High school Basketball

We aren't lagging in talent, but somehow we don't ever seem to have a ton of top in state recruits. It's no where near the talent that football produces for the state, or even baseball.

The answer is much more on coaching than anything, although coaching everywhere else is usually shitty as well, as all that is taught is to press aggressively and if they break it oh well lets hurry up and get the ball up the court and jack up the first 3 we can.


There are 3 players in the top 300 in the country from LA for 2024, and those 3 are 3 stars.
There was 1 in 2023, and he went to Boise St as a 3 star
There were 4 in 2022, all 3 stars. A&M/Tulane/KansasState/ULL
There were 2 in 2021, 3 stars. One went to Colorado, other went Northwestern St.


2025 has 1 player in the top 300. Cenac from Newman, and he's a 4 star, the first player to crack the top 100 and be more than a 3 star since 2020 Reece Beekman, who had a nice career at Virginia



What's more irritating is we have so few top talents come out of LA lately, and the few we do get don't go to LSU. Cook in 2020 signed with LSU, Smart got his damn strong offer in 2018. That's the only two in the last 7 years.



I also think the best athletes play football over basketball, and that's the biggest reason why.

Coaching, yes

Our best guards play cornerback and receiver all over the country on Saturdays and Sundays.

Smaller sample size with height for forwards and big men. Just on a per capita basis alone we’re going to lag behind the bigger population centers.

In a state over just over 4 million, you’re only going to have X amount each year over 6’7. Then from those, you’re going to have an even smaller group who are coordinated enough to play at a high level.