When Hailey Van Lith revealed her dad's dislike for 5x Grammy-winning rapper: "He makes me listen to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony"
TCU Horned Frogs senior Hailey Van Lith once revealed her dad's "hate" for 5x Grammy-winning rapper Drake. In a video posted on YouTube in November 2020, the two can be seen discussing the topic of rappers in general in a SLAM feature on Van Lith when she was still in high school in Cashmere, Washington.
"You know who he hates? Drake. It's a sin. He hates Drake." Van Lith told the camera. "Why do you hate Drake, dad?" Timestamp 2:23
Her dad responded by clarifying his stance on the rapper.
"I don't hate him. I don't care for his style of music. So when I say style, it's his tone in which he delivers his music. It's real monotone." Timestamp: 2:30
While her dad starts to list the kind of rappers he listened to as a high school kid (which included certified legends like 2-Pac, E-40, and Too Short), Hailey can be heard in the background yelling that he makes her listen to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
"He makes me listen to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony!" Timestamp: 3:03
Hailey Van Lith's dad recalls working with Kobe Bryant
Back in 2019, none other than the late NBA great Kobe Bryant reached out to Hailey and Corey Van Lith. Bryant wanted to meet with Hailey because he was impressed with her work ethic and wanted her to become a role model for his daughter Gianna.
According to Corey Van Lith, Bryant was also interested in learning about his relationship with Hailey as a trainer.
“He wanted to know how I made that work,” Corey said per the LA Times, “because he was going down that road with his daughter Gigi."
“He was one of the greatest basketball players of all time ... but he was always wanting to learn. His ego wasn’t too big to ask somebody like me, who is nobody in the basketball world, ‘Hey, how did you find success in getting your daughter to where she’s at?’ ”
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
As for Hailey Van Lith, she went on to become the starting point guard for Louisville in her freshman year of college, earning ACC All-Freshman Team honors and leading the team to the Elite Eight that year.
By her sophomore and junior years, she would earn first-team All-ACC selections. She took Louisville to the Final Four in 2022 and the Elite Eight in 2023.
After her junior season, the Cashmere High School graduate entered the transfer portal and joined Kim Mulkey and the reigning national champions LSU, for the 2023–24 season.
After earning her master's degree at LSU, she entered the transfer portal again in April 2024 and transferred to TCU for her final year.
At TCU, she's transforming the way she plays, posting a points-assists double-double for the first time in her career during the Frogs' 76-73 upset of No. 13 NC State on Nov. 17. She finished with 18 points and 10 assists.