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Message: [QUOTE="Plebe, post: 3940876, member: 6927"] I'd say a "very good", but not great, class when subsequent transfers (Caldwell) and injury issues (Drummer) are accounted for. Canada fully lived up to her promise (#4 per HoopGurlz), while Billings far exceeded expectations (she was only #38 HG). Drummer was certainly a major contributor in her last two seasons, but that was after she'd missed a ton of time with injury and IMO that played a role in her stunted development, never living up to her top-10 HG ranking (only Canada from that 2014 class was rated higher as a recruit). Caldwell's transfer was a major blow, but it's not like she ever became an All-American in her subsequent stops either. The bigger reason, however, behind UCLA's failure to break into the uppermost echelon of elite teams is that the surrounding recruiting classes were just "okay". It's one thing to haul in one blockbuster class, but just as important is how you recruit [U]around[/U] that class. Close certainly picked up a few individual good ones (e.g. Kennedy Burke) but it wasn't enough to go from an NCAA 2nd weekend team to a Final Four-level team. Contrast that to how Dawn Staley followed up her recruitment of A'ja Wilson with increasing success on both the transfer market and the traditional recruiting trail; one could argue that SC's combined 2019 and 2021 classes constitute on paper the best recruiting haul over a 3-year period ever in the sport (IIRC 7 players ranked in the top 11, and 4 in the top 4, of their respective classes per HG). [/QUOTE]

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