LSU signee Mikaylah Williams shines at Nike Hoop Summit

Coming out of halftime with only two points, it seemed Mikaylah Williams was intent on leaving her mark in the second half of the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit game on Saturday night in Portland, Oregon.

Williams, the No. 2 ranked player in the 2023 class, did not disappoint, quickly catching fire. Williams began sinking 3-pointers in succession, ending the game 6-of-7 from deep with 22 points in 24 minutes. The barrage of 3-pointers helped Team USA pull away for the 100-79 win and Williams ended the game as the leading scorer, further proving herself as a can’t-miss prospect.

“I’ve built lifelong friends and memories and it’s great to go out on top,” Williams said. ““It’s truly a blessing to play with the best girls in the country. We’ve gotten closer and built relationships that we will have for a lifetime. We will see each other in college and hopefully play with each other on the USA team.

“The women’s game is growing now, so it’s a great feeling to be a part of that.”

This was the inaugural women’s game in the Nike Hoop Summit event, after 25 years of highlighting the best boys basketball players in the world.

After the game, Williams was asked about LSU and her face lit up. The 6-foot-1 wing from Bossier City, Louisiana knows she’s heading to Baton Rouge with the goal of winning a championship.

Her skillset

This was another reminder to the basketball world that LSU is about to reload this offseason. Plenty has been made about the transfer portal – and rightfully so, but Williams will be an immediate impact player.

The 3-point shot is elite. She very well could have been the best shooter on LSU’s team last year. The consistency in the release is the same even when there’s a strong closeout. She will step onto campus at LSU and immediately be a lethal 3-point shooter. We know she has the ability to create her own shot, but as a freshman she’ll be able to work off ball and provide spacing that LSU needs. The 3-point shooting was what everyone got to see on Saturday and it will get her on the court early at LSU.

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The rebounding is another quality trait as she ended the game with five. We saw Flau’Jae Johnson really excel on defense and rebounding on the wing as a freshman and Williams is even stronger and comes in at 6-foot-1 with great awareness.

The question many have is ‘Will she start?’ and I can’t answer that knowing LSU will get some high-level players in the transfer portal and knowing Flau’Jae Johnson and Kateri Poole will return as starters on a championship team. I do believe Williams will be a key player on next year’s team, though. There’s too much versatility to not get her on the court. There’s no rush like there was with Johnson, who LSU needed to be a starter last year. Mulkey can ease Williams in a bit more.

After back-to-back great showings in the McDonald’s All-American game and now the Hoop Summit event, Williams and Aalyah Del Rosario have solidified themselves as elite prospects before coming to LSU. Now, the expectation is for this 2023 class of Williams, Del Rosario, Angelica Velez, and Janae Kent is to be the breakthrough class Mulkey needs to have the long-term success she aspires for at LSU.