Starting Five: Bossi's takeaways, ARS Rescue Rooter Hoopfest

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. -- In this week's Starting Five, Bossi has takeaways from the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest featuring five-stars Kentucky-bound Tyrese Maxey and Villanova-bound Jeremiah Robinson-Earl among others.

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After seeing Tyrese Maxey a few times over the last month, I'm convinced that he's better than any of Kentucky's current guards. I'm not talking about when he gets on campus for next season either. I'm talking right now, he would make Kentucky better.

I love the pace at which Maxey plays the game. He plays fast without being out of control, he has a good feel for when to attack and he mixes things up between drives and jumpers. He's skilled, he's confident and I haven't seen anything rattle him because he's confident that the work he's put into maximizing his game will pay off.

Maxey and Garland (Texas) South Garland took a loss to Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Christian, but Maxey was able to pretty much have his way offensively against a team full of high major players.

Through my first month or so of high school season travel, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG is the most talented team I have seen. Considering they have a quartet of five-star players in Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Armando Bacot, Jaden Springer and Josh Green to go along with four-star junior Noah Farrakahn and one of the most impressive freshmen I've seen this winter, Jarace Walker.

As deep and talented as IMG is, what stood out to me is that the group is dedicated to putting in work in the weight room. Headed to Villanova, Robinson-Earl isn't just sound in all aspects of the game, he's up to about 240 pounds and has improved his overall athleticism. Bacot, a North Carolina commit, has shed some pounds while adding muscle and really improving his conditioning. The work he's doing now looks like it's going to earn him extra minutes as a freshman. Springer and Green (Arizona) are powerful wings with bounce who can barrel right through defenders.

Could IMG get three players in the McDonald's All-American Game? That would be quite an accomplishment but Robinson-Earl, Bacot and Green have all earned serious consideration and would be worthy picks.

A skilled faceup four man at Huntington (W.V.) Prep, Jaemyn Brakefield had a nice outing. He hit some shots from deep, did nice work on the glass and found ways to get buckets or to the free throw line.

Brakefield has long mentioned programs like Kansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, UCLA and Xavier, but others like Auburn, Duke, Mississippi State and more have inquired over the last month. A lot of that has to do with the possibility that Brakefield could end up in the class of 2019.

I do think he's got the skill level to go ahead and enroll this coming summer, he's ready there. The only worry would be that he does need more strength and that he could have some struggles as he puts on muscle.

Regardless, he's a very nice player and would be a no-brainer to take as a 2019 player if somebody can get him because there aren't many guys in his mold left and because he's a legit high-level prospect.

Because of the way my schedule has turned out, I've run across Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Christian at three events since early November and I watched them work out in September. Their most talented player is five-star junior big man N'Faly Dante and he's been a bit hit and miss.

He looked all hit on Saturday. He was protecting the rim at a high level, scoring on the interior and using his size and strength to full advantage. When he plays with energy, Dante is a totally different player and does a lot of things on both ends. He also looked to me to be in better shape than a month or so ago.

.... The highlight of my weekend was seeing SMU commit Bryce Cook up and about. The senior suffered a stroke just three weeks ago but looks to be well on his way to a full recovery. He's not back on the floor yet, but he was in great condition and to see him doing so well in such a short period of time was pretty amazing.

.... Lancaster (Texas) High has a fun backcourt with Rivals150 junior point guard Mike Miles and sophomore guard Wade Taylor. Miles is big, strong and attacks while Taylor is a scorer who plays with big confidence. It is pretty easy to see why Miles is getting Big 12, SEC and other college attention because of his size and strength. Taylor, is maybe more of a two guard than a point or even a combo, but he exudes confidence and can go and get buckets.

.... I'm sure we've written it before, but four-star shooting guard Justin Moore of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha really does look like a perfect fit for Villanova. He can shoot, he doesn't panic, he's tough and he performs in pressure situations.

.... Class of 2020 Rivals150 guard A.J. Hoggard played about as well as I've ever seen him play. Now at Huntington (W.V.) Prep, Hoggard is a big point guard and he is learning to use his size, changes of space and to keep defenders off guard. He was really on his game and will continue to draw high major attention.