We Speak WNBA
Unable to get on a WNBA roster, ex-LSU star Alexis Morris signs with Globetrotters, plays overseas
FILE – LSU’s Alexis Morris controls the ball during an NCAA Women’s Final Four semifinal basketball game against Virginia Tech, March 31, 2023, in Dallas. Former LSU star Morris knows firsthand how hard it is to make a WNBA roster. The guard was drafted in the second round by the Connecticut Sun a few weeks after helping the Tigers win their first championships in 2023, but was cut before the season started. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
BY DOUG FEINBERG
Updated 6:00 AM EDT, April 30, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Former LSU star Alexis Morris knows firsthand how hard it is to make a WNBA roster.
The guard was drafted in the second round by the Connecticut Sun a few weeks after helping the Tigers win the national title in 2023, but was cut before the season started.
And when this year’s camps opened on Sunday, Morris wasn’t invited to any of them.
That hasn’t stopped her from playing basketball, though. Morris spent time overseas before signing with the Harlem Globetrotters in February.
“Absolutely. It’s my dream, I can’t give my dream up,” she said. “I know I made mistakes. I will continue to push for it until I reach my goals. It is a tough league to make.”
Morris received some backlash for comments she made after getting cut last year. She called for the retirement of some WNBA veterans to make way for incoming rookies like herself. Morris said she learned from the criticism.
“I don’t regret saying what I said, but I do wish I had articulated it better to reach people it should have reached,” Morris said. “I wasn’t targeting the veterans. I was a veteran at LSU and I know how tough it is when you have rookies that don’t respect the time you served. (I) wasn’t trying to be that knucklehead rookie. It needed to be said and I said it. I apologized for how I said it.”
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The 5-foot-6 Morris averaged 15.6 points during LSU’s championship season and was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference.
“I hope and wish one day they can expand and have more opportunities for the younger generation and talent that dream to play there,” Morris said.
The WNBA is adding a 13th team next year in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she hopes to add three more teams by 2028.
“It’s hard to make a roster now,” New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “There’s so many really talented players that don’t get a chance.”
Until then, Morris continues to work on her game.
She played in Romania, Turkey and France and is now with the Trotters.
“I was not in the mental space to go play overseas initially after getting waived from the W,” Morris said. “Leaving my home country, it was tough to process that at the time. Now I’m here doing what I love to do.”
Known as “The Show” with the Globetrotters, Morris became the seventh female player for the organization in its 98 years. She got the nickname from an AAU coach when she was 12 and it stuck.
“We come out here every night to put on an amazing show for the fans, the families, and our goal is to ultimately change people’s perspectives and create millions of smiles,” Morris said.
She has no intention of leaving the Globetrotters anytime soon. The organization has said it will give her time if she were to make a WNBA camp or roster.
“I plan on being here for a lifetime,” she said. “It makes it perfect for women who want to stay in the States. You can become a Harlem Globetrotter and then play in the WNBA. It’s perfect opportunity for women to stay here in our country.”
Morris loves the culture around the Globetrotters and hopes other women might soon follow.
“It’s another outlet for women,” she said. “You still get the opportunity to work on your game and train. You have to behave like a pro and move like a pro.”
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We Speak WNBA
Caitlin Clark attendance boon: Some WNBA teams look for bigger arenas when the Fever come to town
Some are booking bigger venues for when Clark and the Indiana Fever come to town.
The Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have moved their games against the Fever to bigger arenas. The numbers Clark generated in college indicates it’s a smart move.
While at Iowa, when the No. 1 pick in the draft and the Hawkeyes went on the road this past season, they played in front of sellout crowds or set attendance records.
“She helps ticket sales, so I think it’s a really great time to have eyes. She’s going to be an elite player,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “She has been in college. She’s done stuff in college that nobody else has. She’s going to be a great player in the W. There’s no doubt about it.
“So the more people we can pack into the building to cheer against her, we’ll take it, although I don’t know if they’ll be cheering against her,” Hammon quipped. “I guess they might be cheering for her.”
The two-time reigning WNBA champion Aces relocated their game on May 25 from the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena to the 18,000-seat T-Mobile Arena.
Aces players credit Clark, but also know that their own team, which has won the past two WNBA championships, has done a great job increasing attendance at games over the past few seasons.
“We’re not rolling out any red carpet. We’re here to be a business and sell a lot of tickets. Kudos to her (Clark), but we also have done that in previous years in big games as well,” Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum said. “There are a lot of people that play basketball. People are coming to watch A’ja Wilson. People are going to watch Chelsea Gray.
“That’s not a slight on anyone, but I’m saying that’s not for her. We played in Chicago last year. We sold it out last year.”
Clark will make her preseason debut on Friday night at Dallas — a game that is already sold out.
The Mystics game against Indiana on June 7 will be played at Capital One Arena — Washington’s old home. Their normal home, the Entertainment and Sports Arena, can seat up to 4,200 fans, but the Capital One Arena has a maximum basketball capacity of more than 20,000.
Nearly half of WNBA teams play in NBA arenas, so there’s no need to move those games.
Still, a few others that don’t are feeling a push to move games to larger arenas, including the Chicago Sky. The Sky and Angel Reese play their home games in the 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena. Fans started a petition to move their first home game against Indiana to the bigger United Center. There’s a concert scheduled at that arena on June 23 when the Fever come to town — so that’s not going to happen.
The Los Angeles Sparks are another team that could move their game against Indiana.
The Sparks are playing their first five home games at Long Beach because of arena conflicts from construction and the NBA and NHL playoffs. They are hosting the Fever on May 24, which is scheduled to be played at Long Beach. The team’s first five games will be played there in a 4,000-seat arena.
The Sparks have played games in the past at USC and there’s always a chance they could move the Indiana game there. The Sparks said they have nothing official to report when asked about moving the game.
The Atlanta Dream, who also play in a smaller venue that seats only 3,500, host Clark and the Fever on June 21. The team hasn’t said whether it’s exploring trying to move to a bigger arena yet.
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