Aneesah Morrow On How LSU Prepared Her For The WNBA

Ahead of WNBA Draft, Aneesah Morrow reflected on how LSU prepared her for the WNBA by strengthening her business acumen, basketball prowess and confidence.

Drafted with the seventh pick by the Connecticut Sun, on her hopes for her rookie experience Morrow said, “I want to be able to be on a team where I can learn and be a sponge to some of the best players in the world and get constructive criticism from coaches who are some of the best in the world.”

Before her name was called on Monday evening, Morrow reflected on the impact of transferring to LSU during a celebratory “shift” at the Raising Cane’s Astor Place location.

“I knew I wanted to come to LSU to perform at the highest level,” Morrow said. “I knew I would be able to do what I was going to do on the floor and leave better with the community’s support.”

Accessing the LSU community’s support beyond the court played a critical role in Morrow’s 2023 commitment to LSU. Entering the transfer portal after two seasons at DePaul, Morrow was highly sought after by coaches.

“I came to LSU to build my brand,” Morrow said. “The LSU brand is the best, honestly, in my opinion.”

Signing with LSU allowed Morrow to engage with top business leaders, including Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves, who opened the company’s first restaurant at the North Gates of LSU.

“I got to see peoples’ stories and how they might have doubts, but that there are mornings when you wake up and look back to a time when you didn’t know you could do something and you kept going,” Morrow reflected on how Graves’ journey inspired her. “That’s exactly his story–he continued to push, he continued to persevere and he’s been able to accomplish amazing things.”

Like Graves, Morrow encountered others at LSU who demonstrated how to persevere against challenges to attain success. On navigating the pressures of fame, Morrow’s teammate Angel Reese provided critical guidance.

“I was able to learn a lot, especially from being with Angel everyday in practice and seeing the media impact,” Morrow said. “Some days I would come to her and say, ‘you good?’ She let me know that the media is media–it’s not the real world; you can turn your phone off and it’s all gone.”

Beginning her professional career and growing her brand outside of basketball, Morrow has tapped the knowledge of someone who has helped over twenty athletes enter the WNBA: LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.

“She’s trying to instill as much confidence in me as she possibly can,” Morrow reflected. “She always encouraged that I be who I am and not change for anybody and just continue to perfect my game and craft.”

The beginning of a WNBA career creates a range of exciting moments for Morrow, but one day stands out: June 15, when when Morrow’s Connecticut Sun play Reese’s Chicago Sky.

“Angel is a competitor and so am I,” Morrow said. “She helped me a lot when I was at LSU and we were able to be like ying-and-yang helping each other, especially on the board. It will be interesting to play against her and see how her game has changed.”