(11-05-2021, 02:31 PM)Hoops9092 Wrote: For their sake, I will be rooting for UCLA to snag some more top recruits in back to back classes (not at the cost of us, of course) but so that the best case scenario pans out in Westwood.
It will be interesting to see how the attendance or interest in their program grows.
In many ways, it's a bit surprising neither USC or UCLA has taken off with all the prime time recruits coming out of Southern California and the West in general, paired with the overall athletic and academic (and desirable location) of these two schools. Of course, Kathy Olivier had her moments with the 2006 squad that on paper looked real good. Nikki Caldwell got the program in to the top 10 and had some promising recruits lined up before she dipped. Now Cori will take some of her 2014 recruiting experience and apply it here in lining up multiple top tier classes in hopes of bringing them to another level. USC, of course, poor Mark T with all the injuries over the years despite some epic recruiting classes. Gottlieb has some top potential recruits it seems. I also think of Cal with their periods of tip top recruiting classes, the Devanei Hampton years and Layshia Clarendon squad. None of the 3 have been able to maintain, so perhaps this is the start of something.
With the current and recent upswing of PAC 12 WCBB in terms of:
- NCAA Tournament results (1 NCAA champion, 1 NCAA runner-up, and 6 Final Four participants over the past 6 NCAA tournaments) and
- Recruiting (7 of Top 10 / 11 of Top 22 from the Class of 2022 heading to PAC 12 teams)
we hope that future Top 50+ recruits continue to realize that the PAC 12 is the conference to be in for many years to come.
That mindset should convince the likes of Class of 2023:
#2 Juju WATKINS (CA)
#4 Breya CUNNINGHAM (CA)
#19 Montaya DEW (NV)
#23 Amanda MUSE (CA)
#27 Chloe BRIGGS (CA)
#28 Sofia BELL (OR)
#39 Mia VERSE (AZ)
#50 Mailia SAMUELS (WA)
#55 Jenna VILLA (WA)
#59 Olivia ANDERSON (WA)
to join:
#20 Jada WILLIAMS (CA) ==> UCLA
#32 Amari WHITING (ID) ==> Oregon
#38 Nunu AGARA (MN) ==> Stanford
in staying out West and join PAC 12 schools where they can be challenged by the best in-conference competition over the next decade.
Just for comparison...
From the Classes of 2021 and 2022, UConn has 4 Top 10 players / 5 Top 25 players / 6 Top 50 players.
If one is a top recruit at powerhouse UConn, from the other 10 Big East teams/out of the 20 Big East games that they will play next season:
How many Top 10 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
0
How many Top 25 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
0
How many Top 50 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
1 (Xavier)
How many Top 100 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
5 (2 from Marquette, 1 from DePaul, 1 from Georgetown, 1 from Xavier)
That's why UConn BADLY NEEDS to schedule vs. Top Teams from Other Conferences!
On the other hand...
From the Classes of 2021 and 2022, Stanford has 1 Top 10 player / 3 Top 25 players / 3 Top 50 players / 5 Top 100 players.
If one is a top recruit at powerhouse Stanford, from the other 11 PAC 12 teams/out of the 20 PAC 12 games that they play next season:
How many Top 10 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
6 (2 from OSU, 1 from Arizona, 1 from Oregon, 1 from UCLA, 1 from USC)
How many Top 25 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
12 (4 from UCLA, 3 from OSU, 2 from Oregon, 2 from USC, 1 from Arizona)
How many Top 50 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
22 (6 from UCLA, 4 from Oregon, 4 from OSU, 3 from USC, 2 from Arizona, 1 from ASU, 1 from Utah, 1 from Washington)
How many Top 100 players from the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will she play against?
35 (6 from UCLA, 6 from Washington, 5 from Arizona, 5 from Oregon, 5 from OSU, 3 from USC, 2 from ASU, 1 from Cal, 1 from Colorado, 1 from Utah)