College basketball's second week of play was highlighted by the start of the early signing period. UCLA and USC made waves with a recruiting battle and another waged on in the Big West. However, it wasn’t even a school in the Los Angeles area that brought in the best haul.
Here's a look at what went down in Southern California college basketball last week:
UCLA
First-year head coach Steve Alford inked his first two commitments but it was Kevon Looney out of Milwaukee, that gave the Bruins the biggest boost and showed Alford can recruit successfully at the national level.
Lonney, a five-star recruit out of Milwaukee's Hamilton High, chose UCLA over Michigan State, Duke, Florida, Wisconsin and Tennessee. The 6-foot-8 power forward was ranked No. 14 by Scout.com and he can shoot from all over the court and he plays tough inside, crashing the boards hard.
UCLA also signed Gyorgy Goloman, a Hungarian center.
"Kevon is one of the best players in the country in his class," Alford said. "He is very versatile and we love guys with versatility. He is nearly 6-foot-10 now, so he is going to be able to do a lot of things for us on both sides, in how he guards and how we use him offensively.
"And then GG is one of those guys, 6-9 to 6-9 and a half who adds to our depth in the frontcourt."
It was former head coach Ben Howland that laid the framework for Looney and Alford that took over the recruitment after he was hired. Looney said he grew up watching the Howland-led Bruins reach three-straight Final Fours, planting the seed of Westwood in his head as a young player.
USC
Andy Enfield's first class is already off to a strong start with the signings of four-star Jordan McLaughlin and three-star prospects Malik Price-Martin and Jabari Craig.
McLaughlin is considered the biggest coup, as the point guard chose the Trojans over the Bruins because of a desire to be a part of what Enfield is building. McLaughlin is currently a senior at Etiwanda High and evidence that the recruiting efforts of assistant Tony Bland, who recently came to Troy from San Diego State.
"Jordan McLaughlin is a proven winner and an elite point guard," Enfield said. "Jordan's offensive explosiveness will help our team right away. He also has the ability to be a lock-down defender."
Big West
UC Santa Barbara controlled the Big West for several years until suddenly the Gauchos began battling Long Beach State for the top spot. UCSB is on its way back up this season after a win over UNLV and won't miss a beat next season with two standout recruits in Justin Burks and Gabe Vincent to replace key seniors Kyle Boswell and Shawn Moore.
At The Beach, two products from some of the top prep programs in the area signed on to help rebuild the 49ers. Justin Bibbins, a undersized point guard with a high upside, comes from powerhouse program Bishop Montgomery. Forward Jack Williams helped lead Chaminade to the 2013 CIF-SS D-3A championship game as a junior.
Williams and Temidayo Yussuf, a 6-foot-7 power forward, will add some desperately-needed size as Dan Jennings will graduate this season.
There is no lack of big men in Orange County, as UC Irvine, already the tallest team in the country with three players at 7-feet or higher, the Anteaters landed 6-foot-10 Jonathan Galloway out of Richmond, Calif.
Meanwhile, Bigger is proving better as the Anteaters logged a big win in Seattle, Wash., last week, with a resounding 86-72 win over Washington, then followed it up with a 110-73 win over Pacifica on Sunday.
