How does Aaliyah Chavez stack with previous No. 1 ranked recruits JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Azi Fudd, and others? Explored

No. 1 ranked Aaliyah Chavez remains uncommitted and is the top prize for college basketball right now with five schools battling to get her. The question is, how would she compare to the other No. 1 ranked prospects before her?

It is safe to say that she has proven to be the best in her class for a reason. Aaliyah Chavez already has 142 career varsity games after writing, where she averages 32.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 3.2 steals per game. She currently has 4,553 total high school career points and that is expected to grow as she has a few season games left with the Monterey Lady Plainsmen, who are expected to challenge for a state title.

Her senior year stats so far are also impressive, as she averages 35.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals per game. For now, her top five schools, UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma, are holding their collective breaths and awaiting her decision, with it being a toss-up on where she would be going in the end.

The other No. 1 ranked players from previous years also had colleges all over the country doing their best to try and recruit them. How does Aaliyah Chavez stack against them?

Aaliyah Chavez compared to previous No. 1 ranked recruits in high school basketball

Last year's No. 1 rank was Sarah Strong, and while the power forward does not have the offensive prowess of Aaliyah Chavez, the current UConn freshman makes up for it with her defensive prowess and ability to dominate the boards. In her senior year, she averaged 21 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.

Meanwhile, 2023's No. 1, JuJu” Watkins, is a much closer player in terms of playstyle compared to Aaliyah Chavez, with both of them being big guards that dominated other guards usually smaller than them. She averaged 27.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a senior at Sierra Canyon, which means that Chavez is the better scorer but Watkins is better as a rebounder.

As for the Class of 2022's Lauren Betts, she could not be any more different as the 6-foot-7 center was a dominant presence in the paint, averaging 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3.6 blocks per game over her 95 career games played. She continues to dominate in college too, but comparing her to Chavez is like comparing apples to oranges.

Meanwhile, 2021's Azzi Fudd would be a better comparison, as the UConn star averaged 19.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists per game, though it should be noted that her season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While her 'what ifs' are plenty, stats-wise, Chavez has proven to be the more dominant player.

Finally, for the Class of 2020, we have Paige Bueckers, another current UConn star. Like Chavez, she is also a point guard, and like Fudd, her season was also cut short due to the pandemic. She averaged 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks in her senior season, which meant that aside from her blocking prowess, Chavez is still considered better in terms of stats.

While some have proven to be better passers or rebounders, Aaliyah Chavez has proven the better player offensively in her high school career. With her leading Monterey, she may be poised to win a state title with the Lady Plainsmen.