The Money Game (2024) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[announcer] When the Prudential
Halftime Report continues,
you'll meet a man with a lot on his mind
LSU's sensational Shaquille O'Neal.
[applause]
[man] Give me your best.
Let me see your best.
- You all right?
- Yeah, I'm all right.
Is he a student? 'Cause I saw him
at the club the other night.
- [laughter]
- You all right? You okay?
Where is my mosh pit? ♪
It's actually really good to be back,
especially to see this gentleman here.
This gentleman was the one
who helped create the Shaq brand.
I owe this man everything.
Who's the man that can
jam over any man? ♪
Shaq ♪
When I first came to LSU,
I had a very bad stuttering problem,
and he used to make the students
get up in front of class and he'd be like,
"Shaq, want to speak?"
I'd be like, "Nope, I'll take the zero."
I'm sitting around at my office,
piling around,
and I get a knock at the door
and this nice, polite young kid
pokes his head in
and very humbly says,
"They tell me I might have a good career
when college is over,
and I wanna be a good speaker.
Would you mind helping me?"
How do you speak from the diaphragm?
Just have to take a breath and let it out.
You know, some people when they speak
from their throat,
they try to hold their breath and speak.
But if you let it out,
let it flow out your mouth, off your lips.
You can feel the vibration right here.
I would come back every day,
hours upon hours,
and I finally developed that confidence.
Ain't life grand?
This gentleman helped me create
the character known as Shaq.
Shaquille O'Neal, AKA Shaq!
Shaq.
[announcer] O'Neallook out!
[dramatic music plays]
[O'Neal] They saw
that I had a sense of humor,
so he was like, "You can use this."
Greetings, television viewers.
[laughter, applause]
I love it.
And you've been successful at that.
- I'm always laughing.
- Very successful. Thank you.
[laughter]
Right now, are there any student athletes
that come to mind
that you think are just killing it
at the NIL game?
Angel. Yeah, she's-yeah, she's killing it.
[woman] Mm-hmm.
When I purchased Reebok,
Angel was my first call,
and, you know, I did an NIL deal with her.
[Karam] I think the true test of NIL's
gonna be
how the fans accept it.
It won't take long for the fans
to turn on the university
if these athletes overdo the money
and the fame thing.
The more money they make,
they're gonna expect these athletes
to carry themselves
like professional athletes
carry themselves.
For real. So the more money you make,
they're gonna expect you
to have perfect games.
They'll expect you to be flawless.
[dramatic electronic music plays]
- [woman] Name, image, and likeness.
- [man] Name, image, and likeness.
NIL.
This ruling could, quite literally,
change everything.
Let's go!
[tiger roar]
[indistinct chatter]
[woman] What else?
This is the dressing room.
Uh, but yeah, you're our first of three,
hopefully, amazing women
that's going to be part of this campaign.
- [Reese] Hi.
- [women] Hey.
- [Reese] Hey, guys.
- So this is Whitney.
Whitney works at Beats.
She's our lead producer on the project.
[both] Nice to meet you.
So all of this is primarily gonna be
2D for a new product
that is releasing throughout the year.
[Whitney] And this is one look option
that we're thinking.
[woman] You'll pick one of these looks.
Go back. I liketwo more.
I like that a lot.
- We love that pop of color.
- Yeah.
And the black I thought was cool, too.
- Yeah. Yeah.
- [Reese] Don't even get Jeanine started.
Jeanine is the lady that leads it all.
Jeanine gets most of my deals.
[man] You mind giving me like a little
yeah.
- Yeah, I like this.
- That's cute.
I've been working with Angel
since the day NIL got started.
We are incredibly close.
- We're gonna have to get that kitchen.
- [laughter]
Jeanine, do you know where the kitchen is?
[Jeanine] What is a kitchen?
It's the nape of your hair.
[Jeanine] Why do they call it that?
- It's like a Black thing.
- [laughter]
So you need to go home to your husband
and tell him I know what a kitchen is.
We're trying to get Jeanine hip.
[Jeanine] Angel has not had a week, a day,
an hour off
since she won the national championship.
We're here with Beats, period.
I'm not doing a deal
just for three months.
I wanna work with these brands
for a lifetime.
And for the women's side,
stacking your money four years straight
is something that's gonna be helpful,
especially women
that may not go to the next level.
You kinda have to get how you get it.
[woman]
Gonna keep it as simple as possible today.
- Yep. Okay.
- I want you to just be yourself.
You're used to a lot of eyes on you,
but I do wanna try
and keep the world me and you.
- Yeah
- 'Cause there's gonna be a lotta
But I want you to feel good
about these too.
I got you.
[Jeanine] I would love to say
that I know the exact equation
as to why she blew up
into the way she did.
I just think it's because
she's so authentic and so herself,
and she shows the raw side of it
and people gravitate to that.
But you're always gonna get haters,
and you're always going to get people
saying things.
Unfortunately, we saw a lot of that
right after the 2023
national championship.
[announcer] Turn around for the MVP!
[reporter] The events in the waning
moments of LSU's victory
led to a national debate
on the rivalry, respect,
and the unapologetically competitive
nature of women's basketball.
My teammate Hailey, she was at Louisville.
She had played Iowa.
Caitlin had did something like this
or something like this,
and I was like, "Hailey, I got you."
Then it was like, this is gonna blow up.
This is going to blow up.
Then the next morning
you start seeing all the media coverage.
[reporter]
When does trash talking cross the line?
The media was like, how do you feel about
Angel going against Caitlin Clark?
Angel, Caitlin Clark,
Angel, Caitlin Clark.
Angelyou just see all the stuff
that they say about her on a daily basis
on Twitter and all of that,
like it's disgusting.
Why is she getting so much hate?
[notifications dinging]
I call her a classless piece of shit,
and off we go.
[notification sound]
[man] We see it two different ways.
When Caitlin Clark did this,
it was considered swag.
48 hours later, Angel Reese does
the exact same gestureit's classless.
It's funny how America,
society sees Black and white.
[Reese] The negativity
came from a lot of white men.
She was obnoxious.
They didn't like how a Black girl
"put down" another white woman.
We have trash talking
all the time in sports,
and they tried to make it
a white and Black thing
that was something
that it really wasn't at all.
If Caitlin had been a Black girl,
I don't think it would have been
the same response from the outside.
We've seen so many athletes
do this same exact thing.
[announcer] And Curry with
a little something to say afterwards
expressing himself.
[announcer 2] And I'm here for it.
I'm loving it.
This is the competitive spirit
and what you wanted to see.
Things have been going on
with men for years.
Now that women are doing it, it's like,
"Oh, my God, this is entertaining."
Controversy is controversy, good or bad.
Brands love to see the engagement.
I'm not sure if Angel Reese
meant to do this, but objectively,
I think what she did yesterday
was a brilliant marketing decision.
[Jeanine] You can't control the narrative,
but it's still eyeballs
at the end of the day.
And it's still followers
at the end of the day.
[interviewer] How bad did all the noise
surrounding this get for her?
We blocked it out pretty well.
[quiet music plays]
[Reese] I don't have
Instagram notifications on.
I don't have Twitter notifications on.
If I have a NIL thing I need to post,
post, get off.
[photographer]
Angel, if I tell you more attitude,
what is-what happens?
[chuckles]
And maybe like-like
if you're talking shit on the court
Does it make sense to, like,
a finger lickin' in this moment or no?
[Reese] Ha ha!
[photographer] Oops. I did my homework.
[Reese] I'm not able to live freely
and do what I wanna do
as I used to a year ago.
That's a blessing and a curse.
That's definitely something
I am thinking about, like
when do I want a normal life again,
and will it ever be normal?
Because my life may never,
ever be normal again.
[Alia] Um, you know, the girl I work with
in NILSU?
She gave me this planner,
and I kind of need to like
set up some stuff, uh,
so I'm not just like all over the place.
That's my checklist for today.
Finish editing, post by tonight,
and that'll be my first post.
I feel like this week
I just want to focus on As I Am.
Reebok is a question mark
because they haven't said anything back.
- They didn't reach out to you?
- No.
I DM'ed them on Instagram.
They still have yet to reach out
to me as well, so, uh
That's just a big question mark.
[mellow R&B plays]
[Evan] You just been doing
[both laugh]
- [Alia] So that's all I got so far.
- Mm-hmm.
I want to be me, like, and I'm weird,
and I like to be that.
Yeah, normal's boring, man.
[Evan] It is. Let me ask you this.
Like, you envision yourself
being like the biggest track athlete ever?
Who do you see yourself having, like,
deals with?
- New Balance. That's what I need to put.
- Alright.
When I go pro, that's who I wanna be with.
[Evan] Mm-hmm.
I love New Balance.
As an athlete, I've always been humble,
but I've never slept on myself.
Okay, uh
My goal is a million.
I know what I'm worth.
At least seven figures. At least.
No one in my life that I care about
and that I love would be struggling.
That's all I can say.
[Evan] Listen, none of that
is far off at all.
Okay, I guess.
No! No. No "I guess." Like
be confident in yourself.
- That's huge, though.
- So are you.
Look at what you about to do this year.
[Alia] My vision is I'm going to
make it out of regionals.
I will be a national champion,
and I'm going to make
the Olympic team, 100 percent.
I believe that.
But it's really,
really hard to have NIL as well,
because they also have deadlines.
I just want to set up so that way, like,
when I get to the meet, I don't worry
about cramming anything in.
I just don't really want to focus on NIL
while I'm at the track meet.
Any time I get on this topic,
I get overwhelmed, 'cause I just
like, I wanna have everything done.
But I gotta be realistic with myself.
[distant background voices]
[punchy music plays]
[Dunne] One thing that's
kind of crazy about gymnastics,
especially college gymnastics,
is that you don't know the lineups.
Like, you don't know
who's gonna be in, who's gonna be out,
until the night before the competition.
Either it can be very exciting,
sometimes quite disappointing.
But I knew that this year
I wanted to give it my all.
At the practice every day
I look around and I'm like,
everyone's so good.
Everyone that comes to LSU
were probably
one of the best gymnasts in their area.
So when everyone comes to LSU,
it's kind of like
a little bit of a competition.
You're kind of competing every day
in the gym.
A healthy competition, of course,
but it kind of pushes you to get better.
[cheers and applause]
- [man] 9, 9.5.
- [man 2] Yeah.
[woman] Come on, Liv!
[women] Go, Liv!
[women shouting encouragement]
- [man] That's amazing.
- Come on, Liv!
[man] That's amazing.
[man] Tight, tight, tight, tight, tight.
Good.
[woman] All right, Liv.
Hey, I can tell
you're still a little thinking about it.
- Just a little bit.
- Little bit.
Be patient. Keep your head in
and let the tap finish.
[Dunne] Yeah.
[man] All right, general thoughts
on the day.
Anything earth shattering change
from what we already thought?
I told Sierra to stop tumbling.
What was she struggling with, the ankle?
Yeah, but if Sierra comes out,
Liv is going first.
[woman] Right.
Who do I put on paper?
- Oh, Sierra.
- Okay.
[Clark] You still wanna leave her
in that spot right now?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
But you said they both been doing good
since the break, right?
Yeah. I told them if I call your name,
be ready to go in two to six.
You're gonna go in whoever's spot it is.
[Clark] LivI would just send her a text.
Say, I'ma warm you up on the side
because you may end up
depending on a couple of
- People out there
- scenarios, you may have to go in.
- All right. We're clear.
- Mm-hmm.
[Clark] We're in a good place.
You're prepared.
You're ready to start the season.
Tomorrow is not the NCAA championship.
Tomorrow is our starting point.
Let's be matter of fact and business-like.
We're just going in there
to get our baseline.
Ticket sales crossed over 11,000 today.
I'm expecting something
in the neighborhood of 12,000 people.
So you can get excited about that.
It's gonna be
it's gonna be loud and proud.
There's a lotta buzz about you guys
around here right now,
so embrace it, okay?
You guys look awesome. You're ready.
I want you confident. Attack it.
Just go in there and have a party.
It's our first party of many
tomorrow night.
[woman] Together, family.
[indistinct chant]
- [woman] And what?
- Together we win!
[notification sound]
[notification sound]
[thunder rumbling]
[moody music plays]
[Dunne] Last year, I was hurt,
and I kind of
felt like I missed out a little bit.
- Hi.
- [woman] Hello.
[Dunne] And I worked really hard
on the off season this year
to get where I wanted to be
for my last year of gymnastics.
My last first meet. That's crazy.
That's actually crazy to think about,
since I've been doing gymnastics
since I was three, but this is it.
I just feel like
each year that has come,
I've grown even closer to the team,
which is the best feeling.
- They're like my sisters.
- [women] Now look at me ♪
And this opportunity ♪
Is standing right in front of me ♪
But one thing I know,
it's only part luck and so ♪
I'm putting on my best show ♪
[Dunne] You have a whole team of people
that want you to do your best.
And the fact that I can just rely
and lean on my teammates
is like the best feeling.
[background chatter]
[T.I.] Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪
Bring 'em out, bring 'em out ♪
[announcer] Great to be back
in the sport's greatest venue.
Ladies and gentlemen,
it's time to take to your feet
and welcome your 2024 Fighting Tigers
of LSU!
[announcer 2]
They do have reason to be enthusiastic.
LSU is arguably the finest NCAA team
who has not yet won the national title.
Is this the year they get there?
[announcer 1] Out of Spring, Texas,
please welcome from Amari Drayton.
[cheers and applause]
Sierra Ballard.
Welcome Konnor McClain.
An All-American on the uneven bars,
and a former US national team member
from Hillsdale, New Jersey,
say hey to Olivia Dunne.
[announcer 2] The head coach
in his fourth season here,
but over 34 years coaching in the NCAA
and got that team through last year,
which was heroic in so many ways.
[announcer 1] It's go-time!
[Clark] In collegiate gymnastics, we have
four events, or four apparatuses.
Vault.
Bars.
Beam.
And floor.
There are six competitors on every event.
Five scores count. You drop the low.
Each event has a different set of criteria
in terms of what it takes
to have a 10-0 start value.
I like to say that it comes down
to handstands and landings,
and many times a meet is separated
by a 10th of a point,
or, in some cases less.
[announcer] But good for her!
[team cheering]
[announcer 2] This is as good as it gets
in the world.
- Oh!
- Boom!
- Yes!
- That was fabulous!
[announcer 1] Haleigh for the Tigers!
[Clark] The team with the fewest
deductions is the team that wins.
I've seen championships decided by
by less than a quarter of a 10th before.
[announcer] LSU Tigers, who have a lead
by one quarter of a point
after the first of four rotations.
Go, Sierra!
Let's go!
[Dunne] My sister sits in the same seat
at every meet
and screams her head off.
Even this year my coaches were like,
we better see Julz in that seat.
[laughing]
And I'm like, she'll be there.
Yes! Let's go!
[cheering]
Let's go!
[announcer] Her warm-up was so good.
Watch the shape in the air.
- Oh!
- Oh, darn.
[announcer 2] And that lead
is getting a little bit tighter.
[announcer 1]
LSU goes to floor. They're behind.
That's not something they've ever felt.
They need to show themselves
they've got that grit.
[Dunne] Right before I compete,
I just breathe.
My last thought is always,
this would be pretty badass
if I hit this right now.
[announcer] And next,
the floor from LSU
Olivia Dunne.
Let's go!
Let's go, Liv!
Come on!
[Dunne] I kinda learned in college
that it's more about the preparation.
Your body should just go on autopilot.
[serious music plays]
[announcer] Beautiful elevation
on those moves,
and a very difficult second leap.
Yes! Let's go!
[announcer] Those of you who are watching
and saying,
I've heard that name, Olivia Dunne
well, she has 15 million followers
on social media.
She is the number one earning
NIL athlete
for all female athletes in college.
[announcer 1] And she does gymnastics.
Let's go!
[announcer 1] Watch this finish.
[cheers and applause]
Let's go, Liv! Yeah!
[announcer] And a smile
that lights up the arena.
She's still got so much flexibility.
That is really the highlight
of her performance.
So flexible.
[announcer 2] Boy, every 10th of a point
is going to matter.
And enormous pressure
for Ohio State on the beam.
- [announcer 1] Oh!
- Oh, boy.
[announcer 1] Oh, boy.
[announcer 2] Oh
[tense string music plays]
[cheers and applause]
[announcer 2] Jojo Warga.
[announcer 1]
Not gonna finish the routine.
[announcer 2] LSU gets the win
in their home opener.
What a great way to start the NCAA season.
[Dunne] We won. It was a little closer
than it should have been.
I know that we had some hiccups
here and there.
Just getting out the nerves,
kind of seeing what it's like
to be in the competition
environment again.
[indistinct singing]
L-S-U!
But we got the dub,
so that's all that matters.
[playing end chords]
[notification sounds]
[Young] What's going on, bro?
You already know. The usual.
Yes, sir. Little extra, man. You know it.
- Trace. How we doing?
- Mr. Charlie.
- What's going on, man?
- Good to see you.
- [Trace] How you doing?
- Loving life.
- Doing good, man?
- Loving life.
- How's, uh, how's the poke?
- Oh, phenomenal.
[Charlie] We can still
work on that Trace Bowl for you.
- Absolutely.
- We need to. We need to lock it in.
We're gonna come in.
You're gonna create everything on it.
You're going to build it your own,
every every ingredient that you like,
and it's going to be the Trace Bowl.
That's the nameTrace Bowl?
Okay, I like that.
It's gonna have to be this right here.
This is the go-to.
Let's do it.
[Trace] When NIL first dropped,
I think businesses got really excited
because they were like, "Okay,
we gotta be the first to get on this."
So I had people reaching out to me.
That's when I started.
I put together an email,
I started doing research
on how to reach out to companies
and be official and be marketable.
So I would just start emailing.
"My name is Trace Young.
I've gone to your restaurant
by campus a few times
and loved the food and atmosphere.
I've had an opportunity to grow
my social followings
to over 100,000 followers on Instagram
and over 200,000 followers
on TikTok as well.
I was wondering if y'all would be open
to a potential NIL collaboration.
Let me know if you're interested.
I did something similar at my last school
with a Smoothie Bowl restaurant
and generated a lot of new customers
for them.
Excited to hear back. Thank you."
He asked me. He kinda put it in my court.
He was like, "What are you thinking
in terms of this stuff?"
And I was like,
"I just want some free food, man.
I'm in college. Trying to get some food."
So, uh, I told him I was like,
"I probably won't spend more than
like, 500, 600 bucks a month."
It sounds like a lot,
but I'd take my teammates there,
I'd take the gymnastic girls there,
like whatever.
And I just post on my story twice a month.
Recently I worked with, like, Snickers,
Nerf, Mercedes.
You know, some of these larger brands.
My going rates
my agents usually send me is
10 to $20,000.
I'm like, dang, I just had to do
a couple different posts,
and I just got a G-wagon.
That's just two posts.
It's a crazy day and age now
when you can look at things in that way.
But it's probably nothing like
Angel and Livvy.
- What's going on?
- [man] What's up brother?
How y'all doing?
Trace. Nice to meet you.
Appreciate ya.
One thing that my agent said
would help my brand grow
me modeling.
You guys let me know
if I'm being awkward or something.
I'm better behind the camera.
I'm better behind the camera
than in front of it.
That's one of those things
that kinda helps you grow
from like an influencer
to like a almost like an icon.
[photographer] Not even edited yet,
and I'm obsessed.
Look that way again.
[Trace] Once I'm done playing
basketball in these couple a years,
I'm gonna be done
and let it go and move on.
So I want to make sure
that I take full advantage
of NIL and like making my own brand
and also use any of those benefits
that I can
to set myself up
for after college as well.
All right, look right here.
[Trace] Supposed to graduate this year,
but when I transferred here,
a bunch of my credits did not transfer.
So now I graduate next year.
I think I would still stay regardless
just because it would be like
a good financial decision,
which is crazy because it's like
I'm not on a full scholarship.
So it's like
how would it be a good
financial decision
to stay in college
if you're paying for college?
But it's like the platform I'm building
and everything that's going on
with being an athlete here
NIL money makes up for it and more, so
You're the man. Appreciate you.
Hey, the first of many.
- [water running]
- [soft pop music plays]
[Alia] Alexa, play "You Will Win."
Yes, Jesus. It's my day.
You will win ♪
Hey, yeah ♪
Lay your hands on yourself
and say this ♪
It's my winning season ♪
It's my winning season ♪
Speak to your season ♪
It's my winning season ♪
Prophesy to your season ♪
So today's my season opener
of my last collegiate season.
I'm so excited.
Lay hands on your money ♪
But I put a lot of pressure on myself.
[dramatic music throughout]
Knowing that I have these opportunities
means a lot.
Like it holds a lot of weight.
When I was younger, in elementary school,
I always felt like I was different
from everybody else,
not in a cocky way,
but I felt like I didn't have
a lot of friends.
But I kinda realized
you're cut from a different cloth,
and I found my own way to stand out.
Rhinestones are sparkly.
They're shiny.
The whole concept of
you're not like anyone else
no one does this,
so I found my own groove.
For every single meet that I run in
I say, "No one's gonna be in front of you.
No one's gonna be next to you.
They're just gonna be behind you."
And that's how confident I am in myself.
That's just what God instilled in me.
That's what my mom instilled in me
from day one,
'cause, also, she's a hurdler, too
in the past.
Growing up, my mom ran track
at Mississippi State.
She was supposed to go to the Olympics,
and then she got pregnant with my sister.
For a long time,
my mom was in a single parent household.
We were struggling really bad.
It was a situation where she was
like kind of eating our scraps.
She wasn't really eating much.
She wanted to make sure that we were okay,
we were good, we were eating well,
but she wasn't really okay.
Like, she sacrificed so much.
I think that's why I run the way I do.
Because she knows what it takes
to be the best.
[percussive music plays]
Let's go, baby.
Well, you know me.
I'm the biggest cheerleader anyway.
So I take your space.
When you ain't there, I still be cheering.
Let's go, Li Li.
[softly] Yeah!
[laughing]
"No weapon formed against us
shall prosper."
In the name of Jesus,
we thank you for this opportunity.
Lord God, you said you'd bring us to it,
you'll bring us through it.
And guess what God? We're going through
the door that you just opened.
Amen. Let's go!
[announcer] Lane five, Alia Armstrong,
LSU,
six time All-American NCAA champion.
On your marks.
[Alicia] Let's go, Li Li!
[tense string music plays]
[announcer] Set.
- [start gun pops]
- [Alicia] Get out!
Get out! Let's go!
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
What!
[announcer] Alia Armstrong
the heat winner.
8.10.
Fifth and final heat,
the women's 60-meter hurdles.
Out the gate!
[announcer] Lane six, Vanessa Balde
from Northwestern State
19.6 and a half.
[Alicia] Go to the trainer.
Go to the trainer.
[announcer] 17.6.
Let me give you all a update.
She gone to the trainer with her back.
I don't know what's going on.
I didn't see her twist anything,
but she grabbed her back.
- [trainer] Tell me what happened.
- So I'm not used to race distance.
So I was reaching, but like when I went
to step and go over the hurdle,
I overextended my back.
- Any problem with that?
- A little.
Okay, go on your belly for me.
- That's great.
- Good?
Feels good. Thank you.
Yes, ma'am.
Rest a little bit, then let's go get them.
Okay.
Don't want my baby to get hurt.
Dang it. That sucks.
Mama was a little worried,
but you know what, I wasn't worried.
I was worried, but I wasn't worried.
I knew it was a That's why I was like
I was worried, but I wasn't.
- I been moving it.
- Just gotta like just gotta
If you just do like this, look.
If you just twerk it and work it
and just yeah.
And just
[both laughing]
- Mama, love you.
- Okay. I love you too.
- Go get 'em, tiger.
- Okay.
[Alicia] I know you're good.
Yeah, I know you feel good.
When that gun popgame changer.
Game over.
[Alia] I say,
"Alia, you're ready for this."
Whatever you visualize,
whatever you told yourself
before this race, it's gonna happen.
This is your race. I feel it.
This is the one.
I get in the blocks.
I put my hands down and I look forward,
and I visualize myself in the race.
I take a deep breath.
Set.
I let go and I let God.
[smooth music playing throughout]
I know it's God.
There's nothing more than
that feeling like it's God for sure.
[Alicia] Get out!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
Let's go! Let's go!
Let's go!
[announcer] Alia Armstrong
your champion, 8.05.
[Alicia] Just the beginning, Lord.
Just the beginning.
One down, a season to go.
Ooh, I'm so proud of you.
Yeah, you can sleep with that tonight.
[voice fades]
[radio static, voices]
[announcer] The following
is an exclusive presentation
of the LSU Sports Radio Network.
[announcer] Live from
Maravich Assembly Center
in Baton Rouge, it's LSU,
women's basketball action
here on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
Tigers coming off of a tough season
opening loss in Las Vegas to Colorado.
[Reese] First game, Coach kept telling us
y'all number one. That don't mean nothing.
Y'all number one. That don't mean nothing.
Y'all number one. That don't mean nothing.
Colorado will beat y'all.
They will beat y'all.
They will beat y'all.
They will beat y'all.
We were like, tch,
no, they not gonna beat us.
[announcer] Hailey Van Lith!
[Reese] That was a humbling point for us,
because we don't wanna be
looking like that in March.
[announcer] At forward,
the 6'3" junior from Baltimore, Maryland,
number 10,
Angel Reese!
[Reese] Me and Flau'Jae
were the only two starters from last year,
so of course she's gonna
look at both of us first.
Me first, of course,
'cause I'm a leader on this team.
She considers me aswe go as I go.
[announcer] LSU is gonna hit the boards.
Gotta box out, look to transition,
and just get better
against this Kent State team.
[announcer] We are set to go.
LSU with the first possession,
and Reese on the floor at the opening tip.
- Reese will take a 3.
- [announcer 2] Reese might not be
the first person
you want to take a 3-point shot.
Aalyah! Angel!
[announcer 1] Maybe a little early
to be taking a 3,
because right after the dead ball,
Reese goes to the bench.
[announcer 2] I think they'll bring her
over to the bench and say, hey,
we're gonna make intentional shots,
take good shots, play good defense.
[announcer 1] Williams goes baseline,
hangs in the air,
and eases another one in.
[notification sounds]
Johnson steals it.
On her way to the rim,
lays it up and scores.
Last year, we just had people
who just wanted to win.
We just had dogs, you know what I mean?
We had a lot of leadership on that team.
I think this year
that's kind of what we're lacking.
[announcer 1] In case you're wondering
where's Angel Reese?
She got pulled by Head Coach Kim Mulkey
and now sitting on the end of the bench
with her jacket on.
So I think a point is being made.
[notification sounds]
[announcer 1] LSU wins it 109 to 79.
-That lineup was something else.
- [announcer 2] That was amazing.
[reporter] Angel didn't play
in the second half. No Kateri today.
Is therejust like your lineup
and the way they matched up?
Yeah.
Could you expand a little more
on why Poole didn't play
and why Reese didn't play
in the second half?
Yeah, I could, but I won't.
Just a coach's decision.
[interviewer] Why did you get benched?
Yeah, that was Coach's decision
to sit me the rest of the half.
Yeah.
Thank y'all.
[man] LSU. Kim Mulkey. Angel Reese.
What in the hell is going on?
[woman] Angel Reese, she was benched,
and she ain't been
back on the court since.
They should have listened to me
and made a reality TV show
about LSU women's basketball this year,
because what's going on
down in Baton Rouge right now
is what they would call in the Biz,
good television.
[notification sounds]
[announcer] And if you're wondering,
Angel Reese is not active tonight.
That is all we know.
Though she was benched
earlier in the week.
[reporter] First of all, any reasons to
explain why Angel wasn't here tonight?
You want me to explain why?
It's very obvious.
Angel was not in uniform.
Angel is a part of this basketball team,
and we hope we see her sooner than later.
Ron?
[reporter]
Does that mean it was her decision?
I'm not I'm not gonna answer any more.
That's it. That's all y'all need to know.
Okay?
[reporter] Allergy problem?
I ain't a sissy. I don't have allergies.
I got some kind of cold.
It might be COVID, but I ain't testing.
[laughter]
[man] Angel Reese? I don't know.
Sure seems like Kim Mulkey
is allowing speculation to go crazy.
[woman] There's a ton of rumors
coming out of Baton Rouge.
Among them, Angel Reese has been suspended
because she's failing her classes.
[woman] Angel is now being
spun a narrative
between her grades,
between her personal endorsements.
You know, ill.
[woman] Yet another rumor,
and maybe the most likely
NIL has divided the locker room.
[man] Look at me. What about me
would make you think that I care
about your opinion of me?
Your opinion of me is not the opinion
that I have of myself.
You ain't make me, so you can't break me.
[notification sound]
[chill electronic music plays]