Former WNBA star Angel McCoughtry has clarified comments made earlier this week concerning Chicago Sky rookie Hailey Van Lith, attributing her rise to stardom with being a social media influencer. Van Lith has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and substantially grew her reach during TCU’s NCAA Tournament run prior to the WNBA Draft.
“If Hailey Van Lith had 10,000 followers, would she be in the league? Let me ask you that,” McCoughtry asked two co-hosts this week on ‘The Daily W.’ “Honestly. We’re just talking about her true talent. Take away her followers. Would she be in the league if she only had 10,000 followers?”
Van Lith was a scoring assassin at the collegiate level for three different programs, but her first season in the WNBA has been met with growing pains offensively. She’s at 5.2 points per game over nine appearances with an average of 14.8 minutes played per contest.
“Hailey Van Lith, she’s a decent player,” McCoughtry said. “Are there players out there who may be better than Hailey Van Lith? I believe so. They’re not popular.”
McCoughtry said Saturday on Instagram her remarks were misconstrued but apologized to Van Lith nonetheless.
“Just so y’all know, I know one thing I ain’t is a hater. I ain’t never hated on nobody and those words ain’t never come out my mouth,” McCoughtry said. “Now, My mistake I made was giving a point with the wrong delivery. I shouldn’t have used a certain player to make an example of a point I was trying to make. And I want to apologize for that. I can take accountability when I’m wrong y’all, so I’m going to apologize to Hailey for that. You worked hard for everything you’ve got, plus more. Plus more. And that’s to all the players.”
Like Van Lith, McCoughtry starred at Louisville before becoming a first-round pick — at No. 1 overall — in 2009 by the Atlanta Dream. McCoughtry, who retired after the 2022 season with the Minnesota Lynx, was a two-time WNBA scoring champion, five-time all-star and is a member of the league’s 25th Anniversary Team.
Sky coach Tyler Marsh said this week that Van Lith is adjusting to her new role as an off-the-bench threat for the first time in her career.
“She’s handled the minutes that she’s had very well,” Marsh said, per The Chicago Tribune. “She’s handled the pressure well. She’s been able to feel that presence when we needed her to and she’s been coachable. For us, it’s been about continuing to find what units work the best together and have the most cohesion, so we’ll continue to learn that moving forward.”
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