Kathy Olivier has pulled off a few recruiting shockers over the
years, but her 2003 class is shaping up to be quite a
show-stopper.
The UCLA women’s basketball coach received verbal
commitments from three highly touted high school seniors, prep
All-American guard Noelle Quinn, forward Amanda Livingston and
center Consuelo Lezcano.
A 6-foot combination guard from Bishop Montgomery High School in
Torrance, Quinn averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game last
season, and was a consensus top-10 recruit nationally. She had been
rumored to be leaning toward Stanford before committing to UCLA on
Tuesday.
“(Quinn) has always wanted to play for UCLA, ever since
she was a kid,” Bishop Montgomery head coach Lisa Cooper told
StudentSports.com. “She liked Kathy Olivier a lot and just
felt more comfortable at UCLA.”
A 4.0 student in high school, Quinn also stars on the Bishop
Montgomery volleyball team that is in contention for a state
championship this season. She plans to focus only on basketball as
a Bruin, and should see significant playing time in the backcourt
as a freshman.
“She’s easily the best player I have ever
coached,” Cooper said. “She can do everything ““
shoot, handle the ball, rebound, and distribute it. She loves the
game and has a real passion for it.”
The Bruins’ other two recruits also could contribute
immediately.
Lezcano, a 6-foot-4-inch center from Marathon High School in
Florida, verbally committed to UCLA late last week. She averaged 21
points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks as a junior last year, and is
widely regarded as one of the top centers on the East Coast.
The 6-foot-1-inch Livingston is a local product from Troy High
School in Fullerton. She averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds per
game last season, and chose UCLA over Pepperdine and UCSB.
The verbal commitments of these three standouts comes on the
heels of a 2002 recruiting class ““ including guards Nikki
Blue, Ortel Oren and Lisa Willis, and forward Julia Pitts ““
that was among the best in the nation. Without having even stepped
on the court yet this season, the UCLA women’s basketball
team appears headed in the right direction.