The "Bayou Barbie" is slated to return this week -- LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey just announced Angel Reese will be back on the court this Thursday ... ending her mysterious 4-game absence.
Mulkey made the revelation during her press conference ahead of the Tigers' key matchup against 9th-ranked Virginia Tech ... telling reporters, "She will play tomorrow."
Angel Reese will be back with LSU and available to play tomorrow, per Kim Mulkey.
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 29, 2023
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It's unclear whether Reese will start or come off the bench.
What also remains fuzzy is why exactly Reese wasn't playing in the first place ... as Mulkey has been consistently tight-lipped about the details surrounding her absence.
LSU Coach Kim Mulkey Fires Back At Angel Reese Questions
Reese's time away started when the 6-foot-3 forward was benched in the 2nd half of LSU's win against Kent State on Nov. 14 ... and she missed the next few games, including the Cayman Islands Classic tournament.
Rumors were circulating around social media that it may have been her grades, while Outkick reported she was suspended for an "attitude adjustment." Neither rumor has been confirmed.
"That’s what coaches do. Sometimes y'all know about it and sometimes you don't," Mulkey said of the situation last week. "Sometimes you want to know more than you're entitled to know."
BTW, the 7-1 Tigers -- who are currently ranked 7th -- have been undefeated without Reese.