SAN FRANCISCO — Sky forward Angel Reese believes it’s important to turn a negative into a positive.
That’s what she told the Sun-Times after practice Thursday, reflecting on the recent launch of her “Mebounds” merchandise.
Internet commentators coined the term “mebound” to criticize Reese’s game, implying she racks up rebounds because she misses so many of her own shots.
Reese does struggle finishing around the rim and is an elite offensive rebounder. But she also leads the league in defensive rebounding, which has nothing to do with missing her own shots.
“She does her work early,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said before the game Friday against the Valkyries. “That allows her to create angles to be able to maneuver for those rebounds.”
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase agreed that Reese’s timing is key.
“It’s a very clever, crafty move [that she does],” Nakase said.
So Reese took the term and flipped it. She trademarked it and put it on apparel. Then she donated some of the proceeds to cyberbullying prevention.
“We take social media lightly,” Reese said. “And people always say: Block the noise, block this, block that. But it’s not that easy.”
Reese thinks she can make a difference with her platform.
“Just by being able to be a leader in the position that I’m in, trying to take my narrative back and turn it into something great,” she said.
One strategy she has mastered is making the criticisms lighter.
“Whoever came up with the ‘mebounds’ thing, y’all ate that up,” she quipped in a TikTok video leading up to the launch. ‘‘ ‘Mebounds,’ rebounds, ‘crebounds’ . . . anything that comes off that board, it’s mine.”
And it worked for her business.
“You would have never thought I made six figures in, literally, a day off of that,” Reese said. “And y’all can continue to troll me, but I turned this into a positive.”
Small ball
With center Kamilla Cardoso away on national-team duty, Marsh will experiment with some small-ball lineups. That means more minutes for Rebecca Allen and Michaela Onyenwere at power forward and for Reese at center. He thinks the smaller lineup will help space the floor and open up driving lanes.
And defensively?
“It makes us a little more versatile in terms of being able to switch,” Marsh said. “It allows us to be a little more aggressive on the perimeter to create turnovers.”
Cardoso’s absence also will mean more time for backup center Elizabeth Williams, who has been more aggressive the last couple of games, Marsh said.
Bay Area trash talk
Before the game, Marsh couldn’t help but mention he was there for the final game at Oracle Arena when the Raptors beat the Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals. That was Marsh’s first NBA coaching job. He was an assistant on Nick Nurse’s staff.
Julian Reese signs with Lakers
Reese’s younger brother, Julian Reese, signed with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent.
He was a star forward at Maryland.