Rival Views: Biggest impact available prospect

It's May and there are still five five-star players from the class of 2017 who haven't made their college decisions. On top of that there are a number of graduate transfers available who are capable of having an immediate impact next year.

In today's Rival Views, analysts Eric Bossi and Corey Evans pick the available player they think will have the most impact on college basketball next year.

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The answer to which available player can most impact the 2017-18 college season may boil down to where these open players actually end up. But for my money there's no available player more capable of impacting how next year shakes out than the top point guard in the class of 2017, Trevon Duval.

Down to Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Seton Hall, Duval is a dynamic playmaker and explosive athlete who has the ability to score at the rim, find teammates for open shots and most importantly elevate the play of those around him. There's not a school on his list that couldn't use Duval, but in my opinion the one that needs him most, Duke, is the school best positioned to land him.

The Blue Devils had loads of talent during the 2016-17 season, but they lacked a true point guard and spent the season trying to fit Grayson Allen, Frank Jackson and Luke Kennard into roles that didn't fit as primary ball handlers. The Blue Devils are losing several key pieces in Kennard, Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, and it's looking like Jackson may elect to stay in the draft as well, putting a real premium on landing Duval.

Duke did land a commitment from three-star point guard Jordan Goldwire this week, but if Jackson stays in the draft and Duval goes elsewhere the Devils are in real trouble next year. For those reasons, I go with Duval.

There are still seven top-50 prospects from the 2017 class left on the board. However, it is Cam Johnson, a career eight-point per game scorer, who gets my vote as the most important player available this spring.

A transfer from Pitt who will immediately be eligible to play next year, Johnson is down to a final six of Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, UCLA, TCU and Ohio State. The likely landing spots for Johnson look to be either Arizona or Kentucky. Johnson visited UK last weekend and will head to Arizona on Thursday evening.

If he does commit to Kentucky, he totally changes the face of next year’s team in Lexington. While there is no shortage of talent, John Calipari and his staff failed to nab any outside perimeter threat in the 2017 class beyond Jemarl Baker and is losing all four of those that shot above 34 percent from three-point land from last year’s team. Johnson, a 40-percent career perimeter shooter, is the ideal remedy. Opponents’ desire to sag off UK’s guards and protect the basket would become a less effective strategy.

Arizona, already a top-five national title contender, will likely see freshmen wings Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons head to the NBA. The Wildcats bring back an excellent perimeter core including Allonzo Trier and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and will add 2017 signees Brandon Randolph and Alex Barcello into their backcourt mix. However, opponents will have a hellish time containing Trier and staving off five-star big man DeAndre Ayton around the basket if the Wildcats are able to add a perimeter threat of Johnson's caliber.

If Johnson commits to Kentucky, Big Blue Nation will have its shooter that it deeply covets which should make it, once again, a national championship contender. On the other hand, if Arizona nabs him, it'd give Sean Miller the most talented team that he has ever coached.