We aren’t talking enough about how good LSU’s Aneesah Morrow is

When this women’s college basketball season began, most folks figured that the race for the national player of the year would come down to three returning guards: UConn’s Paige Bueckers, USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.

And indeed, all three players have been mightily impressive this season and likely secured spots on the All-American First Team. A fourth player quickly rose to the top to join them in that debate and conversation in UCLA center Lauren Betts, who is averaging about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game and is the nucleus of a Bruins’ squad that started the year 23-0 and looks like a legit contender for the national title.

But it feels like there’s a fifth player we should be talking about for a spot on the All-American team, and someone who is worth mentioning in the national player of the year race. Somehow, someway, a player from a marquee program in perhaps the best conference in the sport has flown under the radar.

LSU’s Aneesah Morrow is worth talking about and deserves some consideration for prestigious national honors.

Nearly a year after the departures of stars like Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith, Kim Mulkey’s Tigers have a sterling 27-2 record, are ranked seventh in the AP Top 25 Poll, are a lock to again host NCAA Tournament games during its first weekend, and seen as a team that could make the Final Four should the bracket break in their favor.

And certainly the play of Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams has been crucial to the Tigers’ success, but a large portion of the credit for LSU not skipping a beat in its post-Reese era should go to Morrow.

Consider that Morrow is averaging 17.9 points and 14.3 rebounds per game this season – the latter of which leads all of Division I. Those numbers are noteworthy because it shows that no player in the country is scoring and rebounding — together, collectively — at the rate and as efficiently as Morrow is. No other player in the nation this season averages even 15 points and 12 rebounds per game. Only two others – Kendall Bostic of Illinois and Gift Uchenna of Southern Illinois – come close: Bostic averages 15.5 and 11.3, awhile Uchenna posts 14.3 and 13.1, respectively.

Since 2009, Morrow is one of just eight players to average at least 17 points and 14 boards in a single season. And by the way, none of them shot as well from the free throw line as Morrow has this year, where she’s making charity stripe shots at a 74.5 percent clip. Morrow also has the fewest turnovers of anyone on that list – which includes Reese, her former LSU teammate – and only Judie Lomax of Columbia in 2009-10 had more steals per game than Morrow’s 2.5.

One could make the case that no player means as much to their team as Morrow means to LSU this season. The 6-foot-1 forward from Chicago’s Simeon High School accounts for 20.9 percent of the Tigers scoring and 30.3 percent of their rebounding. By comparison, Betts is responsible for about 25.2 percent of UCLA’s scoring and 22.2 percent of its rebounding, while Watkins is good for 29.5 percent of USC’s scoring and 16.3 percent of its rebounding.

Morrow averages more steals than Watkins and has a better defensive rating and more defensive win shares than Betts.

And it’s worth noting that Morrow is accumulating her stats in the SEC, not the Big Ten. Both conferences are strong, to be sure, but no conference is as top-heavy as the SEC. When the NCAA Tournament selection committee released its top 16 seeds earlier this month, it included six SEC teams and just three Big Ten teams.

LSU has just two losses on its resume this season, coming in road games at South Carolina and Texas. But the Tigers didn’t fall in those games because of Morrow. Against the Gamecocks, she was the highest scorer and rebounder on the floor with 15 points and 16 boards. At Texas, she posted 15 and 20. Those games were close heading deep into the fourth quarter because of Morrow.

If these stats aren’t good enough, take it from the coaches who have game-planned for Morrow and largely been unsuccessful in stopping her:

• South Carolina’s Dawn Staley: “Aneesah is a really, really hard guard. I told our team there isn’t anybody that we’ve played this year that’s going to play like she plays. I don’t think there’s going to be another person that plays like her… She had her way with us.”
• Seton Hall’s Tony Bozzella: “Her effort is fantastic. I mean, she’s constantly rebounding the ball,” he said. “You know her desire, her understanding of where the rebounds are going to go… Her motor is second to none.”
• Vanderbilt’s Shea Ralph: “I’ve been really blessed to coach some amazing players in my career. I do remember when she transferred to LSU from DePaul. I was like, ‘Damn, we’re going to have to play against her.’ Because I remember what she did at DePaul, and how hard she played. There’s no substitute for what that kids have inside her heart… You can’t coach that. You either have that or you don’t. That kid has a lot of stuff inside of her that makes her a pro right now. She’s a monster, in a good way.”

The next time Morrow notches a double-double, it will be the 100th of her career. Only one other player in the history of Division I NCAA women’s basketball has hit that mark in Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris. Morrow is currently sixth all-time in total rebounds and will likely finish her career ranking as the third-best glass cleaner in women’s college basketball.

With or without the recognition of national awards, Morrow – who started playing college ball at DePaul before transferring to LSU two years ago – is going to finish her career as one of the best post players ever. She’s rewriting record books, her stats are nothing short of eye-popping, and her play leads opposing coaches to shower her with compliments.

If all that doesn’t add up to being included in the conversations for national player of the year, then what does?

Mulkey summed it best on her radio show recently, offering this when asked about Morrow:

“Do I have to say any more about her that hasn’t been said?”