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Message: [QUOTE="BruinGold, post: 5279153, member: 11533"] It's a balance, right? UCLA is in a pretty good position right now, and forecasting success from HS to college is difficult, even at the highest levels. As far as development goes, there has been an effort to bring in coaches with "skills development" as a major part of their resume. So, I don't think that Close is blind to these issues. Her focus really seems to be on developing culture and cohesion, and that has been the draw for many players and their families. In this time of NIL, though, I don't know how much "the culture" is going to be successful. We just lost our entire freshman class, seemingly because waiting one more year to take over was just too much to take. That doesn't seem like a victory for "family values". On the other hand, the Bruins appear (at least right now) to be able to compete with everyone else for players. Right now, UCLA is a "Have", and my griping must seem pretty rich to fans of schools watching their rosters evaporate, coaches leave, and/or lose almost every recruiting battle. Frankly, though, I think that is is difficult to look in a mirror and not spend most of your time zeroing in on the warts and wrinkles. [/QUOTE]