Before I go into the games, I'll set the scene for the Nike Peach Jam, which is the 10th straight year I've covered it in North Augusta, S.C.
The top 24 teams from the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League qualify for the event, though this year, they included 3-13 Nike Phamily strictly due to No. 1-ranked senior Marvin Bagley, a power forward from Sierra Canyan in Chatsworth, Calif.
Usually every Power Conference program has at least one coach in attendance, but a lot of times more than one. NC State head coach Kevin Keatts and assistant coach James Johnson were both in attendance, while assistant coaches Takayo Siddle and A.W. Hamilton were both in Cartersville, Ga., three hours away at the Under Armour Association finals.
Nike did not allow interviews today with the players and programs, and has limited Thursday and Friday interviews to just after the morning games.
The four courts are wall-to-wall with college coaches, and then the popularity of the event has led to some good crowds in attendance during the night sessions. Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets was there to watch his CP3 traveling team program. The gym all paid attention when Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal came to watch his son Shareef play, who is a senior forward commit for Arizona. Shaq and Wake Forest coach Danny Manning hugged it up, and over on the baseline was Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing. Right behind O'Neal, his old teammate Anfernee Hardaway was coaching Team Penny.
Another unique twist were the shoes of one of the Virginia Tech assistant coaches. The soles lit up into different colors when he moved around, at least 4-5 colors. That was a new one.
The three games I watched tonight were pretty good, and Johnson was at two of them and Keatts was at the other.
The last game was a fun one with Team Takeover topping CP3 60-52. Johnson was there to mostly watch senior power forward Jaylen Hoard of High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan, and a little bit of Monroe (N.C.) Piedmont senior small forward Hunter Tyson.
Nobody shot well for CP3 (15 of 56 from the field), and Hoard finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. He went 3 of 11 from the field and 0 of 3 on three-pointers in his first action after coming back from France. The 6-8, 200-pounder is ranked No. 29 overall in the class of 2018.
Tyson went 3 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 on three-pointers to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds. Tyson can stroke it and is sneaky athletic. What I also like about him is that he just turned 17. We'll see if NC State will offer, but he just got a Michigan offer to go with Clemson, Tennessee and Wake Forest. The 6-7, 180-pounder isn't ranked, but he has been in the past.
Keatts watched New York Lightning defeat Team Melo 78-72, and I think it was more of a fishing trip than for any obvious guy. Team Melo senior center Nate Roberts, who attends Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy might have been part of that fishing trip, but 6-9 unranked three-star prospect had four points and four rebounds.
The roster numbers were a little goofed up, but I was digging senior center Joel Mensah of Troy (N.Y.) Redemption Christian, who is a slender 6-10 and 210-pounder. He is a unranked three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He has good bounce and finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Johnson also watched Bradley Beal Elite defeat PSA Cardinals 92-75 despite junior point guard Cole Anthony scoring 34 points and dishing out six assists. He's the son of Greg Anthony and No. 5 overall player in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com.
Jake Forrester of Westtown (Pa.) School, a 6-8, 215-pound power forward, might have been the main reason Johnson watched. Rivals.com ranks him No. 130 overall in the class of 2018, and he had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He is more power forward than center, and is a good athlete. His high school team was ridiculously loaded last year with Mohamed Bamba (Texas), Brandon Randolph (Arizona) and senior wing Cameron Reddish, who is ranked fourth in the class of 2018, and had 44 points Wednesday at the Peach Jam.
The top 24 teams from the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League qualify for the event, though this year, they included 3-13 Nike Phamily strictly due to No. 1-ranked senior Marvin Bagley, a power forward from Sierra Canyan in Chatsworth, Calif.
Usually every Power Conference program has at least one coach in attendance, but a lot of times more than one. NC State head coach Kevin Keatts and assistant coach James Johnson were both in attendance, while assistant coaches Takayo Siddle and A.W. Hamilton were both in Cartersville, Ga., three hours away at the Under Armour Association finals.
Nike did not allow interviews today with the players and programs, and has limited Thursday and Friday interviews to just after the morning games.
The four courts are wall-to-wall with college coaches, and then the popularity of the event has led to some good crowds in attendance during the night sessions. Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets was there to watch his CP3 traveling team program. The gym all paid attention when Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal came to watch his son Shareef play, who is a senior forward commit for Arizona. Shaq and Wake Forest coach Danny Manning hugged it up, and over on the baseline was Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing. Right behind O'Neal, his old teammate Anfernee Hardaway was coaching Team Penny.
Another unique twist were the shoes of one of the Virginia Tech assistant coaches. The soles lit up into different colors when he moved around, at least 4-5 colors. That was a new one.
The three games I watched tonight were pretty good, and Johnson was at two of them and Keatts was at the other.
The last game was a fun one with Team Takeover topping CP3 60-52. Johnson was there to mostly watch senior power forward Jaylen Hoard of High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan, and a little bit of Monroe (N.C.) Piedmont senior small forward Hunter Tyson.
Nobody shot well for CP3 (15 of 56 from the field), and Hoard finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. He went 3 of 11 from the field and 0 of 3 on three-pointers in his first action after coming back from France. The 6-8, 200-pounder is ranked No. 29 overall in the class of 2018.
Tyson went 3 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 on three-pointers to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds. Tyson can stroke it and is sneaky athletic. What I also like about him is that he just turned 17. We'll see if NC State will offer, but he just got a Michigan offer to go with Clemson, Tennessee and Wake Forest. The 6-7, 180-pounder isn't ranked, but he has been in the past.
Keatts watched New York Lightning defeat Team Melo 78-72, and I think it was more of a fishing trip than for any obvious guy. Team Melo senior center Nate Roberts, who attends Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy might have been part of that fishing trip, but 6-9 unranked three-star prospect had four points and four rebounds.
The roster numbers were a little goofed up, but I was digging senior center Joel Mensah of Troy (N.Y.) Redemption Christian, who is a slender 6-10 and 210-pounder. He is a unranked three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He has good bounce and finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Johnson also watched Bradley Beal Elite defeat PSA Cardinals 92-75 despite junior point guard Cole Anthony scoring 34 points and dishing out six assists. He's the son of Greg Anthony and No. 5 overall player in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com.
Jake Forrester of Westtown (Pa.) School, a 6-8, 215-pound power forward, might have been the main reason Johnson watched. Rivals.com ranks him No. 130 overall in the class of 2018, and he had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He is more power forward than center, and is a good athlete. His high school team was ridiculously loaded last year with Mohamed Bamba (Texas), Brandon Randolph (Arizona) and senior wing Cameron Reddish, who is ranked fourth in the class of 2018, and had 44 points Wednesday at the Peach Jam.
