Bossi's Best: Most important early commitments for 2020
In the class of 2020, nearly one-third (44 to be exact) of the prospects in the Rivals150 have already made verbal commitments. In this week's edition of Bossi's Best, Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi looks at the most important early commits, such as five-star Day'Ron Sharpe to North Carolina, so far.
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2020 RANKINGS: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2021 RANKINGS: Rivals150
For many reasons, Mobley was an absolute must get for Andy Enfield and the Trojans. He's a game-changing shot blocker, big-time rebounder and reliable scorer in the paint. He's also local and well-liked. Given that his older brother is there as a player and his father is an assistant coach for the Trojans, there wasn't ever much doubt that he would go elsewhere but there was starting to be some questions about what why he hadn't yet committed before he made things official a week ago.
*****
John Calipari and the Wildcats are looking to put together a big class in 2020 -- like always -- but getting off to a hot start early was a key. By landing Boston, they were able to get very good foundation to what could be a monster class. Boston is one of the elite wings in the senior class and his commitment was followed up by four-star Cam'Ron Fletcher, as the Cats are in great position with other big-time wings such as Jalen Green and Josh Christopher.
*****
One of the best homegrown prospects in a while, Sharpe looked like a nice get when Roy Williams and the Heels locked him up over a year ago. He's gone from nice catch to potential go-to scorer as a freshman since then and he could be on his way to the national top 10 before all is said and done. North Carolina's best teams have featured dominant, low post players and he's a throwback big who can run and score on the block. He'll get great competition at mighty Montverde his senior year and having him done so early and with little fight is a luxury.
*****
Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils are undoubtedly going to need a point guard next season given the expectation is that Tre Jones will turn pro after this season. In Roach, they landed a good athlete who gets into the lane and finds his teammates. He was highly sought after and the Blue Devils' No. 1 target at the position. Because he's been out for a while due to injury, none of us knows exactly how much, or any, rust he'll have upon return but assuming he's back to himself he's a terrific early score at a major position of need.
*****
What good would all the work Rick Barnes and his staff have done to build Tennessee into one of the SEC's top programs be if they couldn't keep home one of the best in-state prospects? Johnson is a high-flyer who earned his bump to five-star status thanks to his rapidly evolving game off the dribble and his ability to lock down opponents defensively. He should be expected to make an instant impact.
*****
The Spartans are going to take a big hit when they lose all-everything point guard Cassius Winston after this season. Former four-star Foster Loyer may still prove to be the guy to replace Winston, but at a minimum he's going to need some help next season and that made landing a potential college stud like Terry so important. Terry is athletic, he's tough and he's become much more sure of himself as a scorer. He plays like the kind of guy who should thrive under Tom Izzo.
*****
With no college coaching experience, recruiting could have been an area of concern for Michigan fans when it came to Juwan Howard. That he was able to hold onto a commitment from Jackson, the Wolverines' point guard of the future, was a huge win and set a great tone for the 2020 class. Nobody else has jumped on board yet, but Howard and Michigan are making several top five lists and look to be on their way to building a nice class around Jackson.
*****
Originally committed to Northwestern, Bamisile is a crazy athlete who plays the game downhill. New coach Mike Young and his staff had already impressed with the job they did scrambling to finish out 2019 recruiting but their ability to flip Bamisile's commitment was a true eye-opener and set a tone for how they are looking to compete in the ACC.
*****
Matt Painter's best teams have featured some fearless jump shooters who can be versatile defenders and that's exactly what they've gotten in Ivey. What's most impressive here is the job that was done in evaluating him and getting him locked up early. While most saw a bit of a tweener who had work to do, Purdue was totally sold on him as a Big Ten player and recruited him accordingly. Locking up him and fellow four-star Ethan Morton has afforded the Boilermakers staff time to focus on landing an impact big in 2020.
*****
New coach T.J. Otzelberger is trying to win over what has been a hard-to-please UNLV fanbase after the Rebels have struggled some in recent years. He wants to do it with a fast-paced style and with exciting players. He one-upped all of that by landing a player who fits that and is a homegrown talent. Blake has made a huge leap from prospect to player over the last six months and should come in well prepared to play after a year prepping at IMG. Rebel fans should be excited about this one.