Maryland-born and reared was a heck of a high school basketball player and a standout at the University of Maryland before she traveled south to be a part of LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey’s amazing team rebuild. She became our own , and her career took off, new and all.
Quick. What was her high school nickname? Uh-huh. OK.
What was her Maryland nickname? Well, OK. Nothing, eh?
You don’t have to be an LSU women’s basketball fan to know the name Bayou Barbie.
Reese finished her LSU career with an average of 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds in two seasons as a Tiger. Only a few players get triple-doubles ever, and only some get double-doubles in their entire careers. Reese got 34 double-doubles while in Baton Rouge. Of course, she led her team to the NCAA basketball national championship in 2023, whupping phenom Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes,102-85.
If she wanted it, she was definitely going pro.
She was drafted by the Chicago Sky. She became, er, Chi-town Barbie. Not the same ring as Bayou Barbie, but OK. An LSU fan gave her the nickname, and it stuck. Even beyond LSU.
Oh, and she scored a triple-double in Chicago last season.
Now she’s off to the Atlanta Dream. Reese is so hot that her Atlanta Dream jerseys sold out in a short time after the Chi-ATL trade was announced. She became ATL Barbie.
LSU and ¶¶Òõh loved Reese, even those who didn’t know what to do with her, because she was so darn good. Chicago liked Reese, but it was too cold a place for her to catch fire. The ATL will love Reese. They’ll love her flair and her fashion. They’ll love her sayings and her slang. They’ll love her play off the court and on the court.
“She is about to run this city,†an excited Atlanta friend shared with me.
All that love won’t make her a Georgia Peach or an ATL Barbie.
She might be Bayou Barbie in the ATL. Or ATL’s Bayou Barbie.
But she was, and always will be, our Bayou Barbie.