It’s almost a universal fact. Every athlete has at least one person they have looked up to in their careers and continue to do so. Now, as Angel Reese lights up basketball courts, she’s become the role model younger athletes look up to as they strive for NCAA excellence. Because of this, a lot of what she does comes into the spotlight. And one aspect is her style statement: wearing just one leg sleeve. But why is that so?

Turns out, it has to do with emulating her idols. More often than not, basketball players wear sleeves on both legs or not at all. But every once in a while, someone makes a style statement, and others follow it. For the LSU star, “Two players that I really admire, Te’a Cooper and A’ja Wilson, they wear it, too. So it’s swag.” Te’a Cooper has played in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks, and as for A’ja Wilson, she plays for the Las Vegas Aces. While they’ve played a role in Angel Reese rocking the single-leg sleeve, that’s not the only reason.

“I’ve used it to cover my scar,” revealed the 21-year-old. In an interview with Nola.com, Reese admitted, “I had surgery two years ago on my shin. I have a rod in my leg. Many people don’t know that.” In her freshman year at Maryland, during the fourth game of the 2020-21 season, Angel Reese made a coast-to-coast layup. But as she landed, she felt a pain in her pinky toe.

X-rays pointed to a Jones fracture, recovery for which was 12 weeks post-surgery. With a screw inserted in her foot, the forward returned in February. However, during the offseason, she underwent another surgery to fix a split shinbone in her left leg. And that required inserting the rod she talked about in the interview.

To cover the scar it left, she wears her jersey-coordinated leg sleeve. What isn’t as widely known is that the series of injuries left her in a dark place mentally, something she opened up about in an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast last year.

“My confidence completely dropped. I was like, do I wanna play basketball anymore?” Reese told former New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss. The now 21-year-old continued,

“Like I had high expectations. Everybody thinks I’m gonna do this. But I didn’t even believe I could do it anymore. Because I thought I gained my love for the game back and then I lose it again.”

Before deciding to get the surgery done, she was at a crossroads. Reese had just made the USA basketball team, and getting surgery meant she would miss out on the opportunity. But she took that hard decision in favor of getting ready during her sophomore year. Although she wasn’t a starter early in the season, her performance skyrocketed once she did become one. And she hasn’t looked back since.

From questioning her abilities to becoming an NCAA champion, Angel Reese is the picture of resilience

After Angel Reese explained the mental struggles she was going through in that first year at Maryland, she stated how she averaged 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore. After those blistering performances, she felt, “This was my time to go. I think I’ve done everything I could do at Maryland, and I’ve grown mentally as a woman. Now where can I go?”

She then took what she calls “the scariest decision of her life.” She transferred to LSU, and that was a blessing in disguise. The 21-year-old strongly believes she wouldn’t be where she is right now had it not been for that decision to move to Louisiana. In her junior year for the LSU Tigers, the forward averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, becoming the first women’s player in over 15 seasons to reach those marks. And as everyone alongside her stepped up, they brought home the women’s NCAA basketball championship to Louisiana for the first time.

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Averaging 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game this season, Reese and the Lady Tigers are still in the race for a second championship. In their bid for a repeat, they have made it to the Elite Eight and will go up against the team they beat in the championship game last season – the Iowa Hawkeyes. As the game tips off at Times Union Center, all eyes will be on Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, a rivalry all set to reignite.

Do you think Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers will stay on course for another championship?

Read More: Megan Rapinoe Praises Angel Reese for Playing ‘Villain’ While Addressing Caitlin Clark Beef Rumors