Aneesah Morrow to LSU (merged)

[sweetspot]

Looking at their lineup, I'm guessing the rotation will now be:

PG-Hailey Van Lith, Grad Student
SG-Mikaylah Williams, Fr
SF-Flaujae Johnson, So
PF-Aneesah Morrow, Jr
C-Angel Reese, Jr

Bench:
Sa'Myah Smith, So
Kateri Poole, So
Last-Tear Poa, Jr
Aaliyah Del-Rosario, Fr
Angelica Velez, Fr

I wouldn't be surprised if Williams comes off the bench in favor of Poole, though most #1 or #2 recruits start from the get go.

Front court rotation is elite with Smith backing up Reese/Morrow. Backcourt also looks solid. This is the #1 team in the country on paper going into next season.

The big question is how all of these players will work together, and who will be content taking on a smaller role (being a screener, rebounder, taking fewer shots, etc). I think every player will go into the year planning to sacrifice for the greater good of the team, but intention is often easier than implementing adjustments. Last year Reese took 15.6 shots per game, Van Lith 16.8, Morrow 24.7. They're all used to being the star, and now a couple of them will relinquish that role. Players putting ego aside and playing unselfish basketball will make or break LSU. Someone (likely Morrow) will need to take pride in being a screener and doing a lot of the little things that aren't as fun or flashy for the betterment of the team. Van Lith will need to take pride in being a passer and getting teammates involved.

Worth noting, this entire roster could return for 2024-25 as well. Even if Reese/Hailey Van Lith go pro, the crop of returning players are elite and should have LSU a top 3 team the following season as well. There will be some massive battles in the SEC between LSU and South Carolina this year and in years to come.

Reese and her mom didn’t like her playing center at Maryland.

 

[Big12wbbFan]

Looking at their lineup, I'm guessing the rotation will now be:

PG-Hailey Van Lith, Grad Student
SG-Mikaylah Williams, Fr
SF-Flaujae Johnson, So
PF-Aneesah Morrow, Jr
C-Angel Reese, Jr

Bench:
Sa'Myah Smith, So
Kateri Poole, So
Last-Tear Poa, Jr
Aaliyah Del-Rosario, Fr
Angelica Velez, Fr

I wouldn't be surprised if Williams comes off the bench in favor of Poole, though most #1 or #2 recruits start from the get go.

Front court rotation is elite with Smith backing up Reese/Morrow. Backcourt also looks solid. This is the #1 team in the country on paper going into next season.

The big question is how all of these players will work together, and who will be content taking on a smaller role (being a screener, rebounder, taking fewer shots, etc). I think every player will go into the year planning to sacrifice for the greater good of the team, but intention is often easier than implementing adjustments. Last year Reese took 15.6 shots per game, Van Lith 16.8, Morrow 24.7. They're all used to being the star, and now a couple of them will relinquish that role. Players putting ego aside and playing unselfish basketball will make or break LSU. Someone (likely Morrow) will need to take pride in being a screener and doing a lot of the little things that aren't as fun or flashy for the betterment of the team. Van Lith will need to take pride in being a passer and getting teammates involved.

Worth noting, this entire roster could return for 2024-25 as well. Even if Reese/Hailey Van Lith go pro, the crop of returning players are elite and should have LSU a top 3 team the following season as well. There will be some massive battles in the SEC between LSU and South Carolina this year and in years to come.

Yes. It will be extremely interesting to see if Reese, Morrow, Van Lith can put aside egos and being the constant stars they have been on their teams. This is easier said than done. It will also be interesting to see if Sa Myah Smith and Del Rosario and maybe Williams or Poole will be content to sit on bench this year. Kim’s coaching job will likely not be easy this year.

I think Tennessee and Ole Miss will also make some noise in SEC this year

 

[DeeHusky]

I think Hailey Van Lith will be okay with taking a backseat. I’m not as confident that Morrow will however.

I agree to an extent because Morrow came out the gate averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds so she may not want to average 12-15ppg& 7-8rpg but I have faith that Kim will coach them accordingly for now. I feel like chemistry issues come from teams that have coaches who don’t know how to coach being a team player, don’t know how to get the best out of you, and have to coach effort. Geno, Kim, Dawn haven’t really had teams that don’t like to pass or have chemistry issues. You either get with the program or you trans…….

 

[Bigpetunia]

I am old…’tis a fact. And, the older I get, the more curmudgeonly I become, so my slanted views are unlikely to be widely shared. But, while I have been a lifelong fan of college athletics, I’m convinced that the elements to which I’ve long been attracted threaten the entertainment value of college sports in such dramatic ways that their long-term appeal lies very much in doubt. I despise the portal, and feel similarly about the NIL. I fear that what we’ve witnessed so far is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what lies ahead. Every time a stellar player from a team starts to look elsewhere for a potential opportunity to earn a ring, or lusts to make a quick buck, or wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, or whose hemorrhoids are acting up, are now likely candidates to jump on the transfer bandwagon. Sure, sometimes this will be to the benefit of team’s we favor, sometimes the opposite, but inevitably to the overall detriment of the game. I may be alone in this, but I think it stinks!

 

[Charliebball]

Ahhhhhh the weight of great expectations..................I sure can't blame Morrow for cashing in on the LSU casino........can Reese repeat her MVP play next season or will all the media attention be a distraction for her and the rest of the team? She better just not accumulate too many parking tickets in that slick Mercedes of hers or she'll have to sit out a game against St Ignesious of Ohio.......

 

[Bigboote]

I think Hailey Van Lith will be okay with taking a backseat. I’m not as confident that Morrow will however.

I agree -- the way I was thinking is Van Lith has been on USA teams where she had to work with other good players. I've never seen Morrow on a team with players that are better than she. I'm sure Mulkey told her what the coaching staff will expect, and she's fine with that. I'm not sure she's had to play that way, though -- and by not sure I mean not sure, not that I doubt it. We'll see.

 

[HuskylnSC]

IMHO, I would not trade Aubrey for Hailey Van Lith and Morrow combined. A confident Griffen cannot be stopped. She is a whirling dervish of rebounds, steals, fastbreaks and jump shots. As excited as I am for Paige to be back, I also am to see Aubrey!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Certainly LSU will be loaded, but we only have to look back...about a month ago to a loaded South Carolina team that came up short of winning the Tourney this year. Repeating as Champs is TOUGH. Hasn't been done since UConn completed a fourpeat in 2016.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I think that’s fair. I’m just basing my thoughts off what I’ve seen from the championship press tours and interviews and what I’ve seen in Kim’s coaching. 1)During all these press tours and interviews they’ve received from the championship hype and official recruiting visits, all the players have talked about loving Reese and how she’s mama bear. So I think they look to her to be the undisputed leader. 2) Kim has brought on players that have been big leaders for their previous team and made them fit in her system( Tea Cooper, Dijonai Carrington, Chloe Jackson, Alexis Morris) so I really don’t see an issue there. She has knack for getting players in line so that doesn’t worry me. They’ll get right or they’ll be dismissed (Morris, Hannah Gusters, Honesty Scott-Grayson 3)Van Lith and Morrow should’ve gone elsewhere if they wanted to be the star. They could’ve gone anywhere in the country, yet they chose the champions.

I don't think anyone is going to have a problem taking a backseat to Reese. Its vying for the 2nd and 3rd starring role on this team where I think the issues will come into play. Is Flau'jae, who just won a national title, really going to be ok being relegated to 4th or 5th biggest name on her own team behind players that just got there? Is Morrow ok with going from taking 700 shots a game to 200? Micayla Williams might be the best shooter and most talented player on the roster as a freshman but who is going to be ok with her taking their minutes?

That is what I find curious. Its not a jump to think these players are all ok with sharing more of the spotlight, but some of these players are going to have to step out of the spotlight of their own teams if they want to win imo.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

While LSU has a group of really good players when you get behind the hype what they have added is two very good, but not AA level players. Both Hailey Van Lith and Morrow were the best players on their teams but will need to find a way to fit in as secondary/supporting players at LSU. Maybe they both will be able to accept that role, but then again, maybe not.

Matching up their players to ours, I would take a healthy (key point) PB and Azzi Fudd over any Tiger. I think we have a toss-up in AE to Morrow. While I will give them the advantage at the 5 spot, I don't think it's as big as we might expect with our two promising 5's; Jana and Ice.

At that point we are left with comparing the rest of the teams and I'll take our remaining group over the LSU group by a mile. If we can stay healthy, I like our chances against them. Aubrey, CD, AP, Nika and our two FR guards KK and AS are a group of players that the Tigers cannot match.

Remember, it's a team game and there is only one basketball.

I agree. People are confusing hype with talent and its funny to me.

 

[sun]

I think that Morrow's move is great for the promotion of WCBB.
LSU will be a great team to enjoy watching.
Scar has picked up an athletic 6'5" center in the portal, so even winning the SEC is not a done deal.
There's going to be a lot of fireworks next season!

 

[Longtime fan]

LSU has the potential to be unstoppable next year. It will be very interesting to see how Kim and the team find their chemistry.

The SEC is going to be fascinating to watch next season.

Not sure the SEC will be interesting at all. No one is in the same league as LSU. They are unlikely to lose a single game all the way to the championship. Morrow is a huge addition (and a shock to me). I was hoping she would pick USC or someplace other than LSU. The concentration of talent is overwhelming. Time to say again: " this may not be good for women's college basketball." And there won't be any problems integrating these players into a team. Kim is great at that. This just makes it unnecessary to move the trophy anywhere else next season. It can stay in the LSU gymnasium.

 

[Bills Fan]

I think that Morrow's move is great for the promotion of WCBB.
Scar has picked up an athletic 6'5" center in the portal, so even winning the SEC is not a done deal.
There's going to be some fireworks next season!

I'm not a SC fan so I don't know who you are referring to as the Center they have picked up. ???

 

[Coler]

If only Utah hadn’t choked at the FT line.

But they did. What’s your point?

 

[DeeHusky]

I'm not a SC fan so I don't know who you are referring to as the Center they have picked up. ???

Sakima Walker from Rutgers. Went Juco and now she’s back to D1

 

[jdote33]

I think the underrated thing about LSU is there returners and freshman class. They are deep. Unlike NBA free agency, this isn't like u sign a big 3 and ur scrambling to get talent because of salaries. Their top 9 is super talented.

 

[bballtalk]

Kim finally gets a talented team at LSU. They’ll be really good next season. I think Mulkey will be just fine managing this talent. She’s had star laden teams before. She’s had two dominant bigs before in Cox and Brown. South Carolina and UConn, Stanford, etc bring in 5 stars every season and no one ever says “ I don’t know how they will share the ball”. I think these players understand who’s coming in. Especially Morrow. I think she understands she may not get the touches she was used to at DePaul, but she picked LSU for a reason. This season will be very interesting.

 

[Tom677777]

I don’t know, is it just me or is everyone getting worried or nervous about all these transfers going to all the big name schools. As a UConn fan I always get nervous with all these transfers and UConn has none. I know that we probably don’t need any and we will probably one of the best if not the best but still

 

[SECbbfan24]

I think the underrated thing about LSU is there returners and freshman class. They are deep. Unlike NBA free agency, this isn't like u sign a big 3 and ur scrambling to get talent because of salaries. Their top 9 is super talented.

Yeah Flaujae and Sa'Myah Smith getting major minutes year one will benefit them significantly going into year 2.

Plus I think Poole got more comfortable in her role as a defender and as a distributor as the season went along.

 

[AgStatesman]

I couldn't imagine any scenario that would make me a South Carolina fan, and yet, here it is.

 

[BBallF]

Our first NIL "Super-Team"

Yes, also our first " best money can buy" team. I would like to know the total spent of so called NIL funds for Hailey Van Lith, Morrow and Reese.

 

[Carnac]

Kim’s loading up!!

Wow….what a surprise. That’s why Kim was dancing with Aneesah. She probably had just told her she was coming.

 

[sun]

I'm not a SC fan so I don't know who you are referring to as the Center they have picked up. ???

This is a 1:00 video short of her.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Carnac]

Last season everything fell into place for LSU, including a nice run during the Big Dance and Iowa’s upset win over SC in the semifinals, giving the Tigers a dominant matchup against the Hawkeyes in the finals, rather than a return matchup with a SC team that beat them by 24 pts in the regular season.

On paper, LSU will be loaded this coming season. Of course, the games still have to be played, and I think there are going to be a couple of teams, including the Huskies, that will give LSU a run for their money. It’s going to be an interesting season.

One thing is for sure. LSU is not going to sneak up on anyone, and no one will take them lightly or for granted. I said Kim knows how to close a deal. I read a tweet that said LSU wined and dined Morrow like she was a head of state.

 

[Charliebball]

I don’t know, is it just me or is everyone getting worried or nervous about all these transfers going to all the big name schools. As a UConn fan I always get nervous with all these transfers and UConn has none. I know that we probably don’t need any and we will probably one of the best if not the best but still

I'm not worried by the increased number of transfers but I am concerned by the increased impact of the NIL money being thrown around by the big football schools to entice recruits............when money takes precedence over the quality of the basketball program that can't be a good thing for UConn, many other traditionally strong basketball programs or WBB......

 

[DeeHusky]

Yeah Flaujae and Sa'Myah Smith getting major minutes year one will benefit them significantly going into year 2.

Plus I think Poole got more comfortable in her role as a defender and as a distributor as the season went along.

I like what I saw from Poa at times too

 

[cancontent]

Yawn. Her 15 minutes of fame are now over.

Really? So the accolades she earned while at DePaul were a fluke? C'mon man.

 

[mrmojack]

All is well for now in Mulkeyville. Interesting situation developing down in the Bayou.

 

[sweetspot]

But they did. What’s your point?

The sheer audacity of someone indulging in a sports hypothetical and rooting against an unlikeable coach. The sheer audacity.

 

[hoopsfan22]

One thing is for sure. LSU is not going to sneak up on anyone, and no one will take them lightly or for granted. I said Kim knows how to close a deal. I read a tweet that said LSU wined and dined Morrow like she was a head of state.

Maybe Coach Mulkey learned that from Coach Staley. It was quite effective in landing Aliyah Boston.