With Breanna Stewart, the nation's top-rated high school junior, expected to be at Gampel Pavilion tonight I figured it would be worth taking a look at the uncommitted players in the Class of 2012 who are being recruited by UConn.

Leading the list of prospects is a pair of players who were teammates of UConn commit Morgan Tuck on the U.S. Under-17 national team - Stewart and Jewell Loyd - as well as Texas guard Moriah Jefferson, South Carolina forward Xylina McDaniel and Hillhouse wing Bria Holmes.

Stewart, a 6-foot-4 forward at Cicero-North Syracuse (N.Y.) High, Breanna Stewart, is averaging 23 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.7 steals and 3 blocks per game. I watched some of the practices of the U.S. Under-17 national team and came away extremely impressed with the versatility a player like Stewart brings to the court as she seemed equally at ease at the low post or playing out away from the basket.

Getting the complete stats for Loyd, a 5-foot-10 guard at Niles West High in Skokie, Ill., was a bit more challenging. I couldn't track down her scoring totals in four games this season but in the 21 games I found for her has her averaging 30.3 points per game including four 40-point efforts, two more games of 39 points and a triple-double with 42 points, 15 rebounds and 10 steals in a Dec. 14 win over Deerfield. During one recent stretch, Loyd had 125 points in games against Lake Zurich, St. Francis and Glenbrook South.

The 5-foot-8 Jefferson is a home schooled kid who plays for THESA out of Ft. Worth, Texas and is vying with Stewart for the right of being the nation's most highly-touted high school junior.

McDaniel, a 6-foot-1 forward at Spring Valley (SC), is averaging 18.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks. McDaniel, the daughter of former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, scored in double figures in last 19 games and has nine 20-point games this season. During UConn's recent trip to play at North Carolina, UConn coach Geno Auriemma stayed behind to watch McDaniel play.

Holmes, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward, is averaging 17.4 points per game and has been the picture of consistency by scoring between 13-26 in every game this season for the Academics.

While dynamics in recruiting is an ever evolving process, those appear to be at the top of UConn's wish list at the current time. Jordan Adams, a high school teammate of UConn incoming freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, seems like more of a long shot with each passing week even though when I spoke to her during Mater Dei's recent game in Springfield, Mass. she did say UConn was still in the picture. It seems likely that Adams would stay in California and with the improvement shown by UCLA and USC in the last season or two as well as perennial Pac-10 power Stanford, Adams won't lack for viable options. Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan did say that Tennessee was making a push for Adams so it will be interesting to see if Tennessee coach Pat Summitt can work her recruiting magic. It should be noted that while looking for info on Loyd, one recent story mentioned that Summitt took in one of her recent games.

I can't have a good feel for how seriously California post players Imani Stafford and Alyson Beebe are considering UConn.

Finally, this is merely my opinion but it is beginning to look unlikely that Australian teenager Gretel Tippett would leave her home country and a chance to play in the WNBL in Australia to play collegiately. Had Tippett remained with the Australian Institute of Sport, perhaps I've feel stronger about the liklihood of her coming over but the fact that she has yet to come over to the U.S. to visit potential colleges should be a bit of a red flag. Since joining the Logan Thunder, Tippett is averaging 4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game so she won't lack for opportunities to earn money in Australia's pro league. Unlike the others mentioned above, Tippett would be a part of the incoming freshman class is she opts to head to the U.S. Now, if she makes a decision to come over to visit a school like UConn in the next month, certainly that would be a pretty fair indication of her intentions. I have attempted to contact Gretel's parents via e-mail but have not heard back yet but I will continue to monitor this situation.

Led by junior forward Bria Holmes, who is being recruited by UConn, Hillhouse will be playing the host school in the Murry Bergtraum Classic on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Hillhouse won't be going into the game on a high note having lost to city rival Career 55-47 in the Vanguard Classic in New Haven on Tuesday as Holmes was held to 10 points.

Murry Bergtraum, the alma mater of Epiphanny Prince, Shannon Bobbitt and current Syracuse star Erica Morrow, is led by senior guard Cori Coleman and is ranked eighth in the USA Today national poll. Murry Bergtraum's biggest test could come on Jan. 14 against Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif in the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass. Mater Dei is led by UConn signee Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. The game will start at 6 p.m.

On the subject of recruiting, UConn has a commitment from Morgan Tuck, a 6-2 forward from Bolingbrook (Ill.) High and is pursuing pretty much the same cast of characters it had its eyes on over the summer.

Forward/center Breanna Stewart and guard Moriah Jefferson are at the top of the Huskies' wish list. Holmes, speedy guard Jewell Loyd and towering center Imani Stafford are also very much on UConn's recruiting radar. Jordan Adams, a teammate of Mosqueda-Lewis, has also caught the eye of the UConn coaching staff but Adams seems likely to stay close to home in college.

UConn recruiting targets Morgan Tuck (11 points), Jewell Loyd (11 points, five rebounds) and Breanna Stewart (10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks) all scored in double figures as the U.S. defeated Turkey 84-55 on Tuesday to improve to 4-0 in Group A in the FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women.

The U.S. used a balanced offense as six players scored between 8-11 points as it clinched the top seed out of Group A for the quarterfinals.

The eight players on UConn's recruiting radar on the U.S. team combined for 63 points, 28 rebounds, 8 steals and 6 blocks against Turkey.

Here's a breakdown of how the players being recruited by UConn fared today and are doing in the tournament.

Jordan Adams 5 points vs. Turkey; averaging 1.8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Betnijah Laney 9 points against Turkey; averaging 7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 18 steals
Jewell Loyd 11 points, five rebounds, two steals against Turkey; averaging 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5 points, 6 rebounds vs. Turkey; averaging 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2 steals
Imani Stafford 4 points, 3 rebounds against Turkey; averaging 3.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1 steal
Breanna Stewart 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, two blocks on Tuesday; averaging 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.3 blocks
Morgan Tuck 11 points, three rebounds on Tuesday; averaging 8 points, 4.5 rebounds
Elizabeth Williams 8 points, 4 rebounds vs. Turkey; averaging 13 points and 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks

The U.S. wraps up preliminary round play on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. against Japan. The quarterfinals begin on Friday. The opponent will be determined in large part by Wednesday's Spain/China game. If Spain loses, it would get the No. 4 seed out of Group B and draw the U.S. If Spain wins there will be a three-way tie for second with Spain, China and the loser of the Australia/Belgium each finishing 3-2 and a tiebreaker would be needed to decide the order of finish.

UConn commit Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 21 points, five 3-pointers and four steals to lead five players in double figures as the United States improved to 3-0 in Group A by beating Canada 114-57 Sunday at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women.

UConn recruiting targets Jewell Loyd (19 points), Morgan Tuck (12 points, seven rebounds, two assists) and Elizabeth Williams (12 points) also scored in double figures as did Bria Smith. Others on UConn's recruiting radar who contributed to the win were Breanna Stewart (eight points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks), Betnijah Laney (eight points), Imani Stafford (four points, 12 rebounds, three steals) and Jordan Adams (two points, four assists).

The U.S. will wrap up play in the preliminary round with games against Turkey Tuesday and Japan on Wednesday with both games set to tip at 11:30 a.m.

UConn recruiting target Breanna Stewart had 14 points, eight rebounds and six blocks as the U.S. defeated Spain 61-50 to finish 2-1 in its three exhibition games in Spain. Using tiebreakers, the U.S. was declared the winner in the round robin event and UConn recruiting target Elizabeth Williams, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, was named the tournament's MVP. UConn commit Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis also had 10 points as did former UConn recruiting target Ariel Massengale.

The U.S. now heads to France for the FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women as it opens with host France on Friday.

While we are talking about UConn's recruiting targets, UConn coach Geno Auriemma will leave for Chicago after taking part in tomorrow's press conference announcing a national team training camp in Hartford. He will be in attendance for the final day of the Nike Summer Showcase in Elgin, Ill. before heading to Murfreesboro, Tenn. for the Battle in the Boro.

With most of the players on UConn's recruiting radar (Mosqueda-Lewis, Williams and Betnijah Laney in the Class of 2011 and 2012ers Stewart, Morgan Tuck, Jordan Adams, Imani Stafford and Jewell Loyd in France for the U-17 championships) it will give Auriemma to check out some different players. A recruiting source told me that the Huskies won't be going after post players in the Class of 2011 just for the sake of bringing in a post player. UConn is very much in the mix with Williams and Kiah Stokes and as is their custom, they focus on a select few players with the belief that they will land the type of classes which keeps them a dominant force in collefe womens basketball. Unless somebody else jumps out at them, they would focus on the available post players in the Class of 2012 as the players among the group of rising high school seniors UConn is looking at is led by committed players Mosqueda-Lewis and Brianna Banks and includes Laney, Williams and Stokes.

The chance to meet up with an old friend brought me to the D.C. area earlier this week and while I was there, I decided to make my way over the Flint Hill School for Monday's evening and Tuesday's morning U.S. Under-17 national team practice.

I'll save most of the good stuff - especially regarding recruiting - for the three stories I wrote on the train ride back from D.C. yesterday but thought I would at least provide a scouting report on what I saw. It should be noted that the majority of the drills were spent focusing on defense and how to best utilize playing off screens so it is probably not the most accurate gauge of the offensive potential of the players I saw but I will proceed anyways. Naturally my attention was focused on the eight players on UConn's recruiting radar so the other four players will not be included in my report.

CLASS OF 2011

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis: The first player from the class of rising high school seniors, Mosqueda-Lewis is as good as advertised offensively. While she seemingly has unlimited range on her jumper, it is her ability to score off the dribble that impressed me to most. There is a video that will go with my story on Kaleena that displays that. The fact that she is willing to take the ball into the lane and can score in so many ways once she is in there makes her more than just a one-dimensional shooter. The only thing more impressive than her array of offensive moves is her personality. She is a fun-loving, mercurial kid. She's similar to Diana Taurasi, another California sensation who did pretty well for herself at UConn but doesn't seem to have as hard an edge to her as Taurasi. Personality wise, I would think she'd fall closer to a Kalana Greene than Taurasi but on the court, I see no reason why she couldn't become the latest in a long line of impact offensive players to suit up for UConn. It should be noted that she was in a group of four players watching a drill and when the drill ended with a basket, she was singled out by U.S. U-17 coach Barbara Nelson for applauding the basket and the other three players needed to do five pushups as punishment. She was also encouraging on her teammates as they were in between wind sprints before Tuesday's practice.

Betnijah Laney: Another player who can create her own shot off the dribble, Laney has a silky smooth offensive game. But she first caught my eye with her defense. On the first day of drills the team was struggling during a defensive drill until Laney had steals on back to back possessions. It was just what her teammates needed to bounce back from a rough start to practice. A recruiting source said that the UConn coaches like Laney as much if not more for her personality as for her game and I can see why. She is clearly a leader on the court as she was one of more vocal players out on the court and like Mosqueda-Lewis, has a persona that draws people to her. It was evident to me that she has developed a close bond with Mosqueda-Lewis. After Laney made one play on Monday, an exuberant Mosqueda-Lewis lept into Laney's arms. That doesn't mean that she'll land at UConn because I've been to USA Basketball trials and practices before and often times the closest bonds can be formed on players on different college teams. However, if my eyes did not deceive me, I could have sworn that the lefty was shooting right-handed during free-throw drills.

Elizabeth Williams: I did not get back on the UConn beat until Tina Charles was starting her freshman year at UConn but if I had seen Charles in action in the summer between her junior and senior years of high school, I have a hunch her skill set would have reminded me quite a bit of Williams. Like many of her teammates, she got off to a slow start when practice began on Monday but on Tuesday, she was a dominant inside force. In one stretch, she blocked a Breanna Stewart shot, made a tough catch in the post and hit a layup and then swatted away a Bria Smith shot in the lane. Williams spent as much time at the high post and while she is pretty much unstoppable in the low blocks, she looks comfortable away from the basket as well.

CLASS OF 2012
Jordan Adams/Morgan Tuck: I grouped them together because I was impressed by many of the same qualities. Tuck was the author of the sweet pass for a backdoor layup to a cutting Stewart (which I was able to capture on video) while both she and Adams are extremely cerebral players. I hate to use the term a "UConn type of player" because it infers that players who don't go to UConn don't know how to think the game and that is simply not the case. But I could see Adams and/or Tuck fitting in quite nicely at any of the elite schools - UConn included. Neither player found their offensive groove when I was there but as I mentioned, it was hard for any of the players not named Mosqueda-Lewis or Laney to get going offensively with the focus on defense.

Breanna Stewart: I absolutely love her game. She's the type of kid who can dominate a game without taking a shot. Although not built exactly the same, I see a lot of Kelsey Griffin in Stewart especially the aggressive way she goes after rebounds. Stewart, like Griffin, also understands how the game is supposed to be played and can score with either her left or right hand inside. Her passing was exquisite especially when she was on the low blocks. I see her as being more of a power forward than a true center at the next level but certainly is not afraid to go inside.

Imani Stafford: Not only is she 6-foot-7 but she has an impressive wingspan. I do think she is not as refined offensively as fellow posts like Williams and Stewart and didn't make as much of an impact defensively as I think she could considering her height and wingspan but I saw flashes of the potential that will earn her plenty of attention from coaches at the big-time programs.

Jewell Loyd: A late addition to the U-17 team, Loyd is a speedy lead guard who at times was playing too fast. I chalked some of that up to the fact that she was added to the team late and is still getting used to her teammates. I've been out to Colorado Springs for national team trials each year from 2006-09 and have found that point guards have a hard time standing out especially on the younger teams. That was definitely that case this week as neither Loyd nor former UConn recruiting target Ariel Massengale seemed to be comfortable. I did see Loyd hit a couple of perimeter jumpers so I can see the potential.

Now a few parting thoughts. First, no commitments will be coming out of this group any time in the near future. Second, there's no truth to the rumor that Tennessee coach Pat Summitt believes UConn gained a recruiting advantage because the nickname of the Flint Hill School is the Huskies and finally, if UConn gets commitments from Williams and Laney to go with Mosqueda-Lewis and guard Brianna Banks, UConn coach Geno Auriemma will have to answer more questions whether his team's dominance is bad for the sport of women's basketball.

,UConn incoming freshmen Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley were among 16 finalists selected for the U.S. Under-18 national team after three days of trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. UConn freshman to be Samarie Walker did not make the cut which could aid Walker in the long run as she can return to UConn to continue getting treatment on her knee.

UConn recruiting targets Ally Malott, Malina Howard and Diamond DeShields also made the cut.

The 16 finalists will remain in Colorado for training and four players will be cut by June 14 with that 12-member squad representing the U.S. at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women being held from June 23-27 in Colorado Springs.

UConn commit Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis along with UConn recruiting targets Betnijah Laney, Elizabeth Williams, Breanna Stewart, Jordan Adams, Imani Stafford and Morgan Tuck were selected to the U-17 national team. The squad will play in the U17 World Championship July 16-25 in Rodez and Toulouse, France.

Kiah Stokes, on a short list of post players UConn is looking at in the current crop of rising high school seniors, was selected to represent the U.S. in the World Youth Olympic Games, a 3 on 3 tournament. The team will make a stop in Springfield, Mass. from Aug. 6-9 for training before leaving for the event in Singapore.