LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow Named to Wooden Award Watchlist

The pair of electrifying Tigers are named to the midseason watchlist, continue garnering national recognition.

Dec 17, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'Jae Johnson (4) moves the ball against Seton Hall Pirates guard Amari Wright (22) in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow are on the midseason top-25 watchlist for the John R. Wooden Award.

Johnson and Morrow have been key players for No. 6 LSU to begin the season at 17-0 with the nation’s longest active win streak. LSU plays at No. 16 Tennessee on Thursday night.

Johnson is a three-level scorer who has continued to up her game. She is scoring 19.7 points per game to rank No. 5 in the SEC and she is grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game. Johnson has scored in double figures in 26 straight games going back to last season. She has four double-doubles this season, two in which she scored 20+ points; Johnson is the only SEC guard with multiple 20-point double-doubles this season. Early in the season she had three straight games with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Angel Reese and Khayla Pointer are the only other LSU players over the past 25 seasons with multiple such games in the same season.

Morrow leads the nation with 15 double-doubles and with 14.0 rebounds per game. Her 18.1 points per game rank No. 6 in the SEC and and 2.65 steals per game also rank No. 6 in the conference. She has grabbed 15+ rebounds in eight games, four in which she also scored 20+ points. She will enter Thursday’s game 14 points shy of 2,500 in her career. She is 33 rebounds shy of 1,500 in her career. In NCAA DI history there have only been six players to reach both 2,500 points and 1,500 rebounds in their career. Morrow’s next double-double will mark 90 in her career which will tie her for the third most in NCAA DI history.

Voters will be invited to rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot in order of preference when voting opens during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also consider performances in the tournament’s early rounds, players’ contributions to their teams and their character. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Elite Eight.

Newcomer Standout: Kailyn Gilbert

"She has that chip on her shoulder that she wants to prove to a lot of naysayers that she’s not what they say she was and that she is an outstanding player. She can score with the best guarding her and so I could see that a little.
I think it’s probably from the scoring, the speed and the quickness, I think Alexis [Morris'] on-ball defense, was a little bit more advanced than Gilbert is right now and we work really hard with Gilbert on taking care of the ball. Now she’s not a point guard like Alexis, but she could go out there and I could run some quick hitters for her. She's just got a knack for scoring the ball."

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