Kim Mulkey was left hiding her face after her players completely contradicted what she claimed.  “They’re all coming back except Divine,” said Kim Mulkey. “so I am blessed that all of those great players are coming back.” A few days later, Jada Richard, Kailyn Gilbert, and Bella Hines entered the transfer portal along with Divine Bourrage. However, Mulkey is not one of the coaches that stays down for long. She is quickly rebuilding with her second key transfer of the season: Jada Williams. 

Williams was a part of the Iowa State exodus, where 9 Iowa State players decided to enter the transfer portal following a 22-10 season that ended after a first-round loss to No. 9 seed Syracuse. She was one of the best guards in the market after averaging 15.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game and earning a Big Twelve first-team selection. She also shot a career-best 41.7 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range.  Now, she takes her talents to LSU. 

“Showtime 🎬,” Williams wrote in her commitment post featuring multiple shots in an LSU kit including one shushing the haters with Kim Mulkey. She further wrote, BATONNNN ROUGEEEE ITS UPPPPPPPP🎬 #committed.” Mulkey immediately fills the voids left by their point guards Jada Richard and Bella Hines. 

 

Kim Mulkey reacted in pure Kim Mulkey fashion. She posted a GIF of herself taking crawfish out of their shells and smirking with three alarm emojis on it. While there was no mention of Jada, the timing made it pretty clear that it was about this signing. She further reposted Williams’ commitment post on both X and Instagram. 

But surprisingly, Williams was not even in their plans. “I’ve been told that @LSUwbkb wasn’t even recruiting a point guard until Jada Richard really surprised them with her decision to leave the program,” Jacques Doucet wrote. “But Ole Kim certainly moved and moved quickly.” According to CJ, LSU was looking at another point guard but she priced herself “at the $1.3M-$1.5M mark and Kim Mulkey quickly pivoted to Jada Williams.” 

The Tigers have spent $11.87 million on women’s basketball, for which the data is available. The numbers have gone up since, but the NIL budget is only a fraction of them. But the fact that they wouldn’t commit to spending a major chunk on Williams also suggests that a point guard wasn’t their absolute top priority. Even if Mulkey were not looking for Jada Williams, she has found her. Now, the point guard is set to elevate this team into something unique. 

Why Jada Williams Is Exactly What Kim Mulkey Needs at LSU

Jada Williams was impressive for the Cyclones this past season. She provided the ball to someone like Audi Crooks in the paint and let her be the primary scorer. Another impressive aspect of her game is her ball safety. With a turnover percentage of just 20.7%, she ranks in the top 15 in the country among pure point guards and third overall in assist percentage at 47.1%. 

Last year, LSU averaged 14.6 turnovers per game, ranking 90th in the country. Of course, they played much faster than the Cyclones but Williams will certainly help bring that number down. 

Another thing to note is that Williams is a ball-heavy guard with a usage rate of 30.8% last season. For LSU, no one touched that number, with MiLaysia Fulwiley topping the chart at 27.4%. Williams will be a great addition to provide for their score-first guards like Fulwiley and Mikaylah Williams. 

Mulkey is also looking to add more size beyond Grace Knox and Kate Koval, as she wants to move Zakiyah Johnson back to the perimeter. “Z is an undersized post player this year, but she really wants to be on the perimeter,” Mulkey said. “If we move her back to the perimeter, which we plan to do, and Mama is gone, you basically have Kate and you have Grace. So, you have to have another post or two in there with them.”

So far, LSU has signed two guards, Laila Reynolds and Jada Williams. There are a lot more fish in the sea and it will be interesting who Kim Mulkey brings in. 

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