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STARTING FIVE: Changes coming to the summer recruiting calendar?

The all-important month of July and the three live evaluation periods for college coaches is just around the corner. In this week’s edition of Bossi’s Best, national analyst Eric Bossi takes a look at the five matchups he would most like to see during the month of July.

My co-worker Corey Evans was able to see the explosive Anthony and the tough Carton go head to head in Colorado Springs at USA Basketball’s 18U national team trials and he said it was must-watch when they matched up. I want more of that type of action during the month of July.

Because Anthony plays for the Nike sponsored PSA Cardinals and Carton plays for the independent Quad City Elite, I don’t know if there is an event where they could match up, but it sure would be fun. Anthony is the established guy who has blue bloods and teams across the country like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and many others chasing while Carton has been a huge Midwest target for programs like Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Marquette, Ohio State and Xavier. There’s been some talk that Carton would like to hear from some of the national glamour programs before making a decision and going toe-to-toe with 2019’s top point guard could certainly ignite some new interest.

For the shooting guard matchup, I’d be most interested in seeing I’ve dipped down to the class of 2020. Because when it comes to pure scoring and guys capable of going for 40 any time they hit the floor, it doesn’t get much better than Green and Edwards. Plus, their differing styles would be fun to watch.

The No. 1 player in 2020, Green is a smooth operator. Everything looks easy. He’s a high flyer, he glides to the rim and he has a buttery looking jumper. Edwards is a big-time athlete himself but he does his scoring with punishing physicality and tremendous explosiveness. Because Green plays on the Adidas circuit and Edwards is on the Under Armour Circuit, this one would be tough to get set up, but man would it be fun and both will be elite priorities now that it appears 2020 prospects are going to have to go to college for at least a year.

The rise of both McDaniels and Whitney has been meteoric. McDaniels has already made his way into the national top five while Whitney has moved into the top 35 and is in great position to make the leap to five-star status in next week’s 2019 rankings update.

McDaniels is tall, long and lean three who can also play as a faceup four while Whitney is a tough and explosive wing who has added to his jumper. McDaniels skill and size going against Whitney’s toughness and athleticism would draw all kinds of coaches. McDaniels and Seattle Rotary vs. Whitney and the Mac Irvin Fire needs to happen in Vegas at the end of the month.

I like the idea of matching up Robinson-Earl against Igiehon because this is another case of alternate styles. Robinson-Earl is a smooth, fundamentally sound and versatile four man who plays mistake-free basketball and rebounds at a high rate. Igiehon is a rough around the edges, somewhat raw but tough and athletic big man who can really run the floor and tries to dunk anything that he gets his hands on.

Both should be in the Atlanta area for an Under Armour event in the first live period and hopefully a matchup between Robinson-Earl’s KC Run GMC squad and Igiehon’s Team Rio unit can be made.

This matchup has already happened a handful of times in the winter, on the grassroots circuit and at USA Basketball. This matchup will happen again at the Nike Peach Jam with Carey’s Nike Team Florida and Wiseman’s Bluff City Legends both in the same pool. This matchup could go a long way towards determining who emerges from the summer as the top player in the class of 2019.

The incumbent at No. 1, Carey is a big and strong center who plays more of a skill-based game. Yes, he can use his 275-pound frame to bully defenders in the post, but he really likes to step out and shoot the ball as well. Wiseman is almost all arms and legs, is the better athlete and is the guy who seems to be dripping with potential. Because of Carey’s skill level, he’s tended to get the better of Wiseman in the past. Will this be the time that Wiseman scores a victory over his rival from the sunshine state? Expect all of college basketball’s royalty to be courtside for this one when it goes down during the first live period in Augusta.