Benched LSU star Angel Reese posts cryptic shot of Tigers’ practice court on Instagram after her unexplained absence from Friday’s win and coach Kim Mulkey’s decision to sit her during in the defending champ’s last game

Benched LSU hoops star and Instagram sensation Angel Reese may have returned to the Tigers’ practice court on Saturday, although her current status with the team remains unclear.

“Bayou Barbie,” as she is known, posted a shot from the LSU practice facility on Saturday, appearing to indicate she has returned to practice after coach Kim Mulkey’s benching and Friday’s win over Southeastern Louisiana had missed.

Reese’s cryptic Instagram post didn’t offer any explanation, but it does add intrigue to an already troubling situation for LSU. A team spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked by Mail Sport whether Reese attended Saturday’s training.

The defending champions got off to a rough start, losing to No. 20 seed Colorado in their opening match. Despite winning every game since, Reese was benched for the second half in a win over Kent State on November 14 before being absent completely on Friday was against SLU.

“Do you want me to explain why?” coach Kim Mulkey said Friday about Reese’s absence. “It’s very clear that Angel is not in uniform, Angel is part of this basketball team, we hope to see her sooner rather than later. That’s all you need to know.’

Benched LSU hoops star Angel Reese may have returned to the Tigers’ practice field on Saturday

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey shouts from the bench in the second half against Kent State

According to Outkick’s Glen Guilbeausaid a source close to the team that Mulkey is benching Reese to try to address the junior’s “attitude” problem.

While the report has not been fully proven, a series of comments on social media between parents and former teammates appear to support this claim.

The exchange started when Reese’s mother, Angel Webb Reese, posted a pointed message to her Instagram Story.

“People please don’t send me long text messages with a bunch of grammatical errors, it gives me a headache, how do I know you said what you said if I don’t understand what you’re saying,” she wrote.

The apparent target of the message was Kia Brooks, the mother of Reese’s sophomore teammate Flau’jae Johnson. Brooks responded on her own Instagram Story.

“You are certainly aware of grammar errors if your daughter has a GPA of 2.0 or less,” Brooks wrote. “In fact, when you wrote your clever message, you didn’t capitalize or use full stops.”

Reese’s mother posted a message on her Instagram Story, apparently targeting Kia Brooks

Brooks, mother of sophomore Flau’jae Johnson, responded by calling Reese “fake and hateful.”

Brooks called Reese’s mother petty, fake and hateful while telling her to take responsibility for her daughter’s actions.

Former LSU player and Connecticut Sun guard Alexis Morris also chimed in with a series of cryptic tweets on Thursday.

“You can’t pay me to bash Kim [Mulkey]Morris wrote in a tweet.

“I switched gears to get me. Now you’re all falling for it. never choose power over loyalty free play. I showed real love, not for marketing politics. but realism always prevails,” she wrote on another.

Reese’s stardom skyrocketed after LSU’s incredible run to the NCAA Championship in April.

During the offseason, Reese starred in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit, appeared in a Cardi B music video, and became Rebook’s first signed athlete under Shaquille O’Neal.

Reese rose to fame after LSU entered the NCAA tournament and defeated Iowa for the title

After the loss to Colorado, Mulkey commented on the lack of leadership on the team without naming names. But many felt her comments were in reference to the Most Outstanding Player of 2023.

“I’m disappointed and surprised in some of the individual players who I thought would just be stronger and have a little bit of fight and leadership,” Mulkey said.

After pointing out the team’s lack of intensity and physicality, Mulkey said, “The things I’ve described can be fixed.” But I don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix it.”

LSU’s next game will be against Texas Southern on Nov. 20. Whether or not Reese will be in uniform remains a question.