Arike Ogunbowale will be staying in Colorado Springs for several extra days as she will team up with UConn commits De'Janae Boykin, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson on a star-studded team playing in the U.S. U-18 3x3 national tournament.

The effervescent Ogunbowale watched with delight as her friends pledged to be a part of the nine-time national champion UConn program.

"We're all friends so they are not going to talk colleges, they are not going to pressure me," Ogunbowale said. "We talk about it sometimes, joke about it they are all cool I guess we will see. I am so glad they found where they fit most. I was talking to Katie and she said it just felt right. I am glad with them being friends with me that they found where they want to be for four years and I hope they will enjoy it.

"I think they were be really good. Those are great additions to Geno's squad. You never know what is going to happen but I think they will be really good."

Ogunbowale currently has 11 schools on the list of schools she is considering and UConn is very much in the mix. The 5-foot-9 guard from Milwaukee said she will be announcing her five finalists sooner rather than later.

"I think 'maybe I should hurry up,'" Ogunbowale said with a laugh when reflecting on the three UConn commits. "I am still going to take my time but really soon after USA trials I am going to come out with a list of five and I will probably end up taking all of my visits and take my time because I have to be there for four years.

"It first has to be a great academic school because once basketball ends I want to have a good solid job to support myself but if I do go to the WNBA after that, I just want to have a good coach I can relate to."

Since I cover UConn, naturally I asked Ogunbowale for her thoughts about the UConn program.

"Geno s a great coach and he recruits a lot of great players," Ogunbowale said. "They are really good girls outside of basketball which is great, he gets people to the WNBA and he lets them grow as a woman. He is a great all around coach and super intense which I like a lot."

Speaking of intense competitors, Ogunbowale reminds me a little of Linnae Harper, who drew some interest from UConn although the Huskies were never really in the mix for her before she committed to Kentucky with the way she attacks the basket and can pull down rebounds in traffic over taller players. That aggressiveness actually began on the soccer field. As difficult as it was for her, Ogunbowale decided her future was as a basketball so she stopped playing soccer,

"It was so hard," Ogunbowale said. "Before when I was younger I used to pick soccer tournaments over basketball which is crazy now that I think of it but I just love soccer so much I just love it so much but this is my sport now. I still play for fun."