Aneesah Morrow Wants to Put Her Carefully Crafted Game on Display in AU Pro Basketball Debut
Aneesah Morrow takes her craft seriously, and for her, that looks like more than just endless on-court reps. She looks at her game as a complete package that includes mental agility and toughness, adaptability on and off the court, relationship building, and the drive to keep chasing the next opportunity.
This winter she’s set to attack a new challenge in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball following a debut WNBA season where she shouldered one of the heaviest workloads among rookies. She ranked eighth in total minutes played, second in rebounds, and sixth in blocks in the 2025 draft class.
Although Morrow’s rookie season developed into a booming success, it started with her missing out on a full training camp experience as well as the first two games of the season due to a knee injury. The setback tested the former LSU standout, but she drew on a resilience built from watching her mother overcome adversity throughout her life.
“It took a lot of discipline. It took a lot of focus. There was probably a little bit of self doubt in that process,” Morrow said. “But I’m always the type of person that knows I can overcome what I put my mind to.”
She credits her mother as the foundation of her mental toughness.
“That’s my role model,” Morrow said. “I watched that person do a lot of things in life, and be able to be that positive person and continue to have so much love in her heart, but also be so driven to accomplish what she wanted to.”
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Once healthy, Morrow quickly established herself as a force for the Connecticut Sun. She played significant minutes–18 per game–and embraced physical matchups against the league’s elite players, shouldering more responsibility than most rookies receive.
“I feel like it comes natural for me. I’m good with working in chaos,” she said. “Whatever I could do to help my team and whatever I could do to make things easier for my teammates, is what I’m going to do.”
That approach earned her respect from coaches who recognized an inherent quality to her game.
“I have a lot of coaches tell me that I have something that you can’t teach and that’s a mindset, and that’s heart. You’ve got to have heart for this,” Morrow said.
Now she’s joining AU Pro Basketball with plans to build on that rookie foundation while learning from players across the league. The format and opportunity to form genuine connections beyond surface-level competition is what appealed to Morrow most.
“Everybody has their own unique story, and I feel like that’s the biggest thing about it, just being able to sit down and talk to them and be able to actually get to know them and their story,” Morrow said. “Being around a lot of players that are a lot older than you, some might even be younger, lets you know a lot of things about life and opportunities and connections and networking.”
For Morrow, joining AU was also about staying close to family during the offseason rather than heading overseas.
“I felt like it was the right step, because I could stay in the US and be able to play, be able to enjoy my family, enjoy my holidays,” she said. “I’m always about family, and I want to be able to enjoy my career and my experiences with my family.”
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As she prepares for her AU debut, Morrow is focused on perfecting the fundamentals. She’s working on controlling her tempo and mastering the basics that create elite players.
“Right now, that’s been the biggest thing. I am a high motor player, and Im able to know when to slow down and when to use my speed,” she said. “Perfecting the little things, perfecting my jabs, perfecting my offense, being low on my dribble. I feel like the basics of the game is what makes you so successful.”
Her ultimate goal extends beyond individual performance. Morrow wants to establish a legacy, and put her career on display for the world to see.
“I feel like my game is already exciting. It’s very joyful and very energetic…Just being able to display the unseen hours that I put in the gym against some of the best players in the world,” she said of her goals.
Morrow’s journey from injury to impact player in her rookie season proved she belongs among the pros. Now she’s ready to make her mark on the basketball landscape in the US, starting with AU Pro Basketball Season 5 in Nashville.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
