WACO, Texas -- Lauren Cox learned very quickly that Natalie Chou has a voracious appetite, will sing along to anything that comes on the radio and wont put a skateboard down until she has learned how to skate.Before they became roommates at Baylor this summer, Cox and Chou mostly knew each other as highly competitive, decorated rivals in Dallas.It was always us two, me against Lauren in seventh and eighth grades, Chou said. And then in high school, we were in the same district so we would play against each other at least two times. That would always be a big game.Cox and Chou, ranked the No. 1 and No. 8 recruits in the country by ESPN, will play in many more massive games for the next four years as teammates. The prized freshmen, along with No. 40 prospect Calveion Juicy Landrum, take their first road trip on Thursday, and it will surely will be one they wont forget.No. 2 Baylor visits No. 3 UConn with the Huskies looking to extend their 76-game winning streak with a victory in Storrs. The Huskies (1-0) will be Baylors second top-10 opponent this week after the Bears (2-0) beat ninth-ranked UCLA at home, 84-70.Usually, UConn has the star-studded recruiting class. But Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey might have her best crop of freshmen in her 17 seasons at Waco, and thats saying a lot.While Cox and Chou had been teammates once before on the 2014 USA U17 World Championship team -- they helped USA go 7-0 and bonded half a world away in the Czech Republic -- the two never really considered playing together at the collegiate level.At least not until Mulkey had the two in her office for a visit at Baylor.Mulkey made a detailed, eye-opening pitch of seamless pick-and-rolls, perhaps allowing Cox and Chou to fantasize about becoming the Green and Gold version of Stockton and Malone. The coach also talked about the 6-foot-1 Chous perimeter shooting, passing and versatility to play three positions -- and how that would fit nicely with the 6-foot-4 Coxs stellar post game.Apart, the two would be just fine wherever they went. Together, however, Cox and Chou could be a championship-caliber combination in the future.When I recruited them, I talked about together, Mulkey said. The combination of a post player and a perimeter player and what they could mean to each other.Their personalities are similar in that they are very basketball savvy. They grew up in homes where their parents are very involved in their careers, and now they can go to the next level and do it together.Cox stunned Mulkey by committing as she posed for a photo shoot in a Baylor uniform on her official visit, and Chou signed two weeks later.(Mulkeys pitch about teaming up) was eye-opening, Chou said. She put everything into reality. Lauren is like the best post power forward, and I am a really good shooter, so having her would help me a lot, and we know each others games so well so it would be great.The two McDonalds All-Americans joined Landrum to give Mulkey whats considered the best recruiting class in the country by some and the second-best class?according to ESPN. All three have deep basketball roots, too. Chous mother, Quanli Li, played professional basketball in China. Coxs parents, Dennis and Brenda, played college basketball, and Landrums sister, Porsha Roberts, plays professionally.How much Mulkey will play her freshmen remains to be seen. Cox logged just four minutes and missed all four of her shots against UCLA as Mulkey relied on an impressive frontcourt with the likes of preseason All-American forward Nina Davis and Kalani Brown. Brown had 25 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks against the Bruins.Chou and Landrum play behind a veteran backcourt of Alexis Jones, Alexis Prince and Kristy Wallace. Chou logged 12 minutes and went scoreless, while Landrum did not play against UCLA.Of course, the freshmen trio came to Baylor knowing they would try to support a Bears squad that returned four starters from a 36-2 team last season.I am really hard on myself, so I do have high expectations for myself, said Cox, who is Baylors first No. 1 recruit in the country since Brittney Griner in 2009. If I do want to have that playing time and contribute to the team, I will have to work hard because we have really good returning posts on the team.In Baylors first non-exhibition game of the season, the three freshmen saw extended playing time in a 118-43 blowout over Houston Baptist. Chou led the freshmen with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, while Cox had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Landrum added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 points, 2 steals and 1 block.Mulkey hopes her freshmen will wreak havoc on opponents in the future. For now, she wants them to find enough harmony on the court to be the pieces that make this Baylor juggernaut a championship team.The three Texas girls havent come up with a nickname for their class, but their goal and the teams motto is clear and catchy: Destination Dallas. Baylor hopes to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2012, when the Bears went 40-0 and won the national championship.Once local rivals, Cox and Chou would love nothing more than to come home and compete for a championship together.From over the years, we would know how each other play, and we knew each others strengths and what we liked to do, Chou said. So having that connection already and history really, I think, helps.We have a lot of Dallas girls on this team. So we feel like we would be playing in front of our family, and our goal is to win the national championship. Gary Carter Jersey . LUCIE, Fla. Jacob deGrom Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.metssale.com/mets-dwight-gooden-jersey/ . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Mike Piazza Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. David Wright Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. LONDON -- Striker Diego Costa struck in the 89th minute as Chelsea won its first competitive match under new manager Antonio Conte, beating West Ham 2-1 Monday night in the English Premier League.Im delighted with the performance, I saw a lot of things that are working, a good intensity with the ball, but we know we can improve, said Conte, a former Juventus and Italy manager. We are only working one month together, but tonight I saw the right intensity.West Ham thought it had grabbed a late equalizer in the London derby at Stamford Bridge after James Collins well-struck shot in the 77th minute canceled out Eden Hazards penalty kick.But Costa was able to steer the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Adrian from outside the box to give the home team the result it deserved.West Ham rode its luck for much of the match with goalkeeper Adrian denying Willian twice in the first half.West Ham finally conceded early in the second half when Michail Antonio bought down Cesar Azpilicueta after giving the ball away while trying to dribble out of the penalty area. Hazard shot straight down the midddle to beat Adrian in the 47th and Antonio was quickly substituted by furious Hammers manager Slaven Bilic.ddddddddddddNGolo Kante impressed on his league debut for Chelsea, snuffing out the bulk of West Hams attacks, and midfielders Oscar and Nemanja Matic worked hard to dominate midfield.West Ham clawed its way back into match following the 67th-minute introduction of midfielder Dimitri Payet,, who was on the bench due to lack of match fitness after having been granted extended leave by Bilic following his impressive performance for France at the European Championship.The visitors started to create opportunities. But it was Costa who ensured the late victory, still on the pitch despite a studded tackle on Adrian that could have earned him a second yellow card.We were so close against a top side on their ground, but they deserved it, Bilic said. Lets be honest, we didnt create chances and we gave them a penalty, and they were winning the second balls. ' ' '
