“Mom had to take [the hoop] down”: $1.8M NIL-valued Angel Reese opens up about her competitive fire since childhood that led to a national title

Angel Reese, Angel Webb Reese, Julian Reese

LSU women`s hoops star Angel Reese is on a quest for her second straight national title this year, and she credits her immense competitive fire to her childhood.

Speaking to ESPN`s Katie Barnes, Reese mentioned how growing up in Baltimore made her. She started with intense one-on-one matchups against her brother, Julian, now a 6-foot-9 forward at Maryland. These matchups would get so intense, that her mother had to intervene.

“My mom had to take [the hoop] down because me and him used to literally go at it and kill each other.”

Angel then adds that she used to play a lot with Julian and other boys, and how competitive she was even early on:

“I played with the boys and my brother.”I used to win all the time. And I used to trash talk. They hated it.”

Julian himself chimes in:

“[It] just got a little too much for my mom. She didn’t really like it.”

However, their mother, Angel Webb Reese, was still the sibling’s coach early on. She played college ball in her younger years at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Basketball would continue to be a big part of Angel and Julian`s lives, with Angel eventually playing in a coed youth league at the local rec center. She would also get her reps in at various pickup games around the neighborhood–and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now the leading scorer of a defending champion squad, Reese has led LSU into the Sweet Sixteen with an 83-56 victory over No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee. They now await the outcome of the Bluejays versus Bruins matchup between No. 7 seed Creighton and No. 2 seed UCLA

Who is the biggest threat to LSU women`s basketball?

There isn’t just one threat to Angel Reese and LSU`s chances of winning back-to-back titles this year. That`s because UConn, last year’s runner-ups Iowa, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks remain–arguably the three other best teams in the nation.

UConn is coming off an 86-64 victory over Jackson State. The Lady Huskies are facing No. 6 seed Syracuse next. Despite UConn’s historical dominance with a 39-13 lead in their all-time series against Syracuse (source: UConnHuskies.com), the seeding matchup might present a closer contest.

Iowa, on the other hand, easily defeated No. 16 seed Holy Cross, 91-65. Caitlin Clark nearly achieved a triple-double with 27 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists. Meanwhile, South Carolina beat UNC 88-41 to secure their spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

Angel Reese and LSU will have to go through an absolute gauntlet for a chance at winning that back-to-back.