Tag: Aneesah Morrow

Aneesah Morrow names top 3, doesn’t include the Iowa Hawkeyes

Though Iowa had been in contact with DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow, her top three didn’t include the Iowa Hawkeyes.

After Shateah Wetering entered the transfer portal, that opened up one scholarship for the Iowa Hawkeyes for next season.

With plenty of big names opting for new destinations, Hawkeye fans were hopeful one of them would be coming to Iowa City to team up with Caitlin Clark and co.

Unfortunately, it looks like the three biggest names will all be heading elsewhere. Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith recently visited LSU, Stanford transfer Lauren Betts announced her transfer to UCLA and DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow just named a top three that doesn’t include the Hawkeyes.

Though the Iowa Hawkeyes had previously contacted her, Morrow revealed her top three as LSU, South Carolina and USC.

Both Morrow and Betts seemed to make a lot of sense for Iowa given the departure of Monika Czinano inside. One would think the draw to play and win with Clark would be a strong one.

So far, it hasn’t worked out that way for the Hawkeyes.

Morrow averaged 25.7 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists last season with DePaul. The Chicago native had 25 double-doubles last season.

Meanwhile, Betts was the top-ranked player in the 2022 class per ESPN. She averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds with the Cardinal last season in just 9.6 minutes of average floor time. The 6-foot-7 center shot 60.2% from the field.

Van Lith was sensational at Louisville, averaging 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The way things are trending, it looks and feels like LSU might add both Van Lith and Morrow to go along with star forward Angel Reese.

There’s other names in the portal that Iowa could ultimately be attached to, but ESPN’s top three look like they are headed elsewhere.

As it currently stands, Iowa will have another talented team. It’s one that ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme already has on his way-too-early No. 1 seed line.

The Iowa Hawkeyes advanced to the national championship game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Clark, the consensus National Player of the Year, returns alongside fellow starters Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall.

Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady will be expected to contribute heavily in 2023-24 for the Hawkeyes as well.

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ESPN confirms Iowa has been in contact with DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow

ESPN reporter Alexa Philippou confirmed Iowa is among a group of schools that has contacted DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow.

Iowa is fresh off the greatest season in program history. The Hawkeyes marched all the way to the 2023 NCAA Tournament national championship game versus LSU.

A magical run for Iowa came up one game short, but the Hawkeyes reached the program’s first national title game and its second all-time Final Four. One half of The Law Firm, star big Monika Czinano, is out of eligibility and off to the WNBA.

Meanwhile, fellow starter McKenna Warnock elected against using an extra COVID season. That means the Hawkeyes are going to look different in 2023-24 and replacing two of their key cogs.

Naturally, it all starts with the return of National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark. Sharpshooting guards and longtime starters Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall are both back as well.

Even with the departures of Czinano and Warnock, that’s a great place to start. Still, Iowa will be counting upon the emergence of Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady in order to try to reach the heights of last season.

Molly Davis, Taylor McCabe, Sydney Affolter and Kylie Feuerbach are names to watch during the 2023-24 season as well.

With all of that returning, fans have still been wondering if there isn’t a transfer portal name or two that they should be keeping an eye on. After all, a player the caliber of Clark with a strong supporting cast and an opportunity to track down a national championship only comes along so often.

Of course, the big news earlier this week was forward Shateah Wetering entering the NCAA transfer portal. That was a notable happening because it meant that Iowa suddenly had one of its 15 scholarships open. Previously, all 15 of the Hawkeyes’ scholarships had been accounted for.

There’s all sorts of talent right now in the transfer portal and some interesting debates and discussions that can be had on which player Iowa should add if it hypothetically had its pick.

It seems like the Hawkeye coaching staff has one name in particular in mind. ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported that the Hawkeyes are one of the schools that has reached out and been in contact with DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow.

Per Philippou, Iowa is one of 33 schools that has contacted Morrow. That list includes national champion LSU, fellow Final Four participant South Carolina, Notre Dame, Maryland and USC.

The 6-foot-1 forward was a unanimous All-Big East selection and was named a third-team All-American by the US Basketball Writers Association and the Associated Press.

Morrow averaged 25.7 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game during the 2022-23 season. She registered 25 double-doubles last season. Morrow shot 42.5% from the floor and 25.4% from 3-point distance.

There’s been all sorts of reaction to Morrow jumping into the portal. Here’s some of the national reaction since her April 5 announcement.

Aneesah Morrow and Ta’Niya Latson have reached ‘must-watch’ territory

Get caught up on the latest in women’s college hoops with the Heat Check

Women’s Hoops Heat Check is back with Cole Huff and Mitchell Northam. Part 1: Standout Players

Cole: Aneesah Morrow, DePaul

Look, you are worthy of praise whenever you crack 40 points in any level of basketball, whether in a Boys & Girls Club league, an AAU tournament, or college and professional ball — 40 points means you were feelin’ it. And Aneesah Morrow was certainly feelin’ it last Saturday when she dropped 45 big ones against Northeastern. On top of that, she pulled down 13 boards and registered five steals en route to a DePaul win.

And while this is undoubtedly a massive performance, the bigger picture is that nights like these are becoming regular. Maybe not 45-point outings. However, the steals and 30-plus-point double-doubles are — it was Morrow’s third of the season and the fourth time this year she’s reached five steals in a game. With that, she’s played her way into National Player of the Year status, though she did suffer a knee injury that forced her to exit early and miss most of DePaul’s win over Howard on Monday.

Nevertheless, take note of the do-it-all sophomore forward if you haven’t already. You’ll want to lock in on Morrow each time she takes the basketball court.

Mitch: Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State

There were a lot of reasons to doubt Florida State this season. The Seminoles were going through a coaching transition, as Sue Semrau stepped away for good to hand the reins off to Brooke Wyckoff. Three of FSU’s top players last season – Morgan Jones, River Baldwin and Sammie Puisis – transferred to other schools. In the offseason, FSU didn’t really reload, and entered the year with just 10 rostered players.

But one player that the Seminoles did add was Ta’Niya Latson – a freshman from Miami who was named Florida’s Miss Basketball. It seemed apparent that Latson would get plenty of opportunities to play and shine, but could she carry the Seminoles to a winning record?

So far, she’s doing that and so much more. Florida State is 10-1 and Latson has been voted ACC Rookie of the Week for five straight weeks – that’s every week so far this season. She’s one of the five top scorers in the nation, averaging 25.5 points per game. Latson has scored double digit points in every collegiate game she’s played in so far, and most recently poured in 34 points on 19 shots in a win over Texas Southern.

And get this: Since the beginning of the HerHoopStats era in 2009, Latson is the only freshman to average at least 24 points per game while shooting better than 49% from the floor. And we’ve had a lot of great rookies in women’s college basketball in that time, from Elena Delle Donne to Chennedy Carter. Latson is doing something that none of them ever did, and we should be talking more about it.

Latson will get the chance on Sunday to impress on national TV: FSU plays against UConn on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

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