By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
5,775 miles – that is how far away from home Anna Minaeva came to play basketball for Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers. The former Russian pro is just 17 years old, and the dramatic change in scenery is helping her grow personally, physically and competitively.
“Maybe I feel young, but I don’t want to feel young (on) the court,” Minaeva said on Monday. “Maybe the first year it will be more (of an) adjustment, but who knows? I just need to stay focused and work hard, and we will see.”
The Moscow, Russia, native said on Monday that her biggest adjustment has been the weather. She recalled getting soaked while tailgating at her first LSU football game and seeking refuge under one of campus’s stately oaks, although it did little to stop the water from pooling in her shoes.
“But the game was really fun,” Minaeva said. “It was my first time being on the field and watching fireworks and football players.”
Beyond the 40-degree difference in average temperature this time of year between Baton Rouge and Moscow, Minaeva said there have been a lot of adjustments. From simply how close places are compared to the vastness of Russia to how open and welcoming Louisianians are, Minaeva is navigating her way through her new life on the other side of the globe.
Minaeva said she has only been homesick twice so far, missing Russian culture and her hometown.
“You need to stay busy and focused to not get homesick,” she said.
But those feelings of homesickness are not enough to forget why she came here in the first place. Minavea said she chose to come to LSU, first because of the experience and competitiveness of Mulkey and her coaching staff and second because of how hard her teammates work. She said she often sees the other Tigers putting up extra shots in the gym and conditioning.
“I look at them, and they inspire me to work more. So, I love them,” Minaeva said.
LSU is far from the teenager’s first experience with high-level basketball. Minaeva played 12 games for Moscow MBA in th Russian Premier League, the top league in women’s basketball in the country, and 17 games with the club’s tier two Superleague team.
Even with a season of professional experience, Minaeva said the American basketball she has played already is another level – particularly its physicality. Mulkey has said that the freshman will have to grow in the weight room for her to make an impact in the southeastern Conference.
“Girls here are very competitive, hardworking, have big muscles, so I want to be like them and this is the most important part,” Minaeva said.
Mulkey and Minaeva’s teammates have already praised her talent. Star senior guard Mikaylah Williams said that “Baby-Jokic” has an extremely-high basketball IQ for her age, excellent passing ability and a soft touch around the rim, but the team is trying to tell her to shoot more.
Minaeva said her biggest focuses are conditioning and rebounding, and those two go hand in hand.
“(I) love to rebound, but here rebound is like physical, like really physical,” she said.
There will be minutes up for grabs on the post as LSU navigates the start of the season with Noa Morro, another newcomer who played professionally in Spain, sidelined. Minaeva is the tallest post player the Tigers have, so she could see the court often in her freshman season. She missed LSU’s first exhibition game with an injured quad but said she will be back in action soon.
Her LSU debut could be as soon as Thursday night in the team’s final exhibition against Loyola New Orleans. Wherever she does take the court for the first time, it will be the first of many for a young talent doing whatever it takes to realize her dream of making it to the WNBA.
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