Kim Mulkey has been turning heads with her fashion statements throughout the NCAA Tournament. That trend continued Thursday, as the LSU coach donned a Final Four cowboy hat at media day at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The black straw cowboy hats, emblazoned with the Final Four logo, were provided to all the teams, and Mulkey wished she could complete the ensemble.
“They gave us these hats, and I was looking for some cowboy boots,” she said. “They didn’t have that. But I love country music, and I just thought it was appropriate.”
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Mulkey has led LSU on a deep NCAA Tournament run in just her second season at the helm since she joined the team from Baylor. The Final Four has brought her back to her old stomping grounds; she spent 21 seasons at Baylor, and she still has a home in Waco.
After professing her love for country music, she even joked about her ex-husband with a brief rendition of a George Strait song.
“I was going to come in here and sing, ‘All my exes live in Texas,'” she crooned. “Which is true. I only have one, though, only been married once.”
Senior guard Alexis Morris also is at home in the Final Four as a native of Beaumont, Texas, and she was kicking herself for not wearing her own cowboy hat to LSU’s press conference.
“When I seen Coach Mulkey coming down the stairs in her cowboy hat, I was like, man, I wanted to wear mine,” Morris said. “I forgot to put it on.”
The No. 3 seed Tigers (32-2) will look for a home state advantage as they face No. 1 seed Virginia Tech (31-4) at 7 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN with a spot in the national championship game on the line.
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