Don't get caught up in recruiting rankings--they are subjective. You're talking about maybe a couple of people at each service who rank the prospects--and, obviously, different people have different opinions, biases, etc. It doesn't really matter whether a player is ranked 3 or 33. What DOES matter is whether she can be an impact player at the next level--and that is why the //evaluation skills// of your coaches are PARAMOUNT. It is very possible that the no. 3 prospect will not be an impact player in college while the no. 33 prospect will. And the reverse is true. UT has signed a BUNCH of highly ranked prospects (top 10, top 20) who did not become good college players--that has been a problem for us--and it is the challenge of recruiting. Think of all the shooting guards we've signed over the last 12 years, say, who simply weren't athletic enough to be good major-college players. Conversely, you get players like Graves and Glory--highly ranked prospect because of their athleticism--but their basketball skills (offensive skills--shooting, ball-handling) are severely lacking.
So don't worry about rankings--worry about whether our coaches are chasing the right players. About half the top 100 prospects in college football are either busts or don't become good college players. I'm sure the same is true with women's basketball. It's not about signing a top prospect; it is feeling confident that that prospect has the game to excel at the next level, when the competition is far tougher.
