Reigning champs reloading: Tigers should be title favorites after adding Van Lith, Morrow

LSU's transfer portal additions leave them posed to be favorites to repeat in 2024

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Just over a month since LSU’s 2023 national title celebration in Dallas, the Tigers are already reloading to improve their chances to repeat in 2024. The reigning champions added Louisville AP All-American honorable mention guard Hailey Van Lith out of the transfer portal last week. Today, they added another All American in DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow.

The Tiger’s are no stranger to big pickups in the transfer portal under Kim Mulkey. Last season, Angel Reese was arguably the biggest impact transfer in the country, culminating her first year at LSU with a Final Four Most Outstanding Player award. Alexis Morris, the Tiger’s point guard in the championship run, was also a transfer the prior season.

Looking ahead, LSU has now added the two biggest names available on the market to their 2024 squad. Repeating is not an easy feat, as proven by South Carolina’s Final Four loss this season, but the Tiger’s path to doing so looks much clearer now than it did as they were lifting the trophy on April 3rd. LSU should enter the upcoming season as title favorites.

How do these new pieces fit in with the Tigers? What to they bring to Baton Rouge? Here’s a look.

Hailey Van Lith

Perhaps the biggest questions surrounding LSU in 2024 entering the offseason centered on the Tigers’ ability to replace the production of Morris. The fifth year senior was second on the team in scoring behind Reese (15.4 points per game), led the team in assists (4.1 per game) and was amongst LSU’s best perimeter threats.

While Van Lith is not a true point guard, and has played more in the two-guard spot at her time at Louisville, she brings a skillset to Baton Rogue that should successfully fill the hole Morris’ departure left in the backcourt. The Washington native is a three level scorer. She’s most efficient when she gets to the rim and very comfortable in the mid range (where her 6.1 field goal attempts per game ranked in the 99th percentile in 2022-23), but is still a threat from beyond the arc. Van Lith struggled with her perimeter shot at times last season, especially to start the year, but shot over 35 percent from deep in her first two seasons with the Cardinals.

Despite not being in a primary point guard role and leading Louisville in scoring, Van Lith also averaged 3.2 assists per game last season. She’s a capable facilitator, and playing alongside classmate Olivia Cochran for three seasons has developed her ability to feed the low post - something that will come in handy on a roster that features Reese and Morrow in the frontcourt. On the opposite end of the floor, Van Lith is also a strong defender, which should ease her transition into the SEC and a Kim Mulkey coached team.

Beyond the pure basketball skills, Van Lith also has the intangibles to succeed at LSU. She brings an intensity on the court the mirrors the tone Reese has set for this Tigers team, and the edge that makes this team not just title favorites for 2024 but also places them amongst the most captivating teams in the nation. Perhaps even more importantly, she brings experience (both overall and in the post season) to anchor a relatively young backcourt alongside sophomore Flau’jae Johnson and the No. 2 ranked 2023 recruit Mikaylah Williams.

Aneesah Morrow

Morrow captured the college basketball world quickly upon her arrival at DePaul two seasons ago. She dropped 31 points on 81 percent shooting in her collegiate debut and never looked back, averaging a 20-point double-double through her career so far. During the 2022-23 season, Morrow became one of just eight players since the 2009-10 season to average a 25-point double-double for a full season.

When Morrow entered the portal, she was quickly one of the most sought after prospects, with over 30 schools contacting the star per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. Her decision to join the Tigers lands the most dangerous frontcourt combination in the nation in Baton Rouge. Both ranked in the top five nationally for points per game, and top 10 nationally for rebounds per game during the 2022-23 season.

Morrow’s offense has most frequently been generated in the lane, where she took 50 percent of her field goal attempts last season as the Blue Demon’s primary scoring option. While the paint is clearly where Morrow is most comfortable, she expanded her game between her freshman and sophomore season to add a consistent mid-range shot to establish herself as an even more potent scoring threat. Her expanded range combined with the ability to create her own shot (just over half of her two-point field goals last season were assisted on per CBB analytics) has made Morrow an increasingly difficult defensive assignment.

The next step to developing Morrow’s game would be to add a perimeter shot. While she’s shown flashes of an ability to knock down shots from deep in her first two seasons, three-point shooting has not been a consistent threat for the All-American. It is something that could flourish at LSU, however, as Morrow’s role will shift from being the primary scorer and only dominant post presence at DePaul to playing alongside Reese. Developing a perimeter shot will also help Morrow’s success at the next level, as at 6-foot-1 she is undersized for a post player.

In addition to the scoring threat that Morrow adds for the Tigers, her arrival in Baton Rouge also makes the Tigers one of the most dominant rebounding teams in the country. LSU already ranked second nationally in total rebound rate last season behind Angel Reese’s abilities on the glass. Their defensive rebounding rate, however, was just 26th nationally. Adding Morrow, who rebounded over a quarter of DePaul’s opponents’ missed shots when on the floor last season will improve that figure. The Tigers could be expected to lead the country in rebounding next season - a skill that is critical to post season success.

What does the 2024 LSU lineup look like now?

In addition to Van Lith and Morrow, LSU is projected to return much of their roster from the 2023 championship squad. Reese and Johnson highlight the returners, but Kateri Poole and Sa’Myah Smith can also be expected to be important contributors on next year’s team. Additionally, the Tigers add two top-10 2023 recruits.

As reigning champions, that roster should leave LSU as the favorites to win the title entering the 2023-24 season, with UConn as a close second.