[joemontes]

It's going to be a BOMBASTIC Tuesday, that's for sure,
as #1 Juju WATKINS and #5 Hannah HIDALGO announce
their college commitments as a fitting culmination
for the early signing period.

And the common denominator: STANFORD is a finalist for both.

I think Stanford has a better chance with WATKINS, and this goes
all the way back to her declaration during her HS freshman year
that "she plans to continue her education at Stanford".
Plus I like the narrative that, as a former #1 overall recruit
(Haley JONES) closes her illustrious college career at Stanford, 
another #1 overall recruit (Juju WATKINS) - playing pretty much
the same position at SF - takes over.

On the other hand, my gut feel with HIDALGO is Notre Dame 
(somehow, this is based on her "God first" persuasion, 
which I like and admire, and that a PG tandem of Olivia MILES 
and HIDALGO looks really good!)  

But we can still hope that a SAME DAY announcement
will produce the SAME RESULT for both....why not?

I did notice that Hidalgo follows a bunch of Notre Dame players but no Stanford.  But social media has been wrong before.

Yeah I seem to think Hidalgo heads to Duke. There was a recent tweet (well a few months ago, before Donovan committed to Duke) where an interviewer asked Hidalgo if she could team up with anyone who would it be and her answer: Jadyn Donovan, who has since committed to Duke. Also noted Hidalgo's father just recently followed Donovan on IG in the last few days.

If we lose out on Watkins, I'm hoping it's to USC (Trojans). Would be a punch in a gut for an LA kid to dodge two Pac-12 schools for South Carolina.

We've seen who HIDALGO will be teamed with if she decides on Stanford or Notre Dame next season.
Now let's look at Duke's returning roster for next season:

**********
SF -  Ashlon JACKSON  6'0  (#16 overall in 2022)

PF -  Shay BOLLIN  6'3   (#33 overall in 2022)
PF -  Delaney THOMAS  6'2  (freshman, #29 overall in 2023)
C -    Kennedy BROWN  6'6  (transfer from Oregon State, #20 overall in 2019)

SG -  Jadyn DONOVAN  6'1  (freshman, #3 overall in 2023)
SG -  Oluchi OKANANWA  5'9  (freshman, #27 overall in 2023)
SG -  Jordyn OLIVER  5'10  (transfer from Baylor, #12 overall in 2019)
SG -  Reigan RICHARDSON  5'10  (transfer from Georgia, #34 overall in 2021)
SG -  Lee VOLKER  5'11
SG -  Emma KOABEL  5'11

PG -  Vanessa DE JESUS  5'8  (#37 overall in 2020)
PG -  Shayeann DAY-WILSON  5'6  (#41 overall in 2021)
**********

That's a VERY GOOD 12-player line-up already. with:
-  one Top 3 (DONOVAN),
-  another three Top 20 (OLIVER, JACKSON, and BROWN) 
-  another six Top 50 (OKANANWA, THOMAS, BOLLIN, RICHARDSON,
DE JESUS and DAY-WILSON)

Although very thin at the post position (2 PFs and only one center)
but I'm sure that can be easily remedied with the transfer portal.

[joemontes]

It's going to be a BOMBASTIC Tuesday, that's for sure,
as #1 Juju WATKINS and #5 Hannah HIDALGO announce
their college commitments as a fitting culmination
for the early signing period.

And the common denominator: STANFORD is a finalist for both.

I think Stanford has a better chance with WATKINS, and this goes
all the way back to her declaration during her HS freshman year
that "she plans to continue her education at Stanford".
Plus I like the narrative that, as a former #1 overall recruit
(Haley JONES) closes her illustrious college career at Stanford, 
another #1 overall recruit (Juju WATKINS) - playing pretty much
the same position at SF - takes over.

On the other hand, my gut feel with HIDALGO is Notre Dame 
(somehow, this is based on her "God first" persuasion, 
which I like and admire, and that a PG tandem of Olivia MILES 
and HIDALGO looks really good!)  

But we can still hope that a SAME DAY announcement
will produce the SAME RESULT for both....why not?

I did notice that Hidalgo follows a bunch of Notre Dame players but no Stanford.  But social media has been wrong before.

Yeah I seem to think Hidalgo heads to Duke. There was a recent tweet (well a few months ago, before Donovan committed to Duke) where an interviewer asked Hidalgo if she could team up with anyone who would it be and her answer: Jadyn Donovan, who has since committed to Duke. Also noted Hidalgo's father just recently followed Donovan on IG in the last few days.

If we lose out on Watkins, I'm hoping it's to USC (Trojans). Would be a punch in a gut for an LA kid to dodge two Pac-12 schools for South Carolina.

We've seen who HIDALGO will be teamed with if she decides on Stanford or Notre Dame next season.
Now let's look at Duke's returning roster for next season:

**********
SF -  Ashlon JACKSON  6'0  (#16 overall in 2022)

PF -  Shay BOLLIN  6'3   (#33 overall in 2022)
PF -  Delaney THOMAS  6'2  (freshman, #29 overall in 2023)
C -    Kennedy BROWN  6'6  (transfer from Oregon State, #20 overall in 2019)

SG -  Jadyn DONOVAN  6'1  (freshman, #3 overall in 2023)
SG -  Oluchi OKANANWA  5'9  (freshman, #27 overall in 2023)
SG -  Jordyn OLIVER  5'10  (transfer from Baylor, #12 overall in 2019)
SG -  Reigan RICHARDSON  5'10  (transfer from Georgia, #34 overall in 2021)
SG -  Lee VOLKER  5'11
SG -  Emma KOABEL  5'11

PG -  Vanessa DE JESUS  5'8  (#37 overall in 2020)
PG -  Shayeann DAY-WILSON  5'6  (#41 overall in 2021)
**********

That's a VERY GOOD 12-player line-up already. with:
-  one Top 3 (DONOVAN),
-  another three Top 20 (OLIVER, JACKSON, and BROWN) 
-  another six Top 50 (OKANANWA, THOMAS, BOLLIN, RICHARDSON,
DE JESUS and DAY-WILSON)

Although very thin at the post position (2 PFs and only one center)
but I'm sure that can be easily remedied with the transfer portal.