Bates is a great prospect, and for Baylor to be that high in his estimation probably does not mean too much when it comes to his final decision, but it does mean a great deal about where Baylor now stands in the realm of world class recruitment. I am not sure that the Bears have ever really been a legitimate rendezvous for a player of this quality, and it cannot hurt their future on the recruiting trail to have made this list, no matter the outcome.
One of the outcomes of the controversies swirling around OU and Texas leaving the conference, whether sooner or later, will be the use that competing programs will make of it in every sport. Basketball recognition has never been greater than it is now, and there is undeniable momentum in the program. That is all the more reason for the vultures to perch on limbs and eye the opportunities to feast on the instabilities, not of the program, but of the conference of residence.
The departure of two of our most hated rivals will have repercussions, but we won't know how dire those may be until the entire scenario plays out. We can assume that recruiting may take a bit of a hit until the uncertainties are resolved, but basketball will be less affected than football. The men are in far better condition to ride the storm than the women are at this point, and Collen will doubtless have a harder sell than Drew will for obvious reasons.
The new approach to compensation could not have come at a less advantageous time, as well, as far as Baylor athletics are concerned. It now means that holding on to players on the current rosters makes recruitment at home as important as recruitment outside the program. It is a strange new world in college athletics, and one that I am not likely to embrace with any enthusiasm in these, my final years as a fan of college sports.