UConn commit Kelly Faris, a 5-foot-11 guard/forward from Plainfield, Ind., was rated as the No. 2 player in the state of Indiana on the Rick Bolus High Potential Recruiting Service.

Skylar Diggins of South Bend, Ind., a former UConn recruiting target, is the No. 1 rated player. The third-ranked player and top non-senior is Jasmine Penny, a 6-foot-1 forward from Logansport. I haven't heard Penny's name thrown around as a potential UConn recruiting target but I do know that the Huskies need to pursue some inside players in the next recruiting class. Penny was a good enough prospect to earn an invite to make an unofficial visit to Purdue as a freshman so it is a name that could be worth watching.

Back to Faris, Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell had glowing praise about the only player currently committed to UConn in the Class of 2009. Mitchell was an assistant coach on the USA Basketball Under-18 national team which won the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship for Women title. Faris averaged 4.6 points, 4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals as the U.S. went 5-0 to secure a spot in next year's FIBA Under-19 world championship.

"First and foremost, I love the disciplined player that she is," Mitchell said. "She is always the first one to arrive at the gym and she puts herself through a shooting routine. You can just see the passion that she has for the game. The second thing is she is disciplined. Whatever we would tell her, she would do. I felt like she was too unselfish. I would tell her all the time, Kelly you need to be more selfish about your offensive abilities but she is a coach’s dream. We exchanged e-mails when we got back from Argentina. She is so polite and I thanked her. Even though we are going to be on opposite sides, it is going to be really good to see her development.

"I think she is going to be one of those players who is going to be a glue player. He is always going to have those superstars out there and I’m not saying she is not going to be a superstar, but when I think of Kelly Faris I think of stability, someone that when the coaches say to do it, she is going to do it. She wasn’t very verbal on the team but people followed her because of her example. Those players are invaluable to a team. She is not going to be about Kelly, she is not going to be selfish. She is going to put the team goals over her own. I think that’s what people are going to love about her the best."

Speaking of class acts, whoever lands Krista Gross should consider themselves fortunate. Not only does Krista, who lists UConn, Stanford and North Carolina as her three finalists, want to be a doctor, so does her older sister. In my brief dealings with the family through her father Elton, a former college football star who is a member of the Guilford (N.C.) College Hall of Fame have been first rate all the way.

I don't think it is a coincidence that the two parents I have dealt with over the last couple of years on the UConn recruiting trail who have impressed me the most are dynamic, former football stars. You would be hard-pressed to find a person who carries themself with any more dignity and grace than former Kansas State and Kansas City Chiefs star linebacker Gary Spani, the father of ex-UConn recruiting target Taper Spani.

On final item, the "UConn is America's team" quote credited to Rutgers senior center Kia Vaughn is making the rounds but having listened to my tape again a few minutes ago, Vaughn's exact words were "UConn, they are America’s favorite team with All-Americans and everything." So Dallas Cowboys fans can relax, Kia Vaughn is not borrowing the "America's team" tag and applying it to UConn.