Elite 14: Eric Bossi's Saturday Takeaways

Rankings: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 team rankings | 2020 Rivals150 | 2021 Rivals35

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Day two of the Elite 14 Showcase featured some of the biggest names in Texas like five-star Drew Timme doing their thing.

Eric Bossi has his takeaways and notes about who did what and who was on hand to see them.

More: Elite 14 Friday takeaways | Rivals Roundtable

A five-star prospect, big man Drew Timme lamented the lack of time he's had to work out this fall because of official visits and hosting teams for in home visits. If he's out of shape, it didn't really show.

One of 2019's most unique players, Timme is a big man who likes to pound the glass, lead the fast break, score from 15 feet and in and keep a running commentary the entire time. His personality is every bit as big as his talent and once he locks himself in a college weight room he will be an instant impact player wherever he lands.

Technically Timme is down to a final five of Alabama, Arizona, Gonzaga, Illinois and Texas A&M but he's not visited Arizona and the Wildcats are pretty much out. A&M's Billy Kennedy watched with a pair of assistants on Saturday and Timme confirmed that he will announce his college choice on November 14th, the first day of the early signing period.

During the summer and earlier this fall, top 40 point guard Jahmius Ramsey had indicated that he would wait until the spring to make his college choice. He confirmed on Saturday that the timetable has moved up and that he should have a choice sooner than later.

To date, Ramsey has visited Louisville, Memphis and Texas Tech officially and it would appear that his decision will come from one of those three programs.

Whether it be Chris Mack, Penny Hardaway or Chris Beard that lands Ramsey, they are landing a difference maker. I've always been impressed by his intensity, ability to get to the rim, athleticism and elite defensive potential. But, Ramsey's jump shot is looking better than ever and giving a talent like him a consistent three point shot makes him a potential All-Conference type of player in the AAC, ACC or Big 12.

Saturday's action provided me with the chance to check in on two of 2021's highest ranked players, five-star center Jerrell Colbert and four-star shooting guard Trey Alexander. They both gave several glimpses of why they are so highly thought of.

A thin and mobile big man, Colbert didn't put up huge stats while I watched him with Houston (Texas) Texas Christian. Much of that had to do with spotty point guard play. When he had the opportunity to make plays, though, the immense upside was evident. He's a young big who can handle the ball, shows promise as a guy who can spread defenses with his shooting and passing and a whirling left hand half hook offered a glimpse into the kinds of things he can do on the block. As he gets stronger, adds confidence and finds the perfect blend between his inside and outside game all of the tools to be a monster are there. Texas, TCU, Baylor, Texas A&M, Houston and many others have already offered scholarships.

Last winter, I went down to Oklahoma City (Okla.) Heritage Hall to watch Alexander as a freshman because of a tip from a reliable source in the area. He impressed as a jump shooter and fluid scorer. Fast forward to Saturday and Alexander is still a pure scorer. On top of that he's turned into an off the dribble playmaker to the point that he might need to be viewed as more of a combo guard. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (who watched on Saturday) have both offered and had him on campus and Texas Tech should be the next of many to offer.

While resurrecting the Baylor program, Scott Drew and his staff have proven that they can recruit high level talent. But every bit as important to their success has been their ability to take lesser talented players and develop them, sometimes into NBA players like in the cases of Taureen Prince and Royce O'Neale among others.

I'm not saying that they'll develop Jordan Turner into an NBA player, but he fits the mold of a guy they can do some damage with.

A native of Texas who is at Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Christian, Turner has grown to about 6-foot-7, has a prototype basketball frame and he can shoot with range. The key here is that he's gotten much more aggressive around the rim and I like the idea of ultimately using him as a skilled combo forward capable of creating mismatches.

To close things out, I'll finish with some quick hitters.

.... Both ranked in the top 40 nationally, forward Jalen Wilson and point guard De'Vion Harmon of Denton (Texas) Guyer look to be ideal fits for the programs they will play for in college. Wilson's shooting and ability to play the three or the four are ideal for the way Michigan plays. At Oklahoma, Lon Kruger loves to give lots of freedom to his guards and Harmon should have the trust to do that. He looks like a starter from the minute he steps on campus in Norman.

.... The thought in Texas is that the class of 2022 could be loaded with high level talent. On Saturday two of those freshmen caught my eye in shooting guard Keyonte George and wing Tre White. A smooth jump shooter with all around game from Lewisville (Texas) High, George exudes confidence and has solid size to go with early offers from Baylor, Texas A&M and TCU. A few inches taller and an athletic wing who teams with top five junior R.J. Hampton at Little Elm (Texas) High, White attacks the rim, has a good looking jumper and scholarship offers from the same three as George plus Houston, SMU, Texas Tech and LSU. He added an offer from Kansas on Saturday.

.... Speaking of R.J. Hampton, the five-star point guard did what he always does. Score. Aggressively. While he can certainly get hot from deep, his true gifts are his ability to score with skill off the dribble, relentless attacking and supreme confidence. He's gotten stronger and pushing 6-foot-5 that makes him a truly elite prospect.

..... I'm not sure how much of an impact Rivals150 point guard Avery Anderson is going to make right off the bat at Oklahoma State. He's still pretty thin and he's still working on his decision making. But, he's got a chance to be a difference maker for the Cowboys before his time in Stillwater is through. I love that he's not scared of making a big play, plays fast and wants to share the ball. He and twins Kalib Boone and Keylan Boone are both outstanding long term fits for Mike Boynton while four-star wing Marcus Watson should be ready right away. All together it's a sneaky good class and gives a strong foundation for the future.

.... I wrote about Daishen Nix in Friday's takeaways but need to mention the No. 37 player in 2020 one more time. Already a top five point guard in the junior class, I think we need to start talking about Nix as a potential five-star prospect. His skill, his pace and his impact on both ends of the floor are all big time.

.... Finally, there were a lot of coaches on hand Saturday. I saw head coaches from Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M to go along with assistants from Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Sam Houston State, Stanford, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, Missouri, UT Arlington, North Texas, UTSA, Arkansas and several others.