"I actually went to all five Final Fours," Guitreau said. Rick Pitino did it at Kentucky and Louisville, but his 2013 title with the Cardinals was vacated after NCAA rules violations. If Mulkey leads LSU to an NCAA title, it would be historic: No head coach in Division I women's or men's basketball history owns NCAA titles at two different schools. But the Tigers, who lost in the national semifinals each time, haven't played in the NCAA tournament since 2018, and haven't won a game in the tournament since 2014. "We know she needs time, but we believe she's going to take us places we haven't been in a while."īehind stars Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles, LSU went to five consecutive Final Fours from 2004-08. "It was like Christmas," LSU fan Patti Scurlock said of Mulkey taking the job. "I said, 'We can't afford not to have her.'" "Other people were saying, 'We can't afford her,' Guitreau said. When news broke in April that then-LSU coach Nikki Fargas was leaving, Mulkey immediately came to mind. LSU fan Janice Guitreau, who is one of 165 at the luncheon, recalls watching Mulkey play in high school over 40 years ago. Clad in LSU purple and Tiger-striped blouses, these boosters are well-versed in their new coach's history and eager for the Kim Mulkey era to begin. LSU has sold a program-record 4,502 season tickets in Mulkey's first year. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS before the season opener, giddy fans fill a ballroom at a local hotel. No one saw this coming, myself included." "You have to keep feeding that success monster, and I didn't have a problem with that. "Or if it was, 'Well, maybe they do just want me out the door. ![]() ![]() "I don't know if didn't think I would really do it," she said of the decision to leave. But LSU also told Mulkey very clearly that it needed her. Louisiana is her home, and that draw was strong. It's less ego than competitive survival instinct. "It was something I was always preaching," she said, to players, staff and fans after every Baylor milestone.Īnd if you sift through all the reasons she had to stay at Baylor or move to LSU, it might come down to exactly that: She didn't want to be taken for granted. Don't assume a victory, that people will fill the stands, that a second title will follow a first. A history that includes controversial episodes from her 21-year tenure at Baylor, a place where Mulkey ultimately parted ways with an administration she isn't sure wanted her to stay. LSU is banking on Mulkey's background and potential, despite the history that comes with it. "I know what I've taken on," Mulkey said. It's a homecoming with high expectations: Mulkey doesn't want to just turn around LSU, she wants to turn the Tigers into a national champion. The 59-year-old Naismith Hall of Famer left a perpetual Final Four powerhouse she built from the ground up in Waco, Texas, and returned 50 miles from her childhood home to take over a program that has fallen into a middle-of-the-pack malaise. Mulkey is at the ultimate career crossroads. On or off court, the coach's authenticity is both her superpower and Achilles' heel, winning over recruits and fans, and sparking controversy with a bluntness that is as synonymous with Mulkey as the three national titles she won at Baylor. Grandma Mulkey - known as "Yaya" to Kannon and Sage - is at this moment a far cry from the fiery figure on the sidelines, blazing eyes and tortured-looking facial expressions often immortalized on camera. Mulkey's son, Kramer Robertson, comes and goes, along with friends and staff members. Outside on the front lawn, her daughter, Makenzie Fuller, and 3-year-old grandson, Kannon, toss a football in the afternoon sunlight. Sage, her 4-month-old granddaughter, is the priority, sleeping soundly on Mulkey's chest. ![]() The volume is nearly muted, like Mulkey's cellphone, which buzzes with congratulatory texts. It's opening day of the college basketball season. Mulkey glances at the television, where two top-10 women's teams are playing. And just hours ago, she won her first game at LSU.Ī half-eaten pizza and a newspaper are scattered on a white kitchen countertop nearby, fresh-baked cookies sit next to the stove. She has relocated from Baylor to Baton Rouge in one of the biggest coaching moves in women's basketball history. It's early November, and Kim Mulkey is reclining on a white sofa in her new house. Women's College Basketball, LSU Tigers, Baylor Bears, Louisiana Tech Lady TechstersīATON ROUGE, La. ![]() Kim Mulkey's crossroads: Her Baylor past, her LSU present and why she's not apologizing for any of it You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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