What Leon Barmore said to Kim Mulkey after LSU women's basketball reached first NCAA title game

DALLAS – Immediately after LSU women’s basketball’s Final Four victory Virginia Tech inside American Airlines Center Friday night, Leon Barmore texted his former star player, assistant coach – and, oddly enough, boss – Kim Mulkey two words.

“Unbelieve. Amazing.”

It took Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor before accepting the LSU head position before the 2021-22 season, just two years to achieve program history by guiding the Tigers to their first NCAA national championship game appearance.

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LSU (33-2) will play Iowa (31-6) in the title game Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m., ABC).

For Barmore, a three-time national championship winning coach himself at Louisiana Tech, where he and Mulkey won two titles together, there aren’t many words to describe how quickly his protégé has brought back relevance to an LSU program that had been to five straight Final Fours 15 seasons ago.

“To have her win and get to a national championship in her second year, it’s a tribute to her as a coach and competitor,” Barmore said. “In all the years I worked with Kim, especially at Baylor (as her assistant coach), it was all about her practice, they didn’t fool around. In practice, her teams get better.”

LSU defense has held opponents during its NCAA Tournament run to the title game to 41% or less shooting from the floor. While Mulkey has made her way to the top of the coaching ranks with good defensive teams, Barmore has been surprised at how quickly this LSU team has found its defensive rhythm.

And LSU’s defense will be a big key as Iowa star Caitlin Clark awaits. Against top-seeded South Carolina’s top defense, she scored 41 points on 15-of-31 shooting.

“Kim knows what to expect with Clark. She’s going to come up with something. Now whether or not it works, who knows?” Barmore said. “Great players are going to score. But Kim and LSU can’t let her get 40.

“Caitlin Clark is so fun to watch. She’s the Stephen Curry of women’s basketball.”

Barmore, watching at home in northeast Louisiana, was intently turned to Mulkey and LSU’s Final Four game against Virginia Tech on Friday night. He pinpointed how the Tigers made their way through the tournament.

“(Senior point guard Alexis) Morris has really blossomed. I know she’s played in big games, and of course Angel Reese had a good year − but to me, Morris has been the difference,” he said.

Whether or not LSU wins the national championship game Sunday, to Barmore, Mulkey has not only guided LSU women’s basketball back to the national championship game but that she has it there to stay.

“I think it’s the total package. You look at her wins and they’re playing for a national championship in year two, but she’s brought energy and fan support back to Baton Rouge,” Barmore said. “The crowds coming out, that’s something Kim deserves a lot of credit for.

“They were dead in the water. Women’s basketball at LSU was an afterthought, but she’s brought it back to the front. And she’ll keep it there.”

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.