let’s go after them and quickly eliminate those we don’t have a shot at. It could have an impact on recruiting, but I don’t leave a floor saying we need to win this game to get a recruit.”

What are you expecting from the LSU fans?

“I don’t know. I know they love us, so it’s probably going to be pretty loud. Students will be lined up. I don’t get to see it, really, I’m working. I’m proud we’ve sold out this arena long ago and I’m proud the tickets are hard to come by. I’m proud we’re relevant and defending national champions. I can check it all off the list, but yet you’re never satisfied. You don’t get to smell the roses until you retire. We can’t do what we do without fans. The fans had to embrace this staff and this program before we could sell it. They did it before we won the national championship.”

On Angel’s motivation going into this game…

“I’m sure she wants to do extremely well. If you win or lose, it’s motivation. There’s always motivation to win and each kid is different. Each kid is motivated by something different and it’s my job to give them all the information you can give them, but don’t overcoach. It’s just one game. It’s just one game. It’s a game with a lot of talent on the floor and I’ve always said this: In close games, I’m not out coaching Dawn and Dawn isn’t out coaching me. It’s going to be ballers out there making plays and that will be fun for all of us to see.”