Angel Reese, known as “Bayou Barbie,” is a former student of Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. She achieved McDonald’s All-American honors in 2020 and was ranked as the second-best player in her class by ESPN. Currently, Reese plays basketball in the Southeastern Conference as a member of the LSU Tigers.
Her significant contributions helped her team secure the national title last season, winning the admiration of Shaquille O’Neal. However, Reese and the LSU Tigers have faced criticism from fans after a disappointing start to the new season.
Angel Reese faces severe troll after LSU’s defeat
Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers had high hopes of a strong start in Las Vegas, but their game didn’t go as planned, leading to a frustrating loss on national television. The Tigers, preseason No. 1 after winning their first-ever national title last season and making significant offseason acquisitions, were soundly defeated by No. 20 Colorado, with a final score of 92-78.
Offensively, LSU put up a decent performance, with four players scoring in double figures. True freshman Mikaylah Williams led the team with 17 points. However, the team faced defensive struggles as Colorado managed to hit over 50% of its shots.
The disappointing loss was certainly not the way LSU had envisioned beginning their title defense. The fans who were astonished to see the victory stunned the social media mocking the defending champions after the loss with several tweets.
Fans call Reese out after the loss to Colorado.
The loss made LSU the first preseason No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll to lose their season opener since UConn fell to Louisiana Tech 83-81 in overtime in 1995.
Interestingly, LSU’s current head coach, Kim Mulkey, was an assistant coach for the Louisiana Tech team that secured the victory back then. Fans’ reaction won’t stop anytime soon as the loss came as a big surprise to the entire basketball community.
Reese’s ties with Shaq
Shaquille O’Neal, the new president of basketball operations at Reebok, and Allen Iverson, vice president of basketball operations, announced the signing of LSU basketball player Angel Reese to a multi-year name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal on Tuesday. This announcement signifies Reese as the first athlete to secure a major NIL deal under O’Neal’s new role.
Reese expressed her happiness, stating, “It means the world to me that they trust in me to extend their legacy to a new generation. Together, we have a great opportunity to do things differently, to inspire people to explore and express themselves unapologetically, and to show them how to look and feel good while doing it.”
Reebok’s NIL deal will feature “Angel’s Picks,” which is a personalized collection of products handpicked by Reese. She will also collaborate on the design and release of her collection. Shaq praised the deal, saying, “There is no one making a bigger impact on the game right now than Angel Reese.” The fans will hope to see Angel Reese reciprocating Shaq’s gesture and believe in achieving more on-court successes going forward.
