How Mississippi State landed transfer Lauren Park-Lane and why her recruitment was a top priority

STARKVILLE — Lauren Park-Lane and her father watched Mississippi State women’s basketball before her entrance into the transfer portal. The former Seton Hall guard was impressed by the speed and intensity coach Sam Purcell’s squad possessed on both sides of the court. And, of course, MSU’s return to March Madness added to her growing interest.

So when the offseason arrived, the three-time All-Big East selection finally entered the portal with Mississippi State holding some ground before contacting her.

“I wanted to have an idea of what I was looking for, what schools I was interested in and not just going blindly,” Park-Lane told the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday. “Mississippi State, they were on the top of that list.”

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Similarly, Mississippi State put Park-Lane at the top of its list with assistant Gabe Lazo taking the lead on her recruitment. Having coached at Stony Brook, Lazo was familiar with the Wilmington, Delaware, native since she was in high school.

Though she wasn’t getting strong Power Five interest, it was evident she could land at a bigger program than Stony Brook. However, she stayed on Lazo’s radar.

Park-Lane averaged 15.9 points in her four seasons at Seton Hall. She was a unanimous selection to the Big East first team twice and was named All-Met player of the year for the second consecutive year this week. What Lazo saw from her years ago came to fruition, so he ensured he made the first call when she entered the portal.

“I just created a relationship with him that I didn't have with any other assistant coaches,” Park-Lane said. “He has been my guy ever since. I would have conversations with him literally every single day − sometimes about basketball and sometimes about other stuff that didn't even have anything to do with my recruitment. He became someone that I was close to − someone I could trust.”

With her commitment last weekend, Lazo has helped MSU land three players from the Northeast – even beating out schools such as Maryland to bring Park-Lane to Starkville.

Former All-Atlantic 10 guard Asianae Johnson, a New York native, transferred to Mississippi State for her final season last year. New Jersey native and top 100 prospect Quanirah Cherry-Montague is set to begin her college career at MSU this year.

“It set them apart, just the relationship that I have with coach Lazo,” Park-Lane said. “I didn't have that with any other assistant coach that I was interested in.”

Park-Lane signed with MSU before leaving Starkville for her visit. She got an ample amount of one-on-one time with Purcell – which also extended beyond basketball discussions. She says meeting Purcell’s family carried value.

Her future teammates played a key part as well. Part of her trip included three-on-three action with guard JerKaila Jordan and center Jessika Carter on her team.

“I couldn't say no to Mississippi State just based on the fact that I got the opportunity to play with them,” Park-Lane said. “It was like a natural click. We just got it together. It was really cool to even be a part of that whole situation.”

Park-Lane will be Mississippi State’s starting point guard in Year 2 for Purcell, helping replace Anastasia Hayes, who exhausted her eligibility. While Park-Lane's scoring numbers may dip, she believes she can average as many as 10 assists.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why transfer Lauren Park-Lane picked Mississippi State basketball