The senior target under the microscope Tuesday was Overtime Elite senior small forward Jahki Howard of New Heights Lightning at the Nike Peach Jam.
Howard aims to verbally commit July 29, and he’ll have a detailed crowd of college coaches watching him at Nike Peach Jam, when the coaches arrive Thursday.
Howard is a high level athlete and showed that Tuesday in a loss against Team Final, who is one of the top 3-4 teams in the EYBL. Howard also showed the difference with having UNC early enrollee Elliott Cadeau at point guard for New Heights Lightning. The offense tended to bog down and become more one-on-one with Howard, Auburn senior guard commit Tahaad Pettiford and five-star junior guard Meleek Thomas. The team is shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 7 of 50 for 14 percent from three-point land in the post-Cadeau era.
The raw numbers for Howard look fine, going 6 of 12 from the field for 13 points and five rebounds in a 83-63 loss. A deeper dive, Howard showed his incredible athleticism at about 6-7 with four highlight dunks. He then was 2 of 8 from the field and 0 of 4 on 3-pointers on his non-dunks. The three-point shots were forced and he didn’t have the one-on-one wiggle against a smaller guard, and that is where he missed Cadeau. He is now 0 of 9 from beyond the arc at Peach Jam.
Howard is coming off the NBPA Camp, where he played a pair of games, and then exited the camp. Connecticut, NC State, Georgetown, USC and Memphis are some of his college offers. He unofficially visited for the North Carolina at NC State game. Howard is also close friends with former NC State guard signee Treymane Parker, who also is with Overtime Elite, and elected to do a second year with the program.
The Huskies could be bringing in Howard for an official visit June 20, but we’ll see how coach Dan Hurley and staff feel about the situation after watching him at Peach Jam.
Rising Juniors Take Center Stage For CP3
Also on the agenda Tuesday was a good look at CP3 16s junior guards Isaiah Henry of Concord (N.C.) Cannon School and Jaylen Cross of Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy.
CP3 narrowly topped a solid Team Takeover squad 58-56 in 16s action. Cross led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds and Henry had eight points and four rebounds.
Cross is a ball of energy and NC State would be in a terrific position with him if the Wolfpack offered. Could he be in the category of will NC State offer or not? Sure, that could easily happen with both Cross and Henry. Of the two, it would be easier to get Cross because Henry has deep ties to Clemson with former Tigers’ defensive end K.J. Henry his older older brother.
Cross’ doesn’t have major competition at the moment, but the hunch here is that he’ll impress college coaches at Peach Jam and some Power Five Conference offers will start to trickle in. He had a pair of impressive stretches against a Team Takeover squad that probably has at least three high major players, led by guard Derek Dixon of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga.
Henry didn’t force the action but he was steady. He just seems to be getting a little bit bigger every few months. He could play either shooting guard or small forward due to his physical strength.
Team United 17s Pull Out Victory
One coach labeled Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian senior stretch four Brayden Crump the “Loch Ness Monster” due to being heard about but never seen.
Watching Team United 17s was already on the agenda due to juniors Sadiq White of Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park and Zymicah Wilkins of Arden (N.C.) Christ School playing up a age group.
Team United fell 85-80 to a competitive Team WhyNot on Tuesday. White didn’t get a lot of playing time, which was surprising, but he went 3 of 4 from the field for six points in 12 minutes.
Wilkins showed his niftiness in the lane and he has really developed his jumper over the last year. He went.4 of 6 from the field for an efficient 12 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of action. He might not be the most dynamic athlete in the lane, but he works the angles well and is crafty, and has legitimate three-point range now.
Crump got turned loose for 21 of the 32 minutes and while his jumper was off — he went 1 of 5 on 3-pointers — he showed that shoots a soft shot and has deep range at about 6-7. He ended up with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, and he probably isn’t in ideal condition at the moment after missing the last two years with serious injuries, he showed a good motor. With good health, he’s probably a lock for the Atlantic 10.
The star of the game for Team United was actually senior power forward Kany Tchanda. The 6-8 native of the Congo seemed to regress this past year after going from Concord (N.C.) Academy to Winston-Salem Christian. He went 7 of 7 from the field, including making a 3-pointer, and 16 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Tchanda had a pair of high level offensive plays that showed he’s breaking out at the right time.
ACC Needs A Boost
Working back to the Team Final vs. New Heights Lightning game, senior shooting guard Jalil Bethea exploded for 31 points and went 5 of 8 on three-pointers. Rivals.com has him at point guard, but he’s a straight bucket getter and ranked No. 15 overall in the country. The Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood Catholic product is the type of player that can tip the scales for a conference.
The ACC has struggled in high school recruiting the last few years, sans Duke. Bethea likes Kansas, Alabama and Miami (Fla.), and has also been offered by Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the ACC.
It sounds simplistic, but for the ACC to improve as a league, Bethea is the kind of recruit the league needs, and clearly the Hurricanes and Orange will probably battle for him until the bitter end. Both schools have landed multiple Team Final players in the past.
News & Notes
• The other marquee game of the night pitted MoKan Elite vs. Bradley Beal Elite in the last set of games.
It’s fascinating how the two programs have really emerged the last decade. Part of the rise is that Branson (Mo.) Link Academy and Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy have both emerged, and many of their players, some of whom are from out of state/region quality to play for MoKan Elite and Bradley Beal Elite.
MoKan Elite held on for a 70-66 win and are probably the third best team behind Team Final and Vegas Elite at Peach Jam.
• Team Thad has Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy wing Rakease Passmore this week, which probably stung Garner Road that he left after two years. It also might be a tell on how hard it will be for NC State to be in the mix for him when the time comes.
• I’m up to 15 games watched at the Nike Peach Jam with another eight lined up Wednesday. I also was able to watch each team once at the Nike Elite Top 100 camp earlier in June, for the class of 2025 and 2026. Simply put, the class of 2025 seems to be loaded and has star power at the top. We’ll see who reclasses early to 2024, and who might join it one day from 2026, but schools can get healthy with prep players rather than the portal.
• On the agenda Wednesday includes a good hard look at Combine Academy guard Jahseem Felton of Georgia Stars, who will take on the Oakland Soldiers, who has a scoring wiz in senior wing Milkey Lewis.
Also, Boo Williams will take on Vegas Elite, so it will be another opportunity to watch guards Jaeden Mustaf of Overtime Elite and Austin Swartz of Cannon School in Concord, N.C., against a high level squad that talent and college-ready size.
• Tomorrow will be a good test on what kind of crowd will junior wing Bryce James draw, the other son of NBA star LeBron James. Will it be crazy or just normal. I am hoping for the latter. USC-bound Bronny James brought big crowds when he played, even if he was just a solid guard.
Howard aims to verbally commit July 29, and he’ll have a detailed crowd of college coaches watching him at Nike Peach Jam, when the coaches arrive Thursday.
Howard is a high level athlete and showed that Tuesday in a loss against Team Final, who is one of the top 3-4 teams in the EYBL. Howard also showed the difference with having UNC early enrollee Elliott Cadeau at point guard for New Heights Lightning. The offense tended to bog down and become more one-on-one with Howard, Auburn senior guard commit Tahaad Pettiford and five-star junior guard Meleek Thomas. The team is shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 7 of 50 for 14 percent from three-point land in the post-Cadeau era.
The raw numbers for Howard look fine, going 6 of 12 from the field for 13 points and five rebounds in a 83-63 loss. A deeper dive, Howard showed his incredible athleticism at about 6-7 with four highlight dunks. He then was 2 of 8 from the field and 0 of 4 on 3-pointers on his non-dunks. The three-point shots were forced and he didn’t have the one-on-one wiggle against a smaller guard, and that is where he missed Cadeau. He is now 0 of 9 from beyond the arc at Peach Jam.
Howard is coming off the NBPA Camp, where he played a pair of games, and then exited the camp. Connecticut, NC State, Georgetown, USC and Memphis are some of his college offers. He unofficially visited for the North Carolina at NC State game. Howard is also close friends with former NC State guard signee Treymane Parker, who also is with Overtime Elite, and elected to do a second year with the program.
The Huskies could be bringing in Howard for an official visit June 20, but we’ll see how coach Dan Hurley and staff feel about the situation after watching him at Peach Jam.
Rising Juniors Take Center Stage For CP3
Also on the agenda Tuesday was a good look at CP3 16s junior guards Isaiah Henry of Concord (N.C.) Cannon School and Jaylen Cross of Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy.
CP3 narrowly topped a solid Team Takeover squad 58-56 in 16s action. Cross led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds and Henry had eight points and four rebounds.
Cross is a ball of energy and NC State would be in a terrific position with him if the Wolfpack offered. Could he be in the category of will NC State offer or not? Sure, that could easily happen with both Cross and Henry. Of the two, it would be easier to get Cross because Henry has deep ties to Clemson with former Tigers’ defensive end K.J. Henry his older older brother.
Cross’ doesn’t have major competition at the moment, but the hunch here is that he’ll impress college coaches at Peach Jam and some Power Five Conference offers will start to trickle in. He had a pair of impressive stretches against a Team Takeover squad that probably has at least three high major players, led by guard Derek Dixon of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga.
Henry didn’t force the action but he was steady. He just seems to be getting a little bit bigger every few months. He could play either shooting guard or small forward due to his physical strength.
Team United 17s Pull Out Victory
One coach labeled Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian senior stretch four Brayden Crump the “Loch Ness Monster” due to being heard about but never seen.
Watching Team United 17s was already on the agenda due to juniors Sadiq White of Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park and Zymicah Wilkins of Arden (N.C.) Christ School playing up a age group.
Team United fell 85-80 to a competitive Team WhyNot on Tuesday. White didn’t get a lot of playing time, which was surprising, but he went 3 of 4 from the field for six points in 12 minutes.
Wilkins showed his niftiness in the lane and he has really developed his jumper over the last year. He went.4 of 6 from the field for an efficient 12 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of action. He might not be the most dynamic athlete in the lane, but he works the angles well and is crafty, and has legitimate three-point range now.
Crump got turned loose for 21 of the 32 minutes and while his jumper was off — he went 1 of 5 on 3-pointers — he showed that shoots a soft shot and has deep range at about 6-7. He ended up with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, and he probably isn’t in ideal condition at the moment after missing the last two years with serious injuries, he showed a good motor. With good health, he’s probably a lock for the Atlantic 10.
The star of the game for Team United was actually senior power forward Kany Tchanda. The 6-8 native of the Congo seemed to regress this past year after going from Concord (N.C.) Academy to Winston-Salem Christian. He went 7 of 7 from the field, including making a 3-pointer, and 16 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Tchanda had a pair of high level offensive plays that showed he’s breaking out at the right time.
ACC Needs A Boost
Working back to the Team Final vs. New Heights Lightning game, senior shooting guard Jalil Bethea exploded for 31 points and went 5 of 8 on three-pointers. Rivals.com has him at point guard, but he’s a straight bucket getter and ranked No. 15 overall in the country. The Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood Catholic product is the type of player that can tip the scales for a conference.
The ACC has struggled in high school recruiting the last few years, sans Duke. Bethea likes Kansas, Alabama and Miami (Fla.), and has also been offered by Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the ACC.
It sounds simplistic, but for the ACC to improve as a league, Bethea is the kind of recruit the league needs, and clearly the Hurricanes and Orange will probably battle for him until the bitter end. Both schools have landed multiple Team Final players in the past.
News & Notes
• The other marquee game of the night pitted MoKan Elite vs. Bradley Beal Elite in the last set of games.
It’s fascinating how the two programs have really emerged the last decade. Part of the rise is that Branson (Mo.) Link Academy and Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy have both emerged, and many of their players, some of whom are from out of state/region quality to play for MoKan Elite and Bradley Beal Elite.
MoKan Elite held on for a 70-66 win and are probably the third best team behind Team Final and Vegas Elite at Peach Jam.
• Team Thad has Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy wing Rakease Passmore this week, which probably stung Garner Road that he left after two years. It also might be a tell on how hard it will be for NC State to be in the mix for him when the time comes.
• I’m up to 15 games watched at the Nike Peach Jam with another eight lined up Wednesday. I also was able to watch each team once at the Nike Elite Top 100 camp earlier in June, for the class of 2025 and 2026. Simply put, the class of 2025 seems to be loaded and has star power at the top. We’ll see who reclasses early to 2024, and who might join it one day from 2026, but schools can get healthy with prep players rather than the portal.
• On the agenda Wednesday includes a good hard look at Combine Academy guard Jahseem Felton of Georgia Stars, who will take on the Oakland Soldiers, who has a scoring wiz in senior wing Milkey Lewis.
Also, Boo Williams will take on Vegas Elite, so it will be another opportunity to watch guards Jaeden Mustaf of Overtime Elite and Austin Swartz of Cannon School in Concord, N.C., against a high level squad that talent and college-ready size.
• Tomorrow will be a good test on what kind of crowd will junior wing Bryce James draw, the other son of NBA star LeBron James. Will it be crazy or just normal. I am hoping for the latter. USC-bound Bronny James brought big crowds when he played, even if he was just a solid guard.
