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For Pac-12 basketball coaches, Cathedral High School in downtown Los Angeles has become a permanent fixture on the recruiting landscape. Once a middling program with only the occasional college prospect, Head Coach William Middlebrooks has quickly turned the Phantoms into one of Southern California’s most formidable programs. It’s the word “program” that is most instructive. Formerly in charge at Ribet Academy, Middlebrooks brought to Cathedral a series of programmatic changes 4 years ago. Morning weights, afternoon study sessions, and a breakneck style of play culminated in the school’s first ever Top 20 state ranking during the 2013-14 season. In the two seasons since, the program has continued to flourish, adopting performance nutrition, specialized shooting instruction, and even mental conditioning to produce an El Camino Real League championship, a California State Regional Championship game appearance, 2 Southern Section Open Division selections and numerous college basketball prospects at all levels.

Whether it be through his efforts at Cathedral, direction of his prep program Middlebrooks Academy or the Compton Magic AAU program where he serves as Co-Director working in concert with grassroots basketball legend Etop Udo-Ema, the “Middlebrooks Way” has been especially felt in the Pac-12. Current Cathedral seniors Milan Acquaah and Kobe Paras have committed to Washington State and UCLA, respectively, while a third senior, Brazilian national Lucas Siewert, plans to choose from one of several high-major offers within the month after de-commiting from Arizona State last summer due to a coaching change.

Neither of the two committed seniors will be venturing out alone. In Pullman, Acquaah will join another Middlebrooks alum, Derrien King, while in Westwood, Paras, Ike Anigbogu and McDonald’s All-American T.J. Leaf are joining forces to form a Compton Magic trifecta. Given Udo-Ema’s role in orchestrating an Adidas sponsorship for 2016’s consensus No. 1 high school program Chino Hills, one might as well add vaunted recruit Lonzo Ball to the equation.

Looking to keep pace, Stanford will lean in the coming season on the Magic trio of Malcolm Allen, Marcus Allen and Cameron Walker. Across the bay, Nick Hamilton finds himself suiting up for California thanks to Middlebrooks and another Compton Magic associate, Jerome Green. Further north, the Oregon Ducks are simultaneously basking in this season’s success and looking ahead to next year when one-time Ribet Academy standout Tyler Dorsey (13ppg as a freshman under Middlebrooks and a CIF Championship game appearance in 2012) and Compton Magic alum Jordan Bell (All Pac-12 Defender) return to Eugene. Toss in Utah’s Sedrick Barefield and Arizona State’s Kodi Justice, and “The Brand,” as Middlebrooks likes to call it, boasts 14 players on eight different Pac-12 teams next season.

Middlebrooks’ stamp on the Conference of Champions may just be beginning. Class of 2017 UCLA commits Jaylen Hands and Jalen Hill of the Compton Magic will both be signing their national letters of intent this coming fall, adding another 2 players to the Pac-12’s most storied program. They’ll arrive on campus with plenty of winning pedigree too, having benefitted from Middlebrooks’ Team USA nomination (Hill won gold in June 2015 while part of FIBA America’s U16 championships).

It’s little wonder then that when the recruiting live period begins later this month, the Cathedral gym will once again be a popular spot among coaches looking to extend their next scholarship offer. It’s a pilgrimage more than 150 college coaches made over the last 12 months, to say nothing of the attention paid Compton Magic on the Adidas Uprising Circuit. There you will find the low key and unassuming Middlebrooks helping more kids and their families realize their hoop dreams. Recruiting, after all, is intensely competitive, and no staff wants to see the talent go elsewhere, let alone to a conference foe.