Mikaylah Williams is blossoming into a star right in front of our eyes

When Mikaylah Williams committed to LSU, everyone knew she had talent. She was the No. 2 rated recruit in the Women's Basketball 2023 class and she helped lock down LSU's No. 1 rated recruiting class this offseason.

From the moment she stepped on campus, Kim Mulkey knew she had a special player on her hands, but I don't think even she could've expected Williams to perform at the level she has been through 11 games.

In her first collegiate game, Williams was named a starter and was on the floor alongside Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Haley Van Lith and Flau'jae Johnson as they tipped off their season opener against Colorado in Las Vegas. The reigning champs would end up losing that game, but Williams had 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting and 1-for-2 from behind the arc, but that was just the beginning of her stardom.

She played just 16 minutes against Queens in the Tigers 112-55 blowout win, but would then go on to total 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, haul in five rebounds and dish out two assists in the Tigers 109-47 win over Mississippi Valley State.

In her first three games, Williams was averaging 15 points on 55-percent shooting, but she hadn't even scratched the surface yet.

In just her fourth career collegiate game, Williams went berserk, scoring 42 points on 15-for-20 from the field and 5-for-8 from three in the Tigers 109-79 victory over Kent State.

After the game, Kim Mulkey and Aneesah Morrow raved about Williams's performance and her potential.

"She can score anywhere. Mikaylah [Williams] is right, I've been riding her and riding her because, as good as she is, I don't think she knows how good she actually is. I think a lot of it is going to come with making her play as many extended minutes as she can. She's going to have bad moments, we all know that, but you saw today what she's capable of."

Kim Mulkey

A work ethic worthy of a teammate's praise

"It makes me feel good being able to give Mikaylah [Williams] a pass and seeing her score...I get to see the work that Mikaylah puts in every day, like it's a non-stop thing, she works hard everyday, and to see that paying off is amazing. Also, her coming in and being comfortable, most freshman aren't comfortable, but when you come and put the work in, you'll always be ready."

Aneesah Morrow

Since that game, Williams has been held to under 10 points just one time and has scored 15+ on four occasions while shooting the ball at a 55-percent clip.

We saw another glimpse of her greatness on Tuesday night against McNeese. Now, I know everyone had a good night against McNeese, but Williams dropped 26 points in 28 minutes while shooting 11-for-16 from the field AND she dished out six assists and recorded four steals.

The things she's doing as a true freshman are unreal. Nobody should be able to step into the collegiate ranks and find this type of success immediately, but Williams just makes it look so easy.

I've watched college basketball pretty much my entire life, and she is one of the purest scorers I've watched in men's or women's. She can drive on you, pull up off the dribble, come off a screen and shoot off a pass, she can literally do it all at a high level.

She still has some work to do as a defender, but she's certainly not a liability on that end of the floor. If she keeps this pace up, she has the chance to be one of the greatest players in program history, and this is a program that has produced the likes of Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles.