April 2, 2023<\/a><\/p>\nRoberts and her fellow LSU assistants have very much leaned into expressing themselves creatively via their own fashion, too. Whether it\u2019s a matching set worn by Roberts, a plaid or pinstripe suit from assistant Joe Schwartz or fun sweaters and polos from former LSU star-turned-assistant coach Seimone Augustus, the LSU staff\u2019s wardrobe might just be the most eclectic in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t missed this year,\u201d Roberts joked. \u201cI will say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
LSU\u2019s desire to dress to impress started when Mulkey took the job in 2021, right around the same time coaches \u2014 particularly in men\u2019s college basketball \u2014 ditched their traditional suits in favor of more comfortable school-issued quarter zips in the aftermath of COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Mulkey, whom Augustus describes as \u201calways the belle of the ball,\u201d had different plans, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we came to Baton Rouge (from Baylor), Kim was like, \u2018We need to make a good impression on these people,\u2019\u201d Roberts said. \u201c\u2018We\u2019re at a new school, (we\u2019re) a new staff, we need to make a good impression.\u2019 Little did we know that this impression, it starts with Kim, all the blazers and all the sparkles and all the things, it created a craze. A legit craze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have people that will come to the games to see what Kim is wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each assistant coach has his or her individual process when it comes to picking out outfits, but there is one common thread: None (by choice) have stylists. Instead, it\u2019s all about curating a specific look to match a personal brand.<\/p>\n
For Roberts, who may be most recognizable for the hot pink matching set she wore in LSU\u2019s 2023 Sweet 16 in the team\u2019s run up to a national title, it\u2019s all about gut feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m gonna feel like that day, and I\u2019ve done this before, like an outfit to wear in a game or on the road, I\u2019ll put it on and then I\u2019m like, \u2018I hate this.\u2019 Or \u2018I\u2019m just not feeling this,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cSo I always bring options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartz, who played at Texas from 2014-2018, is known for his suits. He went with plaid suits in the first two rounds of the tournament but has pinstripes planned for this weekend in Sacramento. He likes to draw inspiration from coaches he has admired over the years, including Alabama\u2019s Wimp Sanderson, whom his mother worked for when Sanderson was the men\u2019s basketball coach from 1980-1992 and routinely donned sport coats, neck ties and pleated khakis.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s what I grew up watching,\u201d said Schwartz, who added he shops year-round to keep an eye out for potential outfits. \u201cI played for Shaka Smart, \u2026 and it was in an era that (dressing up was) what coaches were known for. Jay Wright at Villanova, loved his fashion. He was big on the pinstripe suits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Augustus, the newbie of the group, came to her alma mater ahead of last season, and joked she had to up her game after wearing mostly team gear as a WNBA assistant for the Los Angeles Sparks.<\/p>\n
A big part of her approach is finding clothes that fit her style, but that are also affordable enough so that when fans ask her where they\u2019re from \u2014 and they frequently do \u2014 she can send them straight to a source that won\u2019t break the bank. Some of her favorites? The LSU bookstore, the LSU alumni center and Fanatics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so used to being on the W(NBA) side where you just wear team-issued gear, and I was like, \u2018Oh my Gah, I haven\u2019t been shopping in years, so now I\u2019ve got to put outfits together, figure out my closet, put pieces together, which is fun,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying. But it\u2019s definitely sparked a creativity within myself, figuring (out) what my fashion is now. I\u2019m 40-something years old, who am I, what do I look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Augustus joked that there are no harsher critics of the LSU assistants\u2019 choices than the players themselves, who like to grade coaches based on how much they like (or dislike) the outfits.<\/p>\n
Augustus, who admitted she got one F for a flop against Texas A&M, said her favorite outfit came on Valentine\u2019s Day, when she rocked a black sweater with a large red heart and bright red matching shoes. Roberts is partial to the army green bomber jacket matching set she wore in the first round of the tournament. And Schwartz picked the custom shoes coaches wore in December that were designed by children from Our Lady of the Lake Children\u2019s Hospital, an effort he helped coordinate, as his favorite fashion moment of the season.<\/p>\n
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\n Joe Schwartz says style comes naturally, but LSU took his fashion game to a new level. (Jacob Kupferman \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach (Mulkey) talks about dressing nice and being presentable and kind of going out of your way to impress other people,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s kind of fun now. Game by game, just to figure out what you want to wear. I know a lot of people look into that and it has trickled down to the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all get it from Coach. When your boss dresses like that, you don\u2019t want to be slacking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mulkey said she doesn\u2019t pay much attention to what her assistants are wearing but always hopes they dress professionally.<\/p>\n
Critical opinions aside, LSU players very much do care, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it,\u201d said freshman forward Grace Knox. \u201cI feel like, honestly, it gets us kind of in the zone for the game. I know that sounds weird, but I feel like when everybody\u2019s put together on the bench, it just kind of \u2014 at least for me \u2014 I think it kind of represents LSU.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so the fashion show will continue for LSU as the nation\u2019s top-scoring offense takes the floor again Friday, turning the sideline into a runway. Bring on all of the feathers, sequins, colors, textures, patterns and glitter. Except for maybe Bob Starkey, Mulkey\u2019s 66-year-old longtime assistant who keeps things a bit more \u2026 traditional. Star guard Flau\u2019jae Johnson joked he\u2019s the best-dressed of the bunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think of LSU women\u2019s basketball, you think of fashion, but you also think of style of play,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just style on the sideline. \u2026 It\u2019s all been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n