What Angel Reese taught ex-LSU teammate Aneesah Morrow ahead of WNBA Draft
What Angel Reese taught ex-LSU teammate Aneesah Morrow ahead of WNBA Draft
READ MORE: Angel Reese threatens to boycott WNBA and fumes over salary
By JAKE NISSE
When Aneesah Morrow hears her name called in Monday's WNBA Draft, she won't merely be the latest ex-LSU athlete to make it pro.
Following in the footsteps of her former teammate Angel Reese, Paul Skenes and Jayden Daniels, Morrow is yet another NIL success story from the school's virtual conveyor belt of them. That's not to mention gymnastics star Livvy Dunne, the school's biggest marketing hit, who's still at LSU for a fifth year despite her massive earnings.
And while Morrow will want her rebounding prowess to translate to the W, she's learned from other Tigers that her livelihood stretches far beyond the court.
'That's exactly why I came to LSU, was to build my brand,' she told reporters last Friday. 'The LSU brand is the best.
'... Honestly, when I went on my visit [to the school], everybody was chasing me down, asking for autographs.'
Morrow's comments came as she worked a ceremonial shift at Raising Cane's, and her collaboration with the chicken tender chain was far from the first time she's expanded her empire off the hardwood.
Aneesah Morrow is expected to be an early pick in the WNBA Draft after a strong senior season for LSU
Morrow spent a season playing alongside Angel Reese for the Lady Tigers
The forward spoke to reporters at Raising Cane's in New York City last week before the Draft
Deals with Saturday House, Saie, Crossover Culture and more came her way while at LSU - after she had transferred to the powerhouse from DePaul - and she's racked up 2.8million likes and counting on TikTok. That all helped Morrow reach 21st in the current women's college basketball NIL rankings from On3.com.
In fact, LSU's NIL legacy is already so storied that it was the subject of an Amazon Prime series, 'The Money Game,' which focused on the business success of Dunne and Reese.
'I was able to learn a lot from them, honestly, especially with being with Angel every day in practice,' Morrow told Mail Sport, in response to a question about Reese and Dunne.
'Seeing the media impact, and how some days I would come to [Reese] and be like, 'Are you good?'' And just seeing how she was able to handle it, how mature she was with it, just letting you know that media is media. It's not the real world. You can turn your phone off and it all it's all gone. So I learned a lot from from her, when it came down to that.'
Morrow, a projected top-10 pick in the draft, is certainly entering the W at a fruitful time for the league.
Aided by the star power of Caitlin Clark, the W set attendance and viewership records last year, and is set to begin a new media rights deal in 2026 - worth an estimated $2.2billion over 11 years.
Salaries should also rise as players have opted out of the league's current collective bargaining agreement, with a new one to be negotiated against a deadline of October 31.
Morrow is known for her prowess on the boards, as she averaged 13.5 rebounds last season
LSU has produced several NIL stars, none bigger than fifth-year gymnast Livvy Dunne
Morrow, though, can recall a time when the hype wasn't so big around women's hoops.
'It's great to be a part of it. I remember when I was in high school sitting back and watching the games, and I'm like, it's so much more to women's sports, but people just haven't been able to see it,' she said.
'And [to] just know that I've been able to play during that time where people are actually more engaged and there's a lot more attention to it - it's powerful, and I'm really enjoying it.'
Morrow's first meeting against Reese - assuming she is not selected by her Chicago Sky - will certainly be one game that captures that sort of attention.
The Chicago native played alongside Reese for one season in Baton Rouge before stepping into an even more important role for Kim Mulkey's squad this year, averaging 18.7 points to go along with a very Reese-esque 13.5 boards a night.
'Angel is a competitor, and so am I,' Morrow said. 'She helped me a lot while I was at LSU, and we were able to be like yin and yang, just having each other's backs, especially on the boards, while we were there,' Morrow said.
Morrow said her Draft day will involve a lot of time getting her hair and makeup done
Morrow credited Reese for teaching her about branding and how to deal with the media
'So it would be interesting to get to see her play, also playing against her as well, and seeing how our games has changed.'
While Morrow said she wants to get more comfortable putting the ball on the floor and shooting from three-point range, she'll certainly have seen how Reese - an All-Star in her rookie season - carried over her rebounding prowess to the pros.
'Never go away from my craft,' Morrow told reporters.
For now, she'll take a bit of time to bask in her draft day, which she said will be filled with hair and makeup, some TikToks and likely some tears as well.
'I know for me, it's going to be probably very emotional,' she said. 'Imma try not to cry and mess up my makeup, but I know how much work that I put for that opportunity, and I feel like once I hear my name called, it's going to be a sense of relief.'
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