THE MODERATOR: Our next coach is Kim Mulkey from LSU. We'll take questions.
Q. What's the next level for Flau'Jae?
KIM MULKEY: Leadership. I think Flau'Jae, she leads by what she does with her music. I think she's always been reluctant to be a leader of teammates because she wants them to like her. She never felt comfortable doing it because she always had the great older player in that locker room. Now you are that older player. You're the senior. You've been here. You know the ropes. So go lead your basketball team.
Q. I noticed in the open practice that ZaKiyah you have playing in the post. Why have her in that position? How has she adapted to it so far?
KIM MULKEY: She hasn't had to adapt. She has played that position before. She's a three/four. When I look at our roster, particularly on the perimeter of returning players, older players, I need to get her on the floor. The best way to do that is give her minutes at the four.
She's just taken off. She rebounds the ball unbelievably well for her size. I tell her every day, You remind me of an All-American that was your size at Baylor named Nina Davis.
She's just exploded going to the four at that size. So she'll get minutes there. Otherwise, if you had her just at the three, you got Mikaylah, Flau'Jae. I just thought let me give her a look right there because we don't have a returning post player.
Q. Mikaylah Williams, obviously we saw her take another step last year. Now she's a junior. What are your expectations for her even just being on scoring the basketball?
KIM MULKEY: I'm going to go back to the question about Flau'Jae. Mikaylah has to embrace being a leader as well. Being a leader for Mikaylah is not always when you have good games. I want you to be that leader when you're struggling, they see you lead them. It's a level of maturity that she has now.
I think all coaches baby kids when they first get to college. There's no more need to baby her, Flau'Jae. They're a rarity in college athletics. Flau'Jae is in her fourth year at LSU and Mikaylah is in her third. You're not going to hear that much anymore sadly.
I'm very appreciative of them playing at LSU. I don't want to ever take those kids for granted because they give us a lot.
Q. How do you balance MiLaysia's ability to be this incredible play-maker but ask her to stay within your system?
KIM MULKEY: You try to introduce her to the point guard position. Having played that position, and coached some of the greatest at that position, I know how hard it is. But if we can get her to a level of being comfortable there, then all the wonderful improvising that she does is going to still be there.
So you're trying to add to her game that if you're on that floor with Mikaylah and Flau'Jae, I can move Mikaylah to the point. I would love to see MiLaysia really do some things with the ball in her hands at the point. She's not had to do it at this level.
She's had bad days doing it, but she's had great days. If we can just get her to an even-keel level to where she's comfortable, I think those are three pretty special players on the perimeter.
She's been a joy to coach. I've never seen a kid smile so much. She's just happy.
Q. When you bring in some of these high-profile players, what are some of the things you discuss so they can embrace your program?
KIM MULKEY: After we sign 'em or as I'm trying to recruit 'em?
Q. A little bit of both.
KIM MULKEY: A little bit of both?
First of all, LSU, I'm sure most of you here are familiar, it's a brand when you step on that campus. I can't explain it to you. Their eyes are big and they're seeing all of this. Then within our program you let them see who I am by watching a practice. You let them talk with me and let them ask any question.
I find it real kind of humorous some of the questions they ask because it's stuff they've read on social media that's not true. When you tell them the truth, they go, Wow.
You better be careful, that stuff's not real.
I love those conversations because it allows them to get to see a side of me. I love young people being who they are, as long as it's healthy for the program. I have coached quite a few characters -- I don't mean 'characters' in the wrong way, I should say personalities -- throughout my career.
I like to get up and down the floor. I think our game is a game of entertainment. I think young people want to run. I think they want to get up and down the floor. I just got a knack for knowing what to do, when to say it, and they allow me to coach 'em.
I think I'm more funny than I am serious with them, but people don't know that on the outside.
Q. What's challenging about losing a player like Aneesah Morrow? Do you think you have enough to compensate for what she gave you on the glass?
KIM MULKEY: Well, if you think about it, losing Reese and losing Morrow, boy, you just have to think about the rebounds. I don't know right now if we're capable of having a player that can go do that by herself. So let's do it collectively.
I'm excited about our post play. We have five players that have never put on an LSU uniform. It's fun to watch them battle every day.
But when the lights come on and we start playing games, it will be real interesting to see who goes and gets those rebounds. It may be more of a collective effort than just one player.
Q. Last season we saw Kailyn Gilbert and Jada Richard give valuable minutes at different times. How much of that experience will pay off for you guys with the depth throughout the season?
KIM MULKEY: Jada Richard has impressed me so far. She is really the only true point guard that has learned the game at point guard from the time she was small. She got a taste last year of the frustrating freshman year. She has worked so hard throughout the summer.
I'm very high on Jada. The one thing Jada can do is she can shoot the ball, score the ball from the perimeter. She's got the personality that you got Flau'Jae over here, Mikaylah over here, you could go crazy as a point guard 'cause they're so good and they both want the ball.
Jada has the personality to say, Hey, I'm running this show. I like that.
K.G., she won a lot of ballgames for us late because she has an ability to take you off the dribble in one-on-one. But K.G. sometimes has to understand it's not a one-on-one situation, don't turn the ball over. Been playing K.G. a lot in our practices as a point guard, believe it or not. She wanted a shot at that. I don't know when we start the season if she'll get much opportunity. In practices she's really handling the ball some.
Q. You talked about obviously having three capable play-makers on the perimeter. Down the stretch of a close game, how do you want them to run the team? Who's the play-maker? Is that your call or your players make those decisions?
KIM MULKEY: Well, it depends. It depends on the situation. If we're coming out of a timeout, who I'm going to draw it up for, it could be. It could be Flau'Jae one game. Who is guarding her? What kind of game has she had to this point? It could be Mikaylah. Certainly it could be MiLaysia.
I don't know that we have just that one superstar player that's going to score all the points. I don't know that we've really ever had that. We've always had around four that average in double figures. We've had personalities that were big.
We're going to share the ball. Those are decisions that I'm sure I will have to make in tight games. It's also decisions that they will dictate. They will dictate that on the floor.
Q. You came to stage singing "Paint Me a Birmingham." Do you prefer the Tracy Lawrence version or the Ken Mellons version?
KIM MULKEY: I'm a country music person. I'm going to go with the original guy. That's more of a modern country, you know? I can get down and dirty with you with some old country that some of you guys in here won't even know who sang those songs.
We good?
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach, for your time.
KIM MULKEY: You're welcome.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports