Who Really Has the Number One 2018 Recruiting Class?

[Charliebball]

Here's the list according to ESPN Hoopgurlz:

2018 Women's Basketball Class Rankings

 

[EricLA]

Totally fair. Having said that, I wouldn't trade our class for Baylor's for anything. I love our 2 kids, and they are exactly what we need. Baylor has quantity AND quality, but no one has the elite quality that we do.

 

[Kaizen]

Connecticut drew a pair of aces in Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, but Baylor was sitting there all along with a royal flush.

I guess Dan Olson does not know what is a royal flush.
==>The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.

 

[BostonCanuck]

I think this down to whether there will be any long-term negative effects to Olivia's injury. If not, then I'd say we flopped the nuts.

 

[willtalk]

In most cases in a team game limited to five players on the court at on time, quality always trumps quantity. In the 2018 class their was never a consensus list. Rather the rankings fluctuated, even at the top, season by season and ranker by ranker. Also as I have stated before the resources once committed to girls high school rankings have dwindled so that it is no longer possible for rankings to be kept up to date. The personal available just are not sufficient to cover all the spread out viewing events. There fore with the players involved the quality between them is not that discern-able. So in this case numbers definitely wins out.

Rankings fluctuate constantly from season to season and all of the top players have gone up and down during the past few years. Some players have still not even reached close to their potential ceilings. For example the 6'9" Oregon St commit that transferred from the east coast to Ribet ( southern Cal ). She is relatively new to the game basketball and has climbed the ranking ladder very quickly so that she is now #6 in the ESPN rankings. She still has a much higher ceiling, so with more experience, at the end of the next viewing period she might possibly climb even higher. Being that the center position is the hardest to fill, she might possibly even end up as the most valuable recruit in the class before all is done. I will get a good look at her in mid Jan. since her school is coming to my area for a MLK tourn.

This class as yet does not have a Griner, Della Don or a Stuart. So much as Uconn fans want it to be so, Williams is not by any stretch that much better ( if at all ) than a number of players that follow her. Therefor, in this class, the number one ranking carries less weight adding to the argument for Baylor's numbers trumping Uconns class. Quality being relatively more equal numbers will trump any minor differences in quality.

What is actually more important is if a team gets the pieces they need. What is working against Baylors numbers in respect to value is the positions they acquired. Their best acquired pieces were at the two guard wing positions and those are the easiest ones to find and fill. The country is filled with quality wings and two guards. Uconn did get a point ( second hardest position to fill) and and also filled it's greatest need "a Center". I would even go on to say that even if Williams is truly the higher rated player, Ododa was a more valuable get for them. The fact that it was a position of real need probably played a major role in her choosing UConn. The ultimate value of classes will not really reveal themselves until it is seen how they fit in with subsequent recruiting classes. Sometimes numbers in one class can also become a long term liability.

 

[Adios]

The quality of recruits in the AAC is beginning to uptick in women's basketball. Excellent to see.

 

[hoophuskee]

This class as yet does not have a Griner, Della Don or a Stuart. So much as Uconn fans want it to be so, Williams is not by any stretch that much better ( if at all ) than a number of players that follow her. Therefor, in this class, the number one ranking carries less weight adding to the argument for Baylor's numbers trumping Uconns class. Quality being relatively more equal numbers will trump any minor differences in quality.

What is actually more important is if a team gets the pieces they need. What is working against Baylors numbers in respect to value is the positions they acquired. Their best acquired pieces were at the two guard wing positions and those are the easiest ones to find and fill. The country is filled with quality wings and two guards. Uconn did get a point ( second hardest position to fill) and and also filled it's greatest need "a Center". I would even go on to say that even if Williams is truly the higher rated player, Ododa was a more valuable get for them. The fact that it was a position of real need probably played a major role in her choosing UConn. The ultimate value of classes will not really reveal themselves until it is seen how they fit in with subsequent recruiting classes. Sometimes numbers in one class can also become a long term liability.

Gotta love what UCONN did. I don't know about "who will be best" and to the degree to which the two recruits will be good/great etc. But imo guard play is huge in college basketball. Now UCONN has gotten the best pg, the best wing, and now the best sg in the last 3 classes. I also believe players like Ono tend to flourish with strong guard play. These two players ensures a style / they fit a style of uptempo basketball which every top-tier recruit would love to play in. Now you can get some bigs with offensive talent like Ono and maybe others who would like to not have to be double or triple-teamed and play in a free flowing game, it sets up UCONN for the next several years to display a fantastic style of basketball to watch and which players can grow. Hopefully UCONN can get some other fine players in upcoming years. But if you're an offensive weapon and you're big, you got to love the the guard play UCONN has working over the next several years.

 

[mhshuskies]

Connecticut drew a pair of aces in Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, but Baylor was sitting there all along with a royal flush.

I guess Dan Olson does not know what is a royal flush.
==>The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.

So what you are saying that is it is an unbeatable class, that they will go undefeated 21/22 (senior) season? No team is made up of a single class. I would say their class is a simple flush without any aces or kings, where UCONN has a pair of aces to go along with aces from prior and probably future classes. Would any of the Baylor class start for UCONN?Four, five or even 6 of a kind beats a flush.

 

[Kaizen]

So what you are saying that is it is an unbeatable class, that they will go undefeated 21/22 (senior) season? No team is made up of a single class. I would say their class is a simple flush without any aces or kings, where UCONN has a pair of aces to go along with aces from prior and probably future classes. Would any of the Baylor class start for UCONN?Four, five or even 6 of a kind beats a flush.

No what I said is Dan Olson thinks Baylor is a royal flush is an unbeatable class, which is wrong.

 

[UcMiami]

It really depends on what you have returning as to what you want in a recruiting class, so 'ranking' is always relative to the specific team doing the recruiting. Uconn has 13 on the roster this year and loses an athletic 'post' and a hard nosed wing to graduation. Their recruiting class consists of an athletic post and a hard nosed wing. 13 is a nice number for the roster and they couldn't have accommodated a 5 player class even if they wanted all five players.
Baylor has a 10 player roster this year with two seniors so getting a five player recruiting class is probably a good thing. If there are no surprises they will also have a roster of 13 next year.

So both teams got what they wanted out of the class - talent in the kind of numbers that fit for the projected roster next year. We can decide who 'won the recruiting sweepstakes' in four years.

 

[mhshuskies]

No what I said is Dan Olson thinks Baylor is a royal flush is an unbeatable class, which is wrong.

Sorry for assigning blame to you.

 

[Bliss]

Connecticut drew a pair of aces in Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, but Baylor was sitting there all along with a royal flush.

I guess Dan Olson does not know what is a royal flush.
==>The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.

Unless you're playing with a kid-game wild card. Then 5 of a kind is the best hand.

 

[Centerstream]

Unless you're playing with a kid-game wild card. Then 5 of a kind is the best hand.

What about a five card royal flush? Would that beat 5 of a kind? (I don't know the answer.)

 

[Bliss]

What about a five card royal flush? Would that beat 5 of a kind? (I don't know the answer.)

No, 5 of a kind is unbeatable in a game using a wild card.

 

[bballnut90]

In most cases in a team game limited to five players on the court at on time, quality always trumps quantity. In the 2018 class their was never a consensus list. Rather the rankings fluctuated, even at the top, season by season and ranker by ranker. Also as I have stated before the resources once committed to girls high school rankings have dwindled so that it is no longer possible for rankings to be kept up to date. The personal available just are not sufficient to cover all the spread out viewing events. There fore with the players involved the quality between them is not that discern-able. So in this case numbers definitely wins out.

Rankings fluctuate constantly from season to season and all of the top players have gone up and down during the past few years. Some players have still not even reached close to their potential ceilings. For example the 6'9" Oregon St commit that transferred from the east coast to Ribet ( southern Cal ). She is relatively new to the game basketball and has climbed the ranking ladder very quickly so that she is now #6 in the ESPN rankings. She still has a much higher ceiling, so with more experience, at the end of the next viewing period she might possibly climb even higher. Being that the center position is the hardest to fill, she might possibly even end up as the most valuable recruit in the class before all is done. I will get a good look at her in mid Jan. since her school is coming to my area for a MLK tourn.

This class as yet does not have a Griner, Della Don or a Stuart. So much as Uconn fans want it to be so, Williams is not by any stretch that much better ( if at all ) than a number of players that follow her. Therefor, in this class, the number one ranking carries less weight adding to the argument for Baylor's numbers trumping Uconns class. Quality being relatively more equal numbers will trump any minor differences in quality.

What is actually more important is if a team gets the pieces they need. What is working against Baylors numbers in respect to value is the positions they acquired. Their best acquired pieces were at the two guard wing positions and those are the easiest ones to find and fill. The country is filled with quality wings and two guards. Uconn did get a point ( second hardest position to fill) and and also filled it's greatest need "a Center". I would even go on to say that even if Williams is truly the higher rated player, Ododa was a more valuable get for them. The fact that it was a position of real need probably played a major role in her choosing UConn. The ultimate value of classes will not really reveal themselves until it is seen how they fit in with subsequent recruiting classes. Sometimes numbers in one class can also become a long term liability.

The media and fan bases get too hyped up about their class ranking and overall crop of players rather than deciding if the players they've landed are the right fit for their needs. People forget that only 5 players can play at a time, and while depth is important, it can create its own issues too. Baylor typically takes large classes and we regularly see transfers out of their program as a result when the writing is on the wall for some of the players.

In today's day and age, I'd much rather land a class with 2 top 5 kids than a 5 man class of players primarily ranked in the 5-20 range. If you look at the the "blockbuster" classes that are highly ranked with 4+ recruits, you'll see it usually ends up with several kids transferring out and doesn't lead to Final Fours:

2016 Maryland-2/6 have transferred, Slocum and Staiti. Still have 2 more offseasons to see if there's more movement. They look solid but not Final Four caliber this season.

2015 Duke-2/5 have transferred out. Primm and Lambert. They don't appear to be a potential Final Four team.

2015 Louisville-3 of their 5 original signees are not on the team anymore. They appear to be better this year, but haven't come close to Final Four in first 2 years.

2014-UCLA-only Caldwell left of their original 5...they have one more shot to make a Final Four. They've made great strides.

2014-South Carolina-2/5 left, White and Duckett...won a title and made a Final Four so far

2013-UNC, all 4 left...program is down the tubes

2013 Duke-1 of 4 left....Duke has never been a Sweet 16 team with this crop.

2012 Texas A&M-all stayed but they never panned out to be very good.


Baylor's class is better than all the players mentioned above besides maybe UNC in 2013, but taking on all of those players, plus the likes of Cox, Chou, Richards, and Morris back for multiple seasons...I wont be shocked if Kim bit off more than she can chew with these 5. Time will tell.

 

[CocoHusky]

The media and fan bases get too hyped up about their class ranking and overall crop of players rather than deciding if the players they've landed are the right fit for their needs. People forget that only 5 players can play at a time, and while depth is important, it can create its own issues too. Baylor typically takes large classes and we regularly see transfers out of their program as a result when the writing is on the wall for some of the players.

In today's day and age, I'd much rather land a class with 2 top 5 kids than a 5 man class of players primarily ranked in the 5-20 range. If you look at the the "blockbuster" classes that are highly ranked with 4+ recruits, you'll see it usually ends up with several kids transferring out and doesn't lead to Final Fours:

2016 Maryland-2/6 have transferred, Slocum and Staiti. Still have 2 more offseasons to see if there's more movement. They look solid but not Final Four caliber this season.

2015 Duke-2/5 have transferred out. Primm and Lambert. They don't appear to be a potential Final Four team.

2015 Louisville-3 of their 5 original signees are not on the team anymore. They appear to be better this year, but haven't come close to Final Four in first 2 years.

2014-UCLA-only Caldwell left of their original 5...they have one more shot to make a Final Four. They've made great strides.

2014-South Carolina-2/5 left, White and Duckett...won a title and made a Final Four so far

2013-UNC, all 4 left...program is down the tubes

2013 Duke-1 of 4 left....Duke has never been a Sweet 16 team with this crop.

2012 Texas A&M-all stayed but they never panned out to be very good.


Baylor's class is better than all the players mentioned above besides maybe UNC in 2013, but taking on all of those players, plus the likes of Cox, Chou, Richards, and Morris back for multiple seasons...I wont be shocked if Kim bit off more than she can chew with these 5. Time will tell.

 

[Go/huskies]

DeCosta could be a NPOY, but she's still an undersized post (thought Baylor list her at 6'3) that can rebound like crazy, scoring could be an issue for her at the next level, her high school coach said she's the best in this class and the best player he has coached, he also had Gray who went to Duke and Jackie Gemelos. Can kim get DeCosta to play at an All American level? that's the big question for me, will she be the next Nneka Ogwumike or the next Bashaara Gravs? DeCocsta and Smith might want to play at the 3 and maybe Kim told one of them they could, but Smith doesn't have good ball handling, and no coach in american is going to want DeCosta playing away from the glass with her rebounding.

 

[Centerstream]

No, 5 of a kind is unbeatable in a game using a wild card.

I guess I have no problem showing BYers my stupidity and thanks for not pointing it out. Any winning royal flush is 5 cards...doh.
On a side note that is waaaaay off topic, when I was in the Navy stationed aboard a submarine, we spent a lot of our off time playing poker (for money too). I once was dealt 5 Aces and I was so excited that I threw down my cards and picked up the pot without letting anyone place a bet. Guess this is why I don't go to casinos.

 

[CocoHusky]

DeCosta could be a NPOY, but she's still an undersized post (thought Baylor list her at 6'3) that can rebound like crazy, scoring could be an issue for her at the next level, her high school coach said she's the best in this class and the best player he has coached, he also had Gray who went to Duke and Jackie Gemelos. Can kim get DeCosta to play at an All American level? that's the big question for me, will she be the next Nneka Ogwumike or the next Bashaara Gravs? DeCocsta and Smith might want to play at the 3 and maybe Kim told one of them they could, but Smith doesn't have good ball handling, and no coach in american is going to want DeCosta playing away from the glass with her rebounding.

At most I see 1 of the 5 Baylor freshmen starting this year & that's between DeCosta and Smith at the SF. That is going to leave 4 of the five players largely in a backup role at best. Egbo will back up Brown & Cox. The non-starter at 3 spot will have heavy competition (Bickle, Richards, & (Smith or DeCosta)). Honesty may honestly never see the floor as a freshmen because Brown will be a senior making a push for NPOY and a freshmen PG is not going to cut it.

 

[bballnut90]

DeCosta could be a NPOY, but she's still an undersized post (thought Baylor list her at 6'3) that can rebound like crazy, scoring could be an issue for her at the next level, her high school coach said she's the best in this class and the best player he has coached, he also had Gray who went to Duke and Jackie Gemelos. Can kim get DeCosta to play at an All American level? that's the big question for me, will she be the next Nneka Ogwumike or the next Bashaara Gravs? DeCocsta and Smith might want to play at the 3 and maybe Kim told one of them they could, but Smith doesn't have good ball handling, and no coach in american is going to want DeCosta playing away from the glass with her rebounding.

DeCosta has as much upside as anyone in this class if she can improve her jump shot. A big part of her ranking is based off her athleticism and high energy. I could see her taking some time to develop better body control so avoid charges and over the back calls. I could be wrong, but I don't see her being the type of freshman coming in and making a major impact from day 1, but rather a player who will take some time to adjust/develop but could be a real terror by the time she's a junior/senior. Nalyssa Smith is a player who I think will make a bigger impact her first year since she's much more polished offensively despite not being as active as Decosta.

 

[chrissaran]

The Huskies don't need 5 recruits.

 

[Vowelguy]

No what I said is Dan Olson thinks Baylor is a royal flush is an unbeatable class, which is wrong.

omg, you are taking his statement WAY too literal