LSU Women's Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey Inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Newly named LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey has been enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a part of a legendary class in which she was presented by NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Mulkey is arguably the most successful player turned coach in college basketball history, even boasting an Olympic Gold Medal in 1984.
In only 700 games, Mulkey became the fastest coach in Division I history to achieve 600 wins as one of the winningest active coaches in the sport. Mulkey has a record of 631-104 since taking over the Baylor job back in 2000. Before that, Mulkey was a staple in back-to-back NCAA championships as a player with Louisiana Tech back in 1981 and 1982, where she was an All-American point guard.
Mulkey is the first person inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as the first to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
In a statement earlier this week, Mulkey said she had hoped her former coach at Louisiana Tech, Leon Barmore, would be the person to present her induction into the Hall of Fame. However, he has been dealing with illness and could not travel to the ceremony.
In turn, Mulkey received one heck of a substitute in Michael Jordan to introduce her on Saturday evening.
"Very few athletes have in their DNA her type of competitive gene; the type that simply won’t tolerate losing," Barmore told the Lincoln Parish Journal in Ruston. "She was like that with our team and with herself. She wanted to be great. She carried that desire over to our team. I have coached very few people with her type of competitive DNA."
In a legendary Hall of Fame class headlined by names such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and numerous others, Mulkey again finds her name amongst the greatest to ever play and coach the game.
Solidifying her greatness at Baylor, Mulkey is the definition of a program changer. The season before she arrived, the Baylor Bears won just seven games. The rest is history.
“I’m amazed that a kid from Hammond, Louisiana, or should I say Tickfaw, Louisiana, could find herself in the company of giants,” Mulkey said during her Hall of Fame speech. “I’m amazed that a university in Texas, with which I had absolutely no prior connection, welcomed me. They embraced me and they provided me and my family, my two children, unwavering and unconditional support. So, I’d like to give a shout out to all the Baylor people here tonight.”
As one of the most competitive figures to come through the sport, Mulkey’s hard work and dedication is as prominent a characteristic in her arsenal. An eight-time National Coach of the Year by numerous entities, Mulkey continuously puts in the work in order to achieve greatness.
“I’m humbled as well. I mean, how cool is it going into the Hall of Fame with all of these great players and coaches. But you know, we have more than that in common,” Mulkey said. “We understand we’re the ones being honored and recognized. We’re only here because one of life’s greatest ironies. We get the credit when it should be shared with and by so many others.”
Mulkey’s humbleness, dedication and love of the game are traits that have brought her to this stage and she isn’t looking back after being named the new head coach at LSU. Her recruiting savviness and winning formula will be on full display in Death Valley as she looks to bring her championship pedigree and successful game plan to the Tigers this fall.
