When Angel Reese declared for the WNBA, she was predicted to have a top ranking. But eventually, news like “Caitlin Clark goes No. 1, Angel Reese falls” started coming out. While the Bayou Barbie’s monster stats (nearly six rebounds per game over two years with LSU) were clear, experts still had doubts about her performance against pros. And guess what? Every other team passed on her until she was picked up by the Chicago Sky at #7. A year has passed since then, and Reese is already leading those “pros” in rebounding with her 13.1 rebounds average. So that’s why, when she saw history repeating itself, she didn’t hesitate to throw it back.

On the eve of Aneesah Morrow’s WNBA debut, Angel Reese sent a cryptic, yet powerful message. She reposted a fan’s tweet that read: “Aneesah Morrow need to make everybody regret passing her up just like Angel Reese did. Lucky #7.”

And then she added her own flair: “That #7 so lucky!” Coincidence? Not even close. Exactly one year later, Reese’s former LSU teammate, Aneesah Morrow, projected as a top-five pick by some, slipped to No. 7, nabbed by the Connecticut Sun. And Reese’s message? It wasn’t just support. It was a challenge. A call to arms. Also, it comes at a crucial time. After all, before the draft, many called Morrow undersized and questioned her future as a starter in the WNBA.

All this, despite the fact that just like Angel Reese, the 6-foot-1 Chicago native carved out her name long before college. At Simeon High School, she didn’t just dominate—she led her team to a stellar 35-2 record and a state championship title in 2020. That was just the beginning.

At DePaul, she kept raising the bar, racking up 53 double-doubles. What’s more is that she also shattered the school’s single-season rebounding record with 457 boards, and averaged 25.7 points per game, seventh best in the country. But she wanted more. So she transferred to LSU and brought that same fire to Kim Mulkey’s powerhouse program.

In her lone season with the Tigers, Morrow posted 22 double-doubles, ranked fifth in the nation, and added 93 steals, tying third all-time in LSU program history. The formula for Morrow was quite simple: to deliver when it mattered the most. And that was how she became one of the top power forwards in the country, leading LSU with her 18.7 points per game average.

Not just that, she even topped the charts in rebounds (13.5 rpg) and double-doubles (30). As a result, she was third in NCAA Division 1 in rebounds and second in a double-double by the time she declared for the WNBA draft.

So with a résumé like that, you’d think she’d be a lock for a top-three pick, right? By now, we don’t need to tell you that you are wrong. Just like Angel Reese a year earlier, Morrow watched six names get called before hers. And again it was proved that even the most elite talent isn’t immune to being doubted.

However, it seems like Morrow already knew the stakes. She has already made it clear that she is not coming into the league to be pushed around. She has even challenged Reese with a message that was just wholesome altogether, saying, “I’m looking forward to matching up against Angel [Reese] my former teammate. I love her to death, but i know that it’s going to be two dogs slashing on the floor and trying to get up in there and get as many rebounds as possible.”

Well, do we love the rebounding thrill awaiting? Calling it a spectacle is truly an understatement. Perhaps, Reese put it best when she said in March, “Me & Nees gon be killing each other for rebounds in the W😭😭“. Tears of excitement, count us in! And maybe things will be better for her as she has been quietly learning from Reese’s experience in the league. 

Can Aneesah Morrow follow in Angel Reese’s footsteps?

A year ago, when Angel Reese was eyeing the 2024 WNBA Draft, she wasn’t exactly thrilled. Especially not with ESPN’s mock draft that projected her to go eighth overall.

“That was an insult to her,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey had said at the time. The slight lit a fire in Reese. Sure, there were things she needed to work on, as Mulkey pointed out, but the projection wasn’t just a number to her. So, she turned them into her fuel. “She gets motivated in practice with someone going head-to-head with her or talking trash back at her. She’s a competitor,” Mulkey added.

And that’s exactly where the difference lies between Reese and Aneesah Morrow. While Morrow kept her emotions quiet and didn’t speak much about where she was picked, Reese embraced the noise. She turned it into momentum. “Personally, I aspire to make it to the WNBA,” Reese had said early on. “While I do have the option for another year, I do want to get out of college, start life outside of school, and pursue my WNBA dreams.”

And guess what? She didn’t just chase those dreams, she took over.

Even before Caitlin Clark could find her rhythm in the league, Reese was making headlines. She broke the WNBA rookie record for most consecutive double-doubles—and didn’t stop there. Her streak grew longer, her rebounding numbers soared, and suddenly, the “Chi-Town Barbie” was a legit Rookie of the Year contender.

But she didn’t stop at basketball. Reese made sure her presence was felt everywhere. From endorsement deals with Reebok and McDonald’s to launching her own podcast, Unapologetically Angel, and signing a lucrative contract with Unrivaled, Reese built an empire before her rookie year was even over.

Now, as Aneesah Morrow steps into the WNBA spotlight, the question naturally arises. And judging from what she recently said- while her way of approaching things might not be the same, she does have a plan in mind. Derived right from Reese’s book! “Just seeing how she was able to handle it, how mature she was with it, just letting you know that media is media,” she said. “It’s not the real world. You can turn your phone off and it all it’s all gone.“

So, for the time being, we can keep our toe fiddles for their first clash in the league.