"She could go down in the history of this program as the greatest of all time": When Kim Mulkey made a bold claim for LSU's Mikaylah Williams

LSU coach Kim Mulkey secured a true gem in Mikaylah Williams when she recruited her out of high school as part of the 2023 class. Williams committed to the Tigers as the top player in the country for her class and has not let her play slip on the college stage.

Mulkey was a guest on the first episode of Gordon McKernan's show "Riding With G" in January 2024 to discuss her national championship win with LSU and the new wave of stars making noise in Baton Rouge.

Williams was an obvious talking point after scoring double-digit points in all but two of her first 12 games, including a 42-point onslaught against Kent State in November.

Host McKernan, also an attorney in Louisiana, asked Mulkey how she sees Williams' game translating from high school to college.

"I’m probably — I’m real hesitant to say this — but I really believe she could go down in the history of this program as the greatest of all time," Mulkey said (5:59 mark).

"Now, think about that: Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Temeka Johnson — and the reason I say that is, look at her stats right now, less than 10 games into her freshman year."

Kim Mulkey continued to say she and her coaching staff would push Williams even further to improve her all-around game and use her athleticism to turn her into an elite rebounder:

"She just has the ability to do that, and I don’t think she really realizes it," Mulkey added. She’s a worker, you have no problem asking her to put the work in, you have no problem with her work ethic, and I just think – wow, what she can do by the time her career is over at LSU."

Mikaylah Williams attributed career high 42-point game to Kim Mulkey's coaching

Mikaylah Williams spoke with the media following her career-high outing in November 2023 and gave credit to Kim Mulkey for pushing her to new heights.

"It all starts in practice," Williams said. "How you practice is how you play. Coach Mulkey has been riding me and riding me and staying on my tail about working hard and effort. So that in practice showed to the game today."

The 42-point game against the Golden Flashes was the most points by an LSU freshman in program history. Williams scored 493 points during her freshman season, averaging 14.5 points per game. She was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.