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Bossi's Best: Big summers have these 10 players on the rise

Devon Dotson
Devon Dotson (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

July offered the opportunity for the elite in high school hoops to measure up against the best. Here are 10 players who enjoyed big summers and have raised their stock in advance of the next 2018 Rivals150 rankings.

This isn't an all-inclusive list, but it touches on those who could be in for upgrades to their current star ratings or more than double-digit climbs in the rankings.

Related: 15 who could crash the 2018 Rivals150 | Aftermath of Bagley's decision

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Why he's trending up: A baby-faced assassin, Simons is a straight up scoring machine who looks a little better each time I see him. He's still lean, but he's much more explosive than I realized. He's turned into a versatile scorer who is in line for a bump to five-star status.

Recruitment: Simons is committed to Louisville.

Why he's trending up: I don't think there are many others in 2018 who play with the same competitive spirit and drive that Dotson does. He faces challenges head on and backs up his confidence with his play. It's pretty tough to not want to bump him up after the summer he just had.

Recruitment: Florida, Kansas, Maryland and Miami are involved, and he officially visits Kansas later this month.

Prediction: Kansas

Why he's trending up: Over the last couple of rankings updates, Moore has been one of the most heavily debated prospects between myself and the rest of the Rivals team. I've always been willing to overlook some inconsistency because of his upside. So, it only figures that when we finally dropped him, he responded with a great summer. He has size and versatility.

Recruitment: Maybe the most frequent unofficial visitor in the class of 2018, Moore has Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Mercer, Oklahoma, Providence, USC, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and others involved.

Prediction: Florida

Why he's trending up: My personal concern with Herro -- and why we've rated him lower than some other services -- has been that he has to work very hard and use a lot of dribbles to create space against high-major defenders. During July, he looked more fluid and like he wasn't working as hard to get his offense, which was very promising when coupled with his ability to shoot.

Recruitment: Herro is committed to Wisconsin.

Why he's trending up: Hepa has always had skill and been fluid running the floor. But like many bigs who can shoot, finding the balance between facing up to create mismatches and hunting jump shots has been an issue. He has toughened up on the glass and balanced out his game.

Recruitment: Gonzaga, Texas (official visit Labor Day weekend), USC and Washington are moving ahead of the field.

Prediction: Texas

Why he's trending up: I've never had a problem with small point guards as long as they are quick, fearless and have the ability to score the ball. The more I watch Tyler Harris, the more those attributes stand out. I see a guy similar to former South Carolina star Devan Downey.

Recruitment: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Memphis, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Wichita State and others are involved.

Prediction: Iowa State

Why he's trending up: The more I watch Devoe, the more I'm reminded of scouting former North Carolina standout and NBA point guard Kendall Marshall. Devoe's ability to advance the ball with the pass instead of wasting dribbles and opportunistic scoring give him the true point guard game you don't see that much of in this day and age.

Recruitment: Florida, USC and Wake Forest are getting official visits, and Indiana, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Connecticut and Ohio State are involved.

Prediction: Florida

Why he's trending up: Laszewski has always shown a tempting combination of size and skill. During July, he added more killer instinct and consistency while helping the New England Playaz to a big summer.

Recruitment: Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Virginia, Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina and several others have now offered.

Prediction: Wake Forest

Why he's trending up: During the summer, I remember a few conversations with coaches whose question was, "What's his position?" My response was always "on the floor." I don't care about labeling him a small forward or a shooting guard, I just know he's savvy, plays hard, is very productive and is still only 16 years old.

Recruitment: Illinois, Iowa State, Northwestern, Kansas, Michigan State, DePaul, Missouri, Dayton and more have offered.

Prediction: Michigan State

Why he's trending up: Maybe my expectations for Hamilton were too high headed into the spring. Maybe he wasn't fully healthy. Whatever the reason, the spring wasn't great for Hamilton. To his credit, he bounced back in a big way as a scorer and versatile backcourt player during July.

Recruitment: UNLV, Washington State, Ohio State, Utah, Nevada, UCLA and others have offered.

Prediction: UNLV

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