Mulkey celebrates emotional homecoming at LSU introduction

Mulkey celebrates emotional homecoming at LSU introduction

SeattlePI.com

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey's introduction at LSU had an overriding theme that echoed constantly under the domed roof of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

It was the word, “home.”

“When you grow up, you don’t forget where you come from," said Mulkey, who is leaving a Baylor women's basketball program she built into a three-time national champion to return to her native Louisiana. "This state made us who we were. ... It’s so unbelievably comfortable for me to come back to my roots.”

A native of Tickfaw, Louisiana, Mulkey won state championships at Hammond High School, about 45 miles east of LSU,. She then won national titles as both a player and assistant coach at Louisiana Tech before spending 21 years in Waco, Texas.

So when an opportunity was presented to the 58-year-old to return to Louisiana and coach at the state's flagship institution, the pull was too hard to resist — even if it meant leaving a program she'd built into a perennial contender for another that missed the 2021 NCAA Tournament after going 9-13 last season.

LSU hasn’t made it past the Sweet 16 since 2007.

“There’s only one institution I would have left for, and they made the commitment and I’m home,” said Mulkey, who helped Baylor win the 2019 NCAA championship.

The Bears lost to UConn last month in the regional finals of this years NCAA tournament.

“If you have followed my career, I’ve said it numerous times. No matter where I go ... Louisiana is my home,” said Mulkey, who grew up near the town that hosts the state's annual strawberry festival. “I can’t wait to eat some Ponchatoula strawberries. I can’t wait to have some crawfish.

“I can now tell Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes and people don’t look at me like I’ve lost my...

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