When the news was announced on April 5 that sophomore All-American Aneesah Morrow would enter the transfer portal, it wasn’t shocking news having covered the team all season.  With their lack of consistent winning, that possibly became more realistic. 

This past season Morrow added to her already impressive freshman campaign. She averaged 25 points per game and another double-double. Morrow was making her way as possibly the best women’s player in the program’s history. 

The Chicago native from Simeon High School chose DePaul because she wanted to be the next great to stay in the area and make a name for herself. 

DePaul finished with a 16-17, and a sense of visible frustration was noticed not only with players on the team but also with Morrow. Body language after losses, postgame press conferences and its repetitive answers were caused by the lack of winning. 

It was evident Morrow felt she deserved better and truly wanted the spotlight on her. 

Morrow took to social media to announce her commitment to LSU on May 5. After already winning a national championship and gaining former Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith, the Tigers will clearly be favorites to start the season. 

Morrow teamed up with Caktus AI to announce her commitment. Caktus AI, which is similar to ChatGPT, is an AI powered language model that effectively writes prompts. 

In her commitment Morrow asked the AI several questions that criticized DePaul. When asked what resources are needed to improve as a player, the AI responded with elite coaches, players that will push you and better facilities. 

On May 18, NBC sat down with Morrow about her transfer to LSU. In the interview, Morrow said that she wanted to win. 

“I don’t want empty seasons, and all those stats mean nothing if you don’t win,” Morrow said.

Morrow was also amazed how recognized she was by fans who wanted photos and autographs, something that was not the case at DePaul. 

It is clear that there is not a support system of fans at DePaul, and if there is, it is small. DePaul women’s basketball games had little to no fans at Winstrust Area besides family and opposing team fans. 

How does a team only achieve a First Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament, along with only one Big East Tournament game in two seasons with arguably the best player to walk through the program?

Does Morrow’s shade to DePaul basketball and its athletics hold true? The lack of facilities and resources available has been brought up from time to time compared to even the rest of the Big East, let alone the rest of the country. 

Not to mention that compared to the name, image, and Likeness (NIL) that Morrow will receive at LSU, DePaul does not even come close.