Less than a month ago, Alexis Morris helped LSU win its first ever women’s basketball title. Now, the WNBA rookie is calling on college teams to better prepare athletes for the pro game.
Morris, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun as the No. 22 overall pick, took to TikTok after her first day of group workouts with the Sun.
“This is for the colleges and the institutions: in order to grow the league, you have to prep the players for what’s to come. In order to do that, you have to watch the league, you have to see the style of play, the systems that they’re running, so that the adjustment and the transition for college players — women’s college players — to the WNBA won’t be so difficult.
“I’m not saying that it’s difficult for everybody. But I do think that the style of play that you play in college can either help or hurt you when you’re transitioning to college.”
Morris has more college experience than most. The Texas native started her college career at Baylor (playing for Kim Mulkey), but was dismissed from the team after a reported arrest. She transferred to Rutgers (where C. Vivian Stringer was head coach), but had to sit out a year due to the NCAA’s then transfer rules. She then made the move to Texas A&M for one year before concluding her college career by playing two seasons at LSU (where Mulkey had been hired as head coach). In her video, she didn’t specify how her own college experience prepared her for the WNBA.
Morris is one of 20 players on Connecticut’s preseason training roster. A max of 12 athletes will make the team, but that number could be as low as 11 depending on when the team’s salary cap is hit.
Morris isn’t the first person to suggest college players need better preparation for the WNBA. After the 2022 WNBA Draft, then Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller — who has since been hired by the Los Angeles Sparks — said of the 30 prospects he spoke to prior to draft night, 80% either didn’t follow the WNBA or follow it closely.
More recently, Kelsey Plum announced that she was partnering with Under Armour to launch “DawgClass,” a three-day camp for top women’s college basketball guards with the goal of helping ease the transition between NCAA competition and the WNBA.
“The women’s game has such a massive gap in the transition from college to pro, unlike any other professional sport,” Plum told Just Women’s Sports.
“You’re just kind of thrown into the fire and you’re on your way, it’s like sink or swim.”
@luthorrrrr First day as a #connecticutsun ! Here’s my take away from my personal experiences! #fyp #beapromovement #fyp #womensbasketball ♬ original sound - Alexis Morris
