Were you mad about Angel Reese? Her soaring popularity should be a moment to reflect.

Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Lady Tigers hold up her hand to Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the fourth quarter of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 2, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Columnist Kyle Goon: Criticism of the Randallstown native’s trash talk in the 2023 championship game ranged from clumsy to racist. But Reese’s brash persona is part of an authenticity movement fueling interest in women’s hoops.

One year later, it feels like Angel Reese’s taunts to Caitlin Clark said a lot more about other people than it said about her.

In the heat of the national championship, two of women’s basketball’s best players — who also happen to be two of the best trash talkers — were going at it, and Reese and LSU came out on top. The Randallstown native who has credited her brash on-court persona to her Baltimore origins let Clark hear about it.

Kyle joined The Baltimore Banner in 2023 as a sports columnist. He previously covered the L.A. Lakers for The Orange County Register and myriad sports at The Salt Lake Tribune. He’s a Mt. Hebron High and University of Maryland alum.