Aneesah Morrow is 'everywhere on court.' How LSU women's basketball plans to play her
Flau’jae Johnson finished third in rebounding for LSU women’s basketball last season.
A bigger guard at 5-11, the sophomore prides herself on being a multi-faceted contributor, scoring the ball, on the defensive end and in rebounding. But recently she’s been facing some heat from Kim Mulkey and her coaches as she’s missed on chances.
Why? Aneesah Morrow.
“She’s my height, I’m 5-11, she’s maybe 6-feet,” Johnson said of Morrow, the sophomore forward and DePaul transfer. “Y’all know I’m a good rebounder. I was third on the team last year. I’m going up for a rebound and I see somebody over me. I was like, what? And it was her. She did that to me three times from the free throw line.
"I’m getting chewed out, but I can’t get mad because I’m like, 'Coach what do you want me to do?' You look at her and think she’s undersized. But then you see her on the court and how explosive she is, they can’t do nothing with her.”
Morrow’s work ethic and ability — and shear athleticism — has quickly vaulted her into the race for Johnson’s favorite teammate, she said, now in a dead heat with star Angel Reese and freshman Mikaylah Williams.
It’s that combined skill set that first off made Mulkey and LSU want Morrow as soon as she decided to transfer out of DePaul, where she put up gaudy numbers, ending up fourth in the nation in scoring last season with 25.7 points along with 12 rebounds.
“I be everywhere on the court,” Morrow said. “Rebounding. And I have a motor. That’s something you can’t teach. It’s something you can’t get tomorrow. It’s something that you work towards every day. The effort and the will to do things. Making the extra pass, sliding over a little bit more, to rebounding the ball, tipping the ball, getting deflection, I try to be everywhere on the court as I possibly can to help my teammates.”
One thing that jumps off the page is LSU has Morrow listed as a guard on the official roster. And that distinction matters as Mulkey has ample depth within the low post with Reese, sophomore Sa’Myah Smith who came up big and made game-winning plays in the NCAA Tournament as well as freshman Aalyah Del Rosario, who’s a pure center at 6-6.
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After Morrow’s commitment to the Tigers, questions swirled about there being one basketball and how her and Reese were going to be able to coexist in the low block. The duo has been practicing and learning how to defer to one another when necessary, she said.
“It’s about who takes the shot and where that person is. We practice that. It’s about placement on the court,” Morrow said. “If a shot is being shot from the (right) wing and I’m on the left block then more than likely I will attempt to get the rebound. She can still attempt and get it because it could come off short. It’s about the placement.”
Morrow worked on her 3-point shot last season and that work rolled on down to Baton Rouge. Her skill set at all levels could be key for LSU this season.
“Nobody has seen my guard play or seen me knock down 3’s. I’ve been in the gym working,” Morrow said. “Nobody has seen that stretch-4 or that three that I can play.”
“She can play whatever she wants to play,” Johnson added. “She can handle, she can shoot that thing. She makes us better. She makes Angel better, the whole post better. She comes in here with a demeanor of I don’t care what I got to do, I want to win.
“I love that.”
For Morrow, it was that mindset and approach that she believed could translate and carry anywhere. For her, it doesn’t solely speak to her on-court ability but her full game and her desire to play against top competition.
“I want to play against the best teams and best players. It does nothing but challenge me and make me better,” Morrow said. “I knew my game had developed and I had to display my game at the highest level.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: How LSU women's basketball plans to play transfer Aneesah Morrow
