Connecticut’s two first round draft picks — Anneesah Morrow, left, and Saniya Rivers — met with the media in Uncasville on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Connecticut Sun)
As the Connecticut Sun begin to rebuild their franchise, the WNBA squad selected a pair of hard-nosed players in the first round of Monday’s WNBA draft.
The Sun selected LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, a 6-foot-1 forward who led the NCAA in rebounding this season, with the No. 7 pick before picking up 6-foot-1 guard Saniya Rivers from North Carolina State with the No. 8 selection.
It was the first time that the Sun had multiple selections in the first round since 2016 when Connecticut selected current general manager Morgan Tuck at No. 3, sharpshooter Rachel Banham at No. 4 and Jonquel Jones at No. 6.
Six players from last year’s squad that advanced to the WNBA semifinals are gone including veteran All-Stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones along with youngsters DiJonai Harrington and Tyasha Harris and head coach Stephanie White.
The Sun didn’t have a first round pick when the 2024 campaign ended thanks to a mid-season trade to pick up sharpshooter Marina Mabrey from Chicago. But off-season trades brought two first round picks to Connecticut.
“There was a lot of change that we talked about and a lot of uncertainty that surrounded that,” Tuck said. “I think something I mentioned then that I still believe this is a great opportunity for us to reset in a few different ways.”
Morrow was LSU’s leading scorer at 18.7 points a game and led the country in rebounds (13.5) and double-doubles (at least 10 points, 10 rebounds) with 30. At 6-foot-1, she finished third in NCAA history with 1,1714 rebounds. She played her freshman and sophomore seasons at DePaul University.
Former Connecticut GM and head coach Curt Miller is now the GM of the Dallas Wings and is impressed with Morrow.
“(They are) getting a really talented player,” Miller said. “I personally, in my decade in this league, think that rebounding has translated, and players that rebounded in college end up rebounding in the pros.
“One of the things that you have, that just pops off the chart when she leads the nation in rebounding, is she goes and gets the ball. She’s undersized, so it talks about tenacity, it talks about desire. Rebounding is a big hustle statistic,” Miller said of Morrow.
Morrow said, “I know that when you’re undersized, people might look at that as a disadvantage, but I don’t. I feel like I play a lot bigger than my size and I’m able to hold my own against people that’s 6 ‘6″, 6 ‘8″ that I played against this year as well. So, molding my game around that.”
Morrow benefited from the emphasis on defense under long-time head coach Kim Mulkey.
“You will not play if you don’t defend,” Morrow said. “But also being versatile as well. I’m able to guard bigger opponents. I’m able to be able to guard to three as well. I’m willing to do whatever I can to be impactful for this team and that’s why I get on the boards because I feel like no rebound is a bad rebound.”
Rivers played three years at North Carolina State after one season at South Carolina. She averaged 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and a team-leading 3.8 assists a game for the Wolfpack this season. She is the only played in team history with at least 1,100 points, 600 rebounds, 350 assists, 180 steals and 100 blocks.
“I really take pride in being versatile. I feel like I’m long and I’m athletic. So I try to use that to my advantage,” Rivers said. “I feel like I just use it as an advantage. I think it’ll translate smooth to me at the next level. I just feel like I’m a very unselfish player. So wherever I need to be, that’s where I’m going to be. If it varies from practice to practice, game to game, that’s what I’m going to do and just be a versatile player.”
Morrow and Rivers played against each other in the NCAA tournament with LSU and Morrow (30 points, 19 points) beating the Wolfpack, 80-73 in the Sweet 16.
“That’s my dog. I’m so happy to be playing with her. I was literally telling people, like playing against her in the W is going to be so tough,” Rivers said. “I literally had to guard her in the Sweet 16 and I was just like, uh-uh. We’re not doing that.
“Just to be able to team up with her, she has that dog mentality and she’s just a great person on and off the court, a great teammate. I’ve seen her be a great teammate to others. So, I’m looking forward to playing alongside her and growing together, and we’re going to make some noise for sure.”
Tuck and the Sun were impressed with overall game of both players.
“When you look at prospects you look at their whole body of work. I think what really stood out when we got to talk with them is who they are as people, kind of their confidence, their passion, how they carry themselves and their ambition and commitment to being great in our league and willing to do the work to do that,” she said.
Connecticut also selected Southern California’s Rayah Marshall with the 25th pick in the draft. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 10.4 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Trojans, who lost to Connecticut in the regional championship game of the NCAA tournament.
The Sun open the season against Washington on May 18 at 1 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
