Bossi's Best: Juniors, sophomores on the rise
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For the past few months, Corey Evans, Dan McDonald and Krysten Peek and I have been attending showcases and tournaments throughout the country. Today, I take a look at a baker's dozen of prospects from the 2019 and 2020 classes who are on the rise this season.
RANKINGS: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Team (2018)
Recruitment: Offers from Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Clemson, Xavier, Butler and others.
Why he's trending up: One of the most rapidly improving big men in America, Jackson-Davis has greatly expanded his offensive game. His mobility, ability to attack off the dribble, rebounding and shot blocking all translate well, and now that he's got improved skill he's rising near the top of the big man heap in 2019.
Recruitment: Offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, Florida, Minnesota and others.
Why he's trending up: Colleges certainly seem to have taken notice given the multitude of offers James has but we feel he should be a blueblood-level recruit. At 6-foot-6 he has legitimate point guard ability and does a little bit of everything. Look for him to make the jump to five-star status in the next rankings update.
Recruitment: Offers from Kansas State, Florida, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UNLV, Texas A&M, Tulane, Incarnate Word and others.
Why he's trending up: Ramsey made a big impression on us during the summer thanks to his motor and toughness. After moving from Texas to IMG, he showed that he's as skilled as he is tough. He reminds us a lot of Marcus Smart at the same age.
Recruitment: Offers from Illinois, Missouri, Northwestern, Florida, St. Louis, DePaul, Kansas State, Iowa State, Marquette and others.
Why he's trending up: Liddell may not possess truly ideal height for a power forward, but he's so skilled and tough that it doesn't matter. When the rankings update he'll make one of the biggest jumps in the class of 2019 and we think he's good enough to play anywhere in the country..
Recruitment: Offers from VCU, Old Dominion, UConn, Virginia Tech, DePaul, South Carolina, Providence and others.
Why he's trending up: Gantt is that long and lanky hybrid forward who can really get out and run in transition. He's gone from intriguing athlete to consistently productive on both ends and has lots of upside.
Recruitment: Offers from Baylor, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas A&M, Tulsa, UNLV, North Texas and Memphis.
Why he's trending up: Harris moves as well without the ball as anybody in the junior class and is a big-time shot maker. His commitment to improving quickness and becoming as diverse as possible on the offensive end has allowed him to develop into a legitimate high-major prospect as a scorer.
Recruitment: Offers from St. John's, Illinois, Georgetown, Minnesota, Western Kentucky and others.
Why he's trending up: A big jump shooter with toughness, Quinones made a strong impression this winter. The ball looks like it's going in each time it leaves his hands and he's able to play aggressively without being out of control.
Recruitment: Offers from Kansas, LSU, Syracuse, Miami, Florida, Oregon and more.
Why he's trending up: Before it's all said and done, Barnes could be a legitimate contender for the top spot in the class of 2020. As it is, he's pushing for the national top three. He's a multi-positional player who makes plays in transition and is similar to a young Andre Iguodala.
Recruitment: Offers from Alabama, Miami, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, San Diego State and Washington.
Why he's trending up: Mobley has grown a bit since the summer and looks like he could be on his way to 7-foot. He's still very skinny but runs the floor well, has great hands and shows lots of potential as a skilled scorer out to 18 feet.
Recruitment: Offers from Arizona, California, Florida State, UCLA, USC, UNLV, Oregon and UCSB.
Why he's trending up: The West Coast is loaded with big-time shooting guard prospects in 2020 and Christopher has pushed himself into the elite. Physical, skilled and athletic, he operates similarly to a young James Harden and could make a run at the national top 10.
Recruitment: Offers from Florida State, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Auburn, Florida, NC State, Texas A&M, Alabama, Clemson and others.
Why he's trending up: Cooper put on an impressive display at the City of Palms, where he proved himself as one of the top floor generals in his class. He’s skilled, he’s a leader and he’s a winner.
Recruitment: Offers from Wake Forest, UCLA, South Carolina, Baylor, Houston, Ole Miss and Georgetown.
Why he's trending up: Brakefield has really taken off in his sophomore season at Huntington Prep. He runs the floor, he scores at the rim and he's got a constantly expanding offensive game. He's one that will be in consideration for a move to five-star status.
Recruitment: Offers from Kansas State, Missouri State and St. Louis.
Why he's trending up: The city of St. Louis consistently pumps out high-level wing prospects and Fletcher looks to be next in line. He can shoot with range, is a deluxe athlete in transition and has big-time natural instincts on the defensive end of the floor.