Hailey Van Lith seems to take a subtle jab at Kim Mulkey’s LSU after revealing how TCU imitates Spurs: “Just the tip of the iceberg”

Hailey Van Lith had a career night against Idaho State after she dropped 27 points to lead TCU past the Bengals in a dominant 86-46 win. After some adversity during her tenure at LSU, the 5-foot-6 TCU guard finally seems to be playing her best basketball with her new team and has also hit 10 assists for the first time in her career.

The former LSU guard spoke about various aspects of her game in the post-game press conference. When asked about how her team is looking to improve defensively, she responded:

"I think we're fun to watch because we almost play like a Spurs-style offense. Like the ball doesn't stick, everyone feels free to shoot, to score, to put pressure on the defense." (14:33)

Following the reference to Spurs as their inspiration of sorts, Hailey Van Lith seemed to take a subtle jab at her former teams, Louisville and LSU:

"Me and Maddie obviously are extremely skilled offensively but we don't have to force anything. So if you're taking away tough shots that normally, like on her team last year, on my previous teams like I've had to force tough shots because I haven't had the luxury of of such talented supporting cast.

"Like our percentages are going to go up because we're playing with other talented players. I really enjoy playing in this offense. I enjoy playing with Maddie with Sedona. So I mean this is just the tip of the iceberg and I'm excited to see how we continue to improve.”

How Hailey Van Lith's TCU follow Gregg Popovich's Spurs template

Hailey Van Lith envisions her team to not be a one-woman engine. The best style of basketball to emulate for team play is the Spurs' offense during their dynasty run. Gregg Popovich to this day doesn't let his offense run only through one player. Despite having Victor Wembanyama on the team, Popovich still follows his conventional style of basketball.

It is clear to see how TCU is inspired by the Spurs' style of offense, especially when you look at some of San Antonio's play:

After LSU's disappointing exit in last year's Final Four vs Iowa, Hailey Van Lith received a lot of criticism. However, Kim Mulkey took most of the brunt from the fans' perspective for misusing Van Lith's talents, even to this day. While she had talented teammates like Angel Reese and Flau'Jae Johnson on her LSU team, Van Lith was arguably the. 1 option in Louisville with no big names on that roster.

Kim Mulkey speaks to Hailey Van Lith on the sidelines [NCAA Womens Basketball: Louisiana State at Southeastern Louisiana - Source: Imagn]

While Hailey Van Lith may not have directly named LSU or Louisville in her comments, her performance on the court shows she is flourishing with her new program.

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