But the main objection I have to your post is that Gonzaga proves what you said to be patently false. They have great recruits every single year and most of them have a great offer from teams in more heralded conferences. They clearly prove that kids will choose a WCC school even if "other options are available" when they have good reasons to do so. Few is a great coach and developer of talent. Many of his players go to the NBA. Hopefully BYU gets there someday but in the meantime we have other draws that will bring kids here. In the end we have to develop the talent (and hang onto it for 4 years) if we're going to build a program like Gonzaga has. They clearly prove it's not all about the conference.