NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The main event for NC State basketball recruiting purposes Tuesday at the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., was CP3 16s vs. Boo Williams.
To provide the context, the updated
class of 2026 hot board is littered with players in this game. The top player going in was Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy junior wing Cole Cloer, but he is joined by junior football-basketball standouts Kendre’ Harrison and Dionte Neal of Reidsville (N.C.) High and Jaire Richburg of Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth.
Add in junior Antonio McKoy of Harrells (N.C.) Christian and junior small forward Josiah Sanders of Fayetteville (N.C.) Berean Baptist has joined them after playing with Team Loaded VA 16s last week on adidas. CP3 is one of the top teams in the 16s division and reigning champions from the 15s.
But why that game is heightened with Boo Williams is because of how hard that Hampton, Va., area program recruits North Carolina hard. Four of Boo Williams key players are from North Carolina — junior point guard Kobe Edwards of Wilson (N.C.) Greenfield School, junior small forward Michael Phillips of Raleigh Grace Christian, junior center Will Stevens of Davidson (N.C.) Day and power forward Rivers Knight of Durham (N.C.) Jordan.
Then the cherry on top for CP3 came when NBA star Chris Paul decided to coach the group, which he’s done in the past at Peach Jam with his program. College coaches won't arrive until 6 p.m. Friday, but can watch online.
The game got ugly fast and was never competitive, with CP3 rolling 66-44. Edwards had to make a heave at the end of the first quarter to cut it to 26-8.
In terms of evaluating, the three most productive CP3 players were Harrison and Richburg for CP3, plus junior point guard Q Williams of Lewisville (N.C.) Forsyth Country. Stevens was the lone player to play well for Boo Williams. Harrison has cut his list to North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Penn State. Obviously a lot of heavy NIL hitters in the group and North Carolina. He had 14 points and nine boards and owned the paint at 6-6 and 249 pounds.
NC State has offered Richburg at wide receiver and he went 6 of 8 for 14 points and showed an improved lefty jumper. He’d be a mid-major prospect in hoops.
Cloer has come back this week after his scary injury in mid-May, but he struggled to get into the flow of the game and didn’t play like his attacking normal self, and finished with two points. Sanders came off the bench and had six points and six rebounds in just nine minutes. The general consensus is that he’s going to be a really good player, but it’s going to take some patience.
The 6-10 Stevens had 16 points and eight rebounds and even hit a three-pointer. He’s trending toward being a high-major target, but he’d be a steal for a Atlantic 10 program like Richmond or Davidson.
Phillips and Edwards entered the game with such momentum, and no player gets graded just on one game, but both just didn’t have it. Phillips went 1 of 8 for four points and Edwards was 3 of 9 for nine points, but listed for seven turnovers.
It was good to see Knight player after an injury-riddled campaign at Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy. He started of the spring with Team United and switched to Boo Williams. He’s the classic 6-8 pick-and-pop power forward and swished three jumpers. He had eight points and seven rebounds.
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The other 16s game played with a pair of North Carolina natives was Memphis, Tenn.-based Team Thad vs. MoKan Elite. Team Thad, which is sponsored by former NBA player Thaddeus Young, has Charlotte Chambers junior wing Tarris Bouie and former Charlotte Mallard Creek point guard Rassell Young, who is now going to Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.
Bouie showed why he’s ascending as a prospect. He finished with 16 points but Team Thad got blown out 71-48. Bouie has been an interesting prospect from the jump. I got to see him play with Team Eat 15s last year and he showed flashes, but he was super skinny. I remember thinking, that is probably what Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg star Isaiah Evans looked like when he was a freshman.
Bouie is now 6-4 and 155 pounds, so I probably saw him a year ago in the 140ish range. He played with junior Markus Kerr on a fun Chambers squad, and really started to come on down the stretch. He poured in a career-high 40 points against Matthews (N.C.) Weddington in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs. He cracked 20 points in five games and his second highest scoring game was 24 points against Huntersville (N.C.) Hopewell High.
In recruiting, he broke through when Wake Forest offered him, and then Mississippi State. However, he’s gone to a different level of late and Alabama just offered him this past week. It’s funny to say that about the Crimson Tide in basketball recruiting, but like their football counterparts, their offers mean something in hoops in 2024.
Obviously, some teams aren’t crazy about thin wings, but NC State just had 160-pound Terquavion Smith, so exceptions can be made. Between Bouie and Kerr, Chambers will be seen pretty thoroughly next winter.
Young really struggled in this particular game. He had a good freshman year year at Mallard Creek, and then became a hot name with Garner Road 15s for his three-point shooting. He had a uneven sophomore year at Mallard Creek and got suspended at the start of it. He is going to need to reinvent himself at Huntington Prep, where he’ll play with top five senior shooting guard Darryn Peterson.
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The two main players to watch Wednesday in separate games is Team Herro shooting guard Davion Hannah and CP3 small forward Jackson Keith. It’s clear when you see the addition of R.J. Greer and the likely commitment of Bryce Heard of Homewood-Flossmoor in Homewood, Ill., at 3:30 p.m. July 24, that NC State is about getting wings to go with Paul McNeil and Treymane Parker on future rosters.
Then add in the pursuit of Hannah, who is from Nicolet, Wis., and is going Branson (Mo.) Link Year Prep, and it just reinforces it. NC State isn’t waiting to get wings in the portal, they want to collect a group from the prep ranks.
Hannah might break the unofficial record for most official visits in a row:
Alabama — Aug. 31
Louisville — Sept. 7
Wisconsin — Sept. 14
Ohio State — Sept. 20
Michigan State — Sept. 27
NC State — Oct. 5
Cincinnati — Oct. 12
Pittsburgh — Oct. 19
Xavier — TBD
He also could take two official visits and commit, but it’s going to be interesting to watch how many of those nine schools he goes to in light of new NCAA rules on official visits.
Hannah and Heard were both part of the Mac Irivin Fire organization a year ago, but Hannah switched to Team Herro, which has Iowa State and Wisconsin commits as teammates. He is a true bucket getter who wants to score 20-plus points and has a solid frame.
Keith has a Notre Dame official visit, and it has long felt like NC State could be his leader if the Wolfpack push for a commitment. He’ll know by the end of this month if North Carolina will offer or not probably.
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The best performance I watched Tuesday was easily Miikka Muurinen, who is from Finland, but attends Chandler (Ariz.) AZ Compass Prep. The 6-foot-10 slender power forward had 33 points, went 7 of 10 on three-pointers and blocked four shots in a win for Bradley Beal Elite 16s. He's a weight room away and will need to find some a go-to action in the mid-range game from making another big jump in his game. He was ranked No. 20 at one point by Rivals, then fell to No. 39, but looked like a top 10 prospect Tuesday. Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz is from Finland and the comparison is strong. At worst, he's a good three-point shooter and shot-blocker in college as a stretch four.
Murrinen's teammate on Bradley Beal Elite (Beal himself came to the game) is junior small forward J.J. Andrews, who NC State just offered. He's athletic, physical and can shoot well enough to keep a defense honest. His dad played on the offensive line at Arkansas and was a first-round NFL Draft pick. His uncle did the throws at Ole Miss, went out for football his senior year, and went in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
n.rivals.com
