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Haley Jones, top high school prospect, commits to Stanford

By Carly Grenfell

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - MAY 25: Haley Jones #85 of Santa Cruz, Calif. drives to the hoop in front of Sahara Jones #155 of San Antonio, Texas as they participate in tryouts for the 2018 USA Basketball Women's U17 World Cup Team at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Finalists for the team will be announced on May 28 and will remain in Colorado Springs for training camp through May 30. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - MAY 25: Haley Jones #85 of Santa Cruz, Calif. drives to the hoop in front of Sahara Jones #155 of San Antonio, Texas as they participate in tryouts for the 2018 USA Basketball Women's U17 World Cup Team at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Finalists for the team will be announced on May 28 and will remain in Colorado Springs for training camp through May 30. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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What Haley Jones’ decision means for Stanford—and Connecticut.

Connecticut? Notre Dame? Oregon? South Carolina?

Nope!

The No. 1 high school prospect in the country, Haley Jones, will sign with the University of Stanford. The Santa Cruz, Calif. native is the first No. 1 recruit to commit to the Cardinal since Chiney Ogwumike in 2010. As a junior at Archbishop Mitty, Jones averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists was also named the 2017-18 California Gatorade Player of the Year.

Obviously, this is the best news for head coach Tara VanDerveer and her already-stacked 2019 recruiting class: No. 16 Ashten Prechtel, No. 23 Francesca Belibi and No. 50 Hannah Jump.

But women’s basketball is also winning with this commitment. While UConn has and always will find its way into the limelight, we cannot turn a blind eye to discussions of parity in women’s basketball. If the last couple seasons were any indication, without the Huskies walking away NCAA Champions, parity is here — and is here to stay.

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UConn signed just one recruit for 2019, No. 33 Aubrey Griffin, and will lose both Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson to graduation at the end of this season. So far this year, the two are averaging a combined 37.6 points per game, 15.6 rebounds per game and each playing around 30 minutes. Not to mention the value in their length, athleticism and veteran leadership.

Those are big shoes to fill for the Huskies and it will be interesting to see how next season shakes out. As the game continues to grow and evolve, in a positive direction, dominance won’t be defined or embodied by just one program. Everyone wants to be like UConn — and it seems we’re getting there.

Not to dismiss anything UConn has achieved under Geno over the last few years, but there is beautiful basketball even outside of Storrs, Conn., too. With Oregon on the rise, Notre Dame looking to repeat as champions and South Carolina boasting the No. 1 recruiting class for 2019, it’s exciting for all of us that players like Jones will play an integral role in shifting perceptions that parity ‘doesn’t exist’ in our game.

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