Three-Point Play: Daishen Nix, Cameron Matthews, Ty Berry

Five-star point guard Daishen Nix has released his top five. What are the approaches being used and where could he end up? In today’s edition of the Three-Point-Play national basketball analyst Eric Bossi explores that and more.

MORE BOSSI: Oregon's increased profile, Notre Dame gets one early

2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2021 Rankings: Rivals150

On Monday, five-star point guard Daishen Nix cut his list down to a final five of Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and UCLA.

The native of Alaska who has honed his craft at Las Vegas (Nev.) Trinity International during his high school years is big, physical, skilled and looks ready to make an instant impact at any program. So, what approach is each program using and should anybody be considered a leader?

I want to start by taking a look at the two programs he’s visited officially, Maryland and UCLA. Mark Turgeon and the Terps were one of the first high-major programs to go all in on Nix and hosted him for an official visit during the 2018-19 season. Anthony Cowan will be a senior and his departure will open up big minutes. The Terps also had a guard with similar dimensions in the past, Romelo Trimble, who was given plenty of freedom.

In Westwood, Mick Cronin and the Bruins just hosted Nix for an official visit over the weekend and they are looking to make him a face of the program type as they re-brand Bruins basketball. Cronin has said that he wants to play a more open and free-flowing style of basketball and he’s made Nix a clear priority thus far.

Visits with Alabama and Kansas should be finalized soon and they each have their selling points as well. Nate Oats has targeted Nix heavily since landing the Bama job and showed at Buffalo that he plays a high octane and very guard-friendly style. Kansas has now been on Nix for a bit, has a staff that has known Nix’s high school coach for a while and are likely to lose starting point guard Devon Dotson to the NBA Draft. John Calipari's Wildcats have a long track record of one and done players, but they've also yet to offer so until they do it's tough to know their exact approach.

So, the question is whether or not there is a leader. At the tail end of Nix's junior season I made a Futurecast for Kansas and while I still believe the Jayhawks have a good shot in this one, I don’t think they are any kind of lock. In fact, until they can get Nix on campus, they may have been passed by the Terps and Bruins.

I don’t expect Nix to drag things out and I’d bet we see his last visits locked in sooner than later and that he will decide in plenty of time for the early signing period.

Editor's note- Story was published early AM 8/20, Nix committed to UCLA in the afternoon

Three-star forward Cameron Matthews of Olive Branch (Miss.) High is down to a top five of Arkansas, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and UAB and he’s going to be a helpful piece wherever he lands.

I first saw Matthews as a sophomore and put him in the category of “SPF” (should play football). Don’t get me wrong, I loved his physicality, athleticism, strong frame and relentless style, I just didn’t see much skill. Fast forward a few years and after seeing a lot of him during this last spring and summer with Team Thad on the Under Armour Circuit, he’s much better than I initially realized.

Matthews has become an effective finisher, rebounds well and at 6-foot-7 with high level athleticism can defend three or four positions. A guy like him has a lot of value as is. If he can develop his jumper, he could be a huge steal and he’s a guy that we will definitely be talking about when discussing our next update to the 2020 Rivals150.

Matthews will be scheduling official visits here soon, but it’s important to note that he’s already been to all of his finalists, but Arkansas, unofficially according to his summer coaches. As for a leader, he hasn’t said one yet, but I’d bet it’s going to be tough to get him out of his home state of Mississippi.

Ready to start his senior year at Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian, Rivals150 guard Ty Berry appears to be closing in on a decision.

A smooth scorer who has added strength and can play stretches at the point, Berry had a strong summer with KC Run GMC after some shaky moments during the spring.

Berry wrapped up an official visit to Northwestern a few weeks ago and has two more visits on the docket. He’ll see Minnesota over the last weekend of August and is scheduled to hit Iowa State on the weekend of Sept. 21. Another potential option is Oklahoma State, which is looking to set something up if possible.

Iowa had been involved, but landing Ahron Ulis has effectively used up the spot the Hawkeyes had for Berry and taken them out of the equation.

If I had to handicap this one, I would likely give the edge to Northwestern, but Minnesota and Iowa State will certainly be trying to turn things in their favor during his visits.