How first-round draft pick Aneesah Morrow can help Connecticut Sun
UNCASVILLE– For more than a years, super star forward Alyssa Thomas was associated with the Connecticut Sun.
Nicknamed ‘The Engine’ by fans, Thomas was the centerpiece of the franchise practically as soon as she was prepared with the No. 4 total choice in the 2014 WNBA Draft out of Maryland. But after 11 years, five All-Star selections and two looks in the WNBA Finals, Thomas left the Sun this offseason to join the Phoenix Mercury through a sign-and-trade offer.
While losing Thomas is devastating both on the court and for the group’s brand, the Sun got an opportunity to reset with back-to-back first-round draft choices in 2025. Connecticut hasn’t been a prime location for novices over the last years as it fielded veteran-heavy rosters, so the front workplace was optimistic about the chance to discover instantaneous factors via the draft.
On Monday night with the No. 7 general pick, the Sun picked LSU forward Aneesah Morrow to help fill the void Thomas leaves behind. If Morrow’s own vision for her career is any indication, Connecticut made a best choice.
“I constantly view AT,” Morrow stated on draft night when asked which WNBA players influence her game. “She’s undersized, but … she doesn’t take no (expletive) from no one. She can be found in there and she holds her own every night. She can safeguard nearly every position, and that’s hard.”
Like Thomas, who is listed at 6 feet 2, Morrow is small for a WNBA power forward at 6-1, and the former LSU star said she has long looked to Thomas’s game as a blueprint for her own expert course. Thomas ranks No. 19 all-time in profession rebounds and 5th among active players, averaging at least 7 per game in every total season she has played considering that 2018. Thomas led the league in rebounding in 2023– the year she ended up runner-up in MVP ballot– and has 82 profession double-doubles to rank No. 10 in WNBA history.
Alyssa Thomas # 25 of the Connecticut Sun knocks the ball loose against Napheesa Collier # 24 of the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter of Game Five of the Semi-Finals throughout the WNBA Playoffs at Target Center on Oct. 08, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User specifically acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photo, User is consenting to the terms of the Getty Images License Contract. (Image by David Berding/Getty Images) Morrow is an elite rebounder in her own right, leaving LSU after simply 2 seasons ranked No. 10 in program history in career rebounds. She had the third-best rebounding season ever by an LSU player with 485 in her senior season, balancing a double-double with 18.7 points and 13.5 boards per game. Including her freshman and sophomore seasons at DePaul, Morrow finished her college basketball profession ranked 3rd all-time in profession rebounds and 2nd in career double-doubles, joining Oklahoma legend Courtney Paris as the only players to log more than 100 double-doubles.
“(Thomas) holds her own on the inside, and that grit, that determination is something I attempt to mold my game around,” Morrow said. “I know that when you’re undersized, people might look at that as a downside, but I don’t. I feel like I played a lot larger than my size, and I have the ability to hold my own versus people that are 6-6, 6-8 that I bet this year as well. AT is not somebody to be played with, which’s how I wish to be looked at as player.”
The most significant difference between Morrow and Thomas is on the offensive end. Thomas is distinctively impactful as a facilitator averaging a minimum of six assists per game over her last 3 years with the Sun, and she is the only player besides Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings to rank leading 20 all-time in both rebounds and assists.
The star forward’s passing developed partially out of requirement after suffering labrum tears in both shoulders, the right in 2015 and the left in 2017. The left labrum tear likewise substantially affected Thomas’s range of motion, so she had to change her shooting hand to the right and modify her type to attempt anything further out than a layup. Thomas hasn’t made a 3-pointer considering that her rookie year in 2014 and has a profession average of simply 64.6% at the free-throw line.
UCLA guard Londynn Jones, right, attempts to remove the ball from LSU guard Aneesah Morrow( 24)during the 3rd quarter of a Sugary food Sixteen round college basketball game throughout the NCAA Competition, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Morrow isn’t a high-volume passer, however the rookie was a dominant scorer throughout her college profession. She shot a career-best 49 % from the field and 28.9 % on 3-pointers in 2024-25, balancing 18.7 points to lead an LSU offense that ranked fourth in the country in points per game. Morrow is currently exceptional in the mid-range, and if she’s able to develop a more consistent outside shot, she will provide the Sun flexibility to space the flooring in methods they never might have when Thomas was running the program.
Sun basic manager Morgan Tuck invested four seasons in Connecticut as a player from 2016-2019, so she got a first-hand view of Thomas’s development into the triple-double machine she is today. In Morrow, Tuck sees a similar ability to flourish even without all the physical tools of a larger player.
“(Thomas) was perhaps an unorthodox player that didn’t can be found in with the most significant noise– she was a high choice, however she didn’t been available in as the AT we understand her as now,” Tuck said. “However she discovered a way … So to me it’s promising when we see somebody like AT with the frame of mind she has, how she approaches things and then seeing Aneesah and how she approaches her game. AT revealed you can be a little unconventional and possibly not be the perfect fit for that position and be truly effective. It makes me extremely, very excited for Aneesah’s potential.”
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Initially Published: April 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM EDT