[Hoops9092]

Well we are down to the last few hours of this 2023 thread. Not sure I feel confident either Watkins or Hidalgo are coming. They seem like great kids and prospects, but something doesn't give me the Stanford vibe. But maybe perhaps similar to that house painting analogy in the UConn/Texas thread, maybe it's the same caution used with recruits.  

Looking back, I've been following recruiting since '08. I remember the great excitement when Nneka Ogwumike (Nov 2007) committed, although I seem to think we sort of expected it, just based on how academically-driven she and her family publicly were. Same with Chiney Ogwumike's decision (Nov 2009) although I remember her visits to Notre Dame and UConn were well documented.  

Skylar Diggins (Nov 2008) I think we felt we had an uphill battle, but the fact that there was so much press about her being admitted and visiting gave us confidence. And oh boy did we think she was the "next level" piece. I remember later reading an interview where Diggins said she went to bed thinking she was going to commit to Stanford the next day and woke up saying I'm going to stay home and signed with Notre Dame that day. Notre Dame was also at a pretty rough state at that time, with no other top 100 recruits in that class and having just gotten knocked out in the 1st round of the NCAA's.

Haley Jones (Nov 2018) committing was a great signing day memory. I think we all thought how could she not stay home, but I recall she took all 5 of her official visits. Of course, last year's signing week (Nov 2021) stings after all signs pointed to top PG Kiki Rice coming here, especially after the dramatic unfollowing by Duke's coaching staff the night before. 

And of course, we can appreciate so many top recruits who verbally committed months earlier than signing week, saving us of the stress — I think of Lauren Betts, Cameron Brink, Kiana Williams, Jos Tinkle, Aly Beebe, that great 2011 class.

Lastly, in follow-up to that Diggins note above; I recall Kelsey Bone, a top recruit in that class, saying she wanted to go to South Carolina, her mom wanted her to go to Texas A&M and if they couldn't decide within an hour, she would then commit to Jolette Law and Illinois. It's amazing some of these stories of last minute college decisions (and the indecisiveness around it). Ionescu was another one that took it down to the literal last minute. It seems in past years (say 5-10 years ago), that the coaching staff was notified of the decision days/weeks before it became public, but lately it seems like some staffs are finding out at the same time we do with all these Instagram Live and public announcements.

[Hoops9092]

Well we are down to the last few hours of this 2023 thread. Not sure I feel confident either Watkins or Hidalgo are coming. They seem like great kids and prospects, but something doesn't give me the Stanford vibe. But maybe perhaps similar to that house painting analogy in the UConn/Texas thread, maybe it's the same caution used with recruits.  

Looking back, I've been following recruiting since '08. I remember the great excitement when Nneka Ogwumike (Nov 2007) committed, although I seem to think we sort of expected it, just based on how academically-driven she and her family publicly were. Same with Chiney Ogwumike's decision (Nov 2009) although I remember her visits to Notre Dame and UConn were well documented.  

Skylar Diggins (Nov 2008) I think we felt we had an uphill battle, but the fact that there was so much press about her being admitted and visiting gave us confidence. And oh boy did we think she was the "next level" piece. I remember later reading an interview where Diggins said she went to bed thinking she was going to commit to Stanford the next day and woke up saying I'm going to stay home and signed with Notre Dame that day. Notre Dame was also at a pretty rough state at that time, with no other top 100 recruits in that class and having just gotten knocked out in the 1st round of the NCAA's.

Haley Jones (Nov 2018) committing was a great signing day memory. I think we all thought how could she not stay home, but I recall she took all 5 of her official visits. Of course, last year's signing week (Nov 2021) stings after all signs pointed to top PG Kiki Rice coming here, especially after the dramatic unfollowing by Duke's coaching staff the night before. 

And of course, we can appreciate so many top recruits who verbally committed months earlier than signing week, saving us of the stress — I think of Lauren Betts, Cameron Brink, Kiana Williams, Jos Tinkle, Aly Beebe, that great 2011 class.

Lastly, in follow-up to that Diggins note above; I recall Kelsey Bone, a top recruit in that class, saying she wanted to go to South Carolina, her mom wanted her to go to Texas A&M and if they couldn't decide within an hour, she would then commit to Jolette Law and Illinois. It's amazing some of these stories of last minute college decisions (and the indecisiveness around it). Ionescu was another one that took it down to the literal last minute. It seems in past years (say 5-10 years ago), that the coaching staff was notified of the decision days/weeks before it became public, but lately it seems like some staffs are finding out at the same time we do with all these Instagram Live and public announcements.