Unable to get on a WNBA roster, ex-LSU star Alexis Morris signs with Globetrotters, plays overseas
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.”
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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