Reese’s inner-little girl fueling rookie season
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is one of only four players - and the only rookie in the WNBA - averaging a double-double this season with 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
By W.G. RAMIREZ
LAS VEGAS -- Angel Reese was two years old when Diana Taurasi made her Olympic debut in 2004.
When Taurasi won gold for a second time in 2008 - alongside Sylvia Fowles, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and Tina Thompson, to name a few - a young six-year-old Reese had begun fueling her passion for basketball.
The story of how that little girl grew into one of the biggest names in the sport is no secret at this point, right?
Now, as one of the most riveting figures in the WNBA, the league's second-leading rebounder has become just as much of a darling in the eyes of basketball fans as anyone else.
And one thing remains from all those years of admiring those aforementioned Olympic and WNBA legends.
"Yeah, the little girl in me is still proud in moments," Reese told WGRamirez.com when the Chicago Sky visited Las Vegas earlier this month.
You can find the little girl soaking up being a professional basketball player as she excitedly displays her outfit of the day on TikTok hours before every tip-off, or when she emits the same "Chi Barbie" vibes she introduced at the WNBA draft on April 15, or as she's flashed her trademark smile after answering damn-near every question thrown her way regardless of overtone.
She's also not ashamed to say there are times she gets emotional and sheds a tear or two, like when she's told she's broken a rookie record or been honored as an All-Star.
Through it all, she's taking it in stride much more like a seasoned veteran than the rookie who's finally enjoying an extended break from the court for the first time since early November, when she started her senior season at LSU, and will head into the second half of the campaign with a strong case for Rookie of the Year.
"I'm still, like, just trying to enjoy the moment," said Reese, who leads all rookies with 11.9 rebounds per game, "because I am only 22."
ENERGIZER BARBIE
Though she spent the early part of the season answering far too many questions about another rookie enjoying a deserved spotlight of her own, Reese was always consistent with that infectious smile and her answers.
“I'm gonna have my teammates back through anything,” Angel Reese.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
Whether it’s been Chicago coach Teresa Weatherspoon or her Sky teammates, Reese said the endless energy and love she received from day one at training camp made her transition easier.
Not that Reese needed an injection of confidence roughly a month after her very decorated college career ended. Let's be clear, Reese was just as ready for the WNBA as the league was prepared for her.
Conversely speaking, Reese's vibe was felt by her teammates during the pre-Olympic portion of the schedule, something she promised them from the team's first bonding dinner.
"They were asking what (to) expect from each player and I was like, 'I'm gonna bring energy every day. Imma talk a little bit of trash in practice, but I'm gonna have my teammates back through anything,'" said Reese, one of only four players in the WNBA averaging a double-double. "And they know that I'm gonna go hard for them. I don't want them to ever think that I'm not going to go hard for them every single day.
"So, the expectation has been set. And obviously, I make sure I don't let my teammates down."
She hasn't.
Just ask the person she's bonded with tremendously and whom she strolled up to before the Sky upset the Aces on July 16, telling her: "Show me that you want it tonight."
"She's bringing a lot of energy," said Chennedy Carter, who scored a season-high 34 points to answer Reese's challenge. "She's just that player that we know is going to fight night in and night out, and we need that.
"She's gritty. She's just an incredible player, man. It's so many things that people are just witnessing and being able to see and I hope in the second half we get to show you a little bit more what Chicago Sky is all about."
Former Sky guard and six-year veteran Marina Mabrey, whose trade request was granted when she was dealt to Connecticut a day after the Sky beat the Aces, credited Reese's fun-loving personality toward the Sky's growth and chemistry immediately after the win in Las Vegas.
"She comes out and she's always having fun, she's kind of contagious, her energy and stuff," Mabrey said. "So just being her teammate and watching her grow has been something that I'm really proud of. And honestly, if we as vets can be of any help to her along the way, like we try to kind of guide her, but let her be her own person."
Most importantly, she's made Weatherspoon's coaching debut a pleasure, bringing essentials to the court since camp in both practices and games, things you cannot coach.
"She makes it easy," Weatherspoon said. "She's a leader as well. She's been in a lot of these types of atmospheres, hostile environments, all the eyes on you ... so that's rather simple for her.
"But the work that she puts in is not something that you have to ask for. The work that she steps between the four lines on gameday, you don't have to ask. You know exactly what you're gonna get from Angel when she steps between those four lines. And it's just been a joy to be able to coach her, to get to know her as a person and what's important to her and what is her ‘why.’ It's been great to be able to push her to that ‘why’ all the time, knowing that she accepts the push."
COMPETITIVE BARBIE
During her maturation process and transition from college to pro, Reese has maintained the competitive nature some people and others have been turned off from, despite many other players owning their in-game antagonistic behavior that is nothing more than playin' ball.
Angel Reese has 17 double-doubles in 24 games.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
"Angel is somebody that works hard no matter what it's looking like, and I told her as one of her teammates and one of the closest people to her on his team, 'No matter what I got your back. Miss or make, you're a special player, you're a talented player and people don't see basketball the way I see it. So keep going and I have your back,'" Carter said.
Reese's competitive fire was burning in Las Vegas after a rough first half that saw her shoot just 1 of 5 from the floor, but still produced a +14 while posting up against MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson.
Although Carter and Mabrey stole the headlines offensively, Reese held it down in the paint and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds while producing a jaw-dropping +26.
"Plus-26! That is an amazing game for her, and I literally mean amazing," Carter said. "Coming back off (a game) where she didn't get her double-double and coming out and putting her foot down, it meant a lot to me and her teammates to watch her do this."
Said Reese: "I've been watching A'ja for a really long time, even when she was at South Carolina. I've been talking to her since I was at Maryland, she was mentoring me a little bit. Me and her still had that kind of relationship and I've tried to admire my game after her and being able to take some things from her. (But) I can't go out here and look like 'this is somebody that I idolized.'
"This is competition every time I go out there."
And the critical part of her persona is she understands and cherishes the opportunity she's earned as one of the best players in the world.
"I'm a rookie," said Reese, who has 17 double-doubles in 24 games this season, tied with two others for second most for a rookie. "I'm literally a rookie, and the thing is, I've done a lot of great things obviously to be compared to a lot of other great players. But I still have so much room to grow. And I still have moments where I'm still surprised. Like, I'm not supposed to be an All-Star. As the seventh pick, nobody thought that my game would translate to the next level. Being able to come in and be underestimated but also just being able to trust the process and believe in myself.
"I'm not supposed to be in this moment, but I am, and I know that I still have that little girl that is still surprised about the things that I have accomplished so far, and much more to accomplish. I'm having a good time, just being able to be here. Not a lot of people get this experience, being able to be blessed and lucky enough to be able to come in as a rookie and being able to be as dominant as I've been able to, but (also) just knowing that where I am right now and being able to want to get better. I'm just excited to see and play another game of basketball."
