Basketball <\/p>\n
When this women\u2019s 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<\/a>\u2019s Paige Bueckers, USC\u2019s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame<\/a>\u2019s Hannah Hidalgo.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 squad that started the year 23-0 and looks like a legit contender for the national title.<\/p>\n But it feels like there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n LSU<\/a>\u2019s Aneesah Morrow is worth talking about and deserves some consideration for prestigious national honors.<\/p>\n Nearly a year after the departures of stars like Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith, Kim Mulkey\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n And certainly the play of Flau\u2019Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams has been crucial to the Tigers\u2019 success, but a large portion of the credit for LSU not skipping a beat in its post-Reese era should go to Morrow.<\/p>\n Consider that Morrow is averaging 17.9 points and 14.3 rebounds per game this season \u2013 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 \u2014 together, collectively \u2014 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 \u2013 Kendall Bostic of Illinois and Gift Uchenna of Southern Illinois<\/a> \u2013 come close: Bostic averages 15.5 and 11.3, awhile Uchenna posts 14.3 and 13.1, respectively.<\/p>\n Since 2009, Morrow is one of just eight players<\/a> 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\u2019s making charity stripe shots at a 74.5 percent clip. Morrow also has the fewest turnovers of anyone on that list \u2013 which includes Reese, her former LSU teammate \u2013 and only Judie Lomax of Columbia in 2009-10 had more steals per game than Morrow\u2019s 2.5.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019s scoring and 22.2 percent of its rebounding, while Watkins is good for 29.5 percent of USC\u2019s scoring and 16.3 percent of its rebounding.<\/p>\n Morrow averages more steals than Watkins and has a better defensive rating and more defensive win shares than Betts.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Aneesah Morrow.<\/p>\n Her motor is next level. There is no way at just 6-foot-1 you should be leading the county in rebounds per game.<\/p>\n Also a walking double-double. https:\/\/t.co\/BjnuQtSV8W<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) January 23, 2025<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n LSU has just two losses on its resume this season, coming in road games at South Carolina and Texas. But the Tigers didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n If these stats aren\u2019t good enough, take it from the coaches who have game-planned for Morrow and largely been unsuccessful in stopping her:<\/p>\n 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\u2019s basketball has hit that mark in Oklahoma\u2019s Courtney Paris. Morrow is currently sixth all-time<\/a> in total rebounds and will likely finish her career ranking as the third-best glass cleaner in women\u2019s college basketball.<\/p>\n With or without the recognition of national awards, Morrow \u2013 who started playing college ball at DePaul before transferring to LSU two years ago \u2013 is going to finish her career as one of the best post players ever. She\u2019s rewriting record books, her stats are nothing short of eye-popping, and her play leads opposing coaches to shower her with compliments.<\/p>\n If all that doesn\u2019t add up to being included in the conversations for national player of the year, then what does?<\/p>\n Mulkey summed it best on her radio show recently<\/a>, offering this when asked about Morrow:<\/p>\n \u201cDo I have to say any more about her that hasn\u2019t been said?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n