Bossi's Takeaways: Great American Shootout

DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- The Great American Shootout remains a mid-July tradition for good reason. National Basketball Analyst Eric Bossi takes one last look at his trip to the Dallas area.

MORE GREAT AMERICAN SHOOTOUT: Bossi's blog

RANKINGS: 2018 Rivals150 | 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2018 Team | 2018 Position

Don't get me wrong, Samuell Williamson isn't lacking for attention. In fact, most kids would give up a lot to be in the position he is. With offers from Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Louisville, Ohio State, SMU, Texas Tech, Marquette, Florida, UConn, Texas, Iowa State, Texas A&M and countless others, he has no shortage of great options.

That being said, it seems to me that Williamson should be the type of guy that if any program really wants him, they'll have their head coach sitting on him wherever he goes. Now, I only got to see Williamson on Saturday so I don't know who was there the other days, but I did notice Shaka Smart and Chris Holtmann as head coaches following his moves.

Williamson isn't always the top scorer or biggest producer on his loaded Drive Nation team, but I believe that he has the most upside and is the best fit for the direction basketball is headed. An elite jump shooter with his type of size isn't easy to find and the more I see him the more I'm reminded of watching a young Rodney Hood.

I'll be real interested to see what type of head coaching attention Williamson draws next week.

I had pretty big expectations for Caleb Lohner during the month of July and it's possible that I could have oversold him a bit. That's on me, not him. However, I'm still bullish on the type of player he could be at the next level and the experience he's getting in figuring out what does and doesn't work for him is going to be valuable.

With so many teams playing one variation or another of a four-out and one-in or small ball lineups, I think that Lohner has huge value as a combo forward. He's strong, bouncy on the interior and he has the range on his jumper to open the floor and allow guards to operate. What he's in the process of is figuring out how best to attack quicker wings and developing more low post game to counter those smaller and quicker players.

Utah is his newest offer and it joins Texas, Texas A&M, BYU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas State and TCU in schools that have offered scholarships.

.... I love the toughness of class of 2020 point guard MIke Miles of the Texas Titans. When the game is on the line, he seems to channel that toughness and find ways to make things happen. To me, he's a no-brainer high-major point guard who is going to be a floor general and above average on the ball defender. LSU, TCU, Houston and Oklahoma State are among his offers and I would expect more after July.

.... A teammate of Miles on the Texas Titans, Richard Amaefule backed up his status as a four-star combo forward in 2020. The London native can really run the floor and is wiry strong with tremendous quickness that he uses to his advantage in the post. Once he becomes a bit more comfortable with the mid-range jumper, I can see him being dangerous as a pick-and-pop guy, too. TCU and LSU will eventually have high-major company when it comes to dropping offers on Amaefule.

.... Because Drive Nation's 17U team has so much talent, power forward Montavious Murphy has sometimes gotten lost in the shuffle. The 6-foot-8 four-man, though, is looking more like a nice option for high-majors to take and develop. His percentages aren't great just yet as a jump shooter, but his shot looks good mechanically and I would bet he turns into a good shooter, especially once he gets stronger and take bumps and gets back on balance better. Is he an instant impact difference maker? I don't know about that but if he goes somewhere with good player development, they may end up with a nice find in the long run. Kansas State appears to be in pretty good shape on this one.

.... Big man Eddie Lampkin from the class of 2020 and the Houston Defenders 16U team is going to be interesting to watch down the road. He's a big and strong insider with good hands and he's pretty nimble on his feet around the rim. His hands are pretty good and he has some touch. At times, he looks like a lock high-level big man and then at others he just disappears. Learning how to attack different defenses and keeping his motor running need to be focuses down the road but TCU, Texas A&M and Georgetown have already seen enough to offer scholarships.

.... We snuck 2020 point guard Jahari Long into the back end of our 2020 rankings at the beginning of the month and he'll stay in there when we update things after the summer. What I noticed most watching him is that he is a bit bigger than I had realized (pushing 6-foot-3) and has a great frame with long arms and body with which to grow. He can play the one or the two, has some wiggle to his game off the dribble and will add an element of power when he grows into his body.