NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The Nike Peach Jam had one door re-open while another one closed sort to speak Wednesday.
CP3 senior small forward Jackson Keith had been playing well, but got hurt after taking a tumble and has returned home to Durham, N.C. The Southern Durham High standout ended his three-game Peach Jam with 22.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and he shot 23 of 41 from the field (5 of 9 on three-pointers) in the Peach Invitational, which is the secondary event for Nike.
With Keith gone, CP3 welcomed back senior point guard Isaiah Denis of Davidson (N.C.) Day. Dennis had missed some games this week, but came back Tuesday. NC State offered Denis after watching him during the two live periods in June with Davidson Day.
The slender 6-foot-5 Denis, who can play both guard spots, had to lead a CP3 team that was down to six healthy players. Clemson senior power forward commit Trent Steinour of Lake Norman (N.C.) High joined Keith on the injured list, and wing Zacch Wiggins had left before the event for Team Curry.
Denis and CP3 played a quality Pro Skills Elite squad, which had two ranked senior players in No. 63-ranked point guard Jeremiah Green of Bel Air (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy and .No. 146-ranked Francis Chukwudebelu of Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy. Add in senior wing Bryson Wheatfall of Houston (Texas) Summer Creek, and it has some pieces.
Denis and the quad didn’t get off to a good start, but hung around and hung around. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, Denis got activated. He unofficially scored 13 of his 21 points in the last 11 minutes of the game to help force overtime. Denis and senior wing Isaiah Henry were carrying the short-handed CP3 squad.
Denis finished with three three-pointers, which is one of the big keys for him. When he shoots the ball well, it makes the rest of his game look better. He’s so explosive in the open court and is similar in style to former Pittsburgh freshman guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington, who went in the first round of the NBA Draft to the Washington Wizards.
Michigan, Ohio State and Pittsburgh are locked in for official visits, and then Denis wants to visit maybe two or three more colleges. NC State is in a dog fight for one of those last visits, and Tennessee is trying too.
There has been a lot of buzz about the Buckeyes in this recruitment, thanks to having assistant coach Joel Justus and his cousin also played basketball there.
***
Nicolet, Wis., native Davion Hannah had a game that he’ll likely forget about due to how bad the score got.
Hannah, who is transferring to Branson (Mo.) Link Academy Prep, is ranked No. 27 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2025. He plays for Tyler Herro sponsored Team Herro, sharing perimeter duties with Herro’s younger brother. The team has a shooting guard going to Wisconsin, a rugged power forward going to Iowa State and another power forward slotted for Northern Iowa. It’s not a bad team.
Arguably the top team in the EYBL, Nightrydas Elite of Florida, boat-raced Team Herro 88-58. The score was 49-15 at halftime and 72-29 after three quarters.
The Nightrydas are loaded:
No. 2-overall ranked power forward Cameron Boozer
No. 4-overall ranked power forward Caleb Wilson
No. 20-overall ranked point guard Cayden Boozer
No. 72-overall ranked shooting guard Alex Lloyd (Florida commit)
No. 90-overall ranked point guard Dante Allen
Now, Hannah had some struggles. There was one stretch where he turned the ball over back-to-back and Nightrydas got fast-paced dunks. Sometimes he tries too hard to get a shot off and over-dribbles. He has a solid body that will get stronger after a college S&C program and he’s motivated on the court.
Hannah finished going 4 of 16 from the field and 2 of 5 on three-pointers en route to 14 points. He added six rebounds, one assist and had four turnovers.
Hannah has a long list, but is hoping to officially visit NC State on Oct. 5, but he’ll see at least four schools before he gets to Raleigh (if he gets to Raleigh).
***
My last day of Peach Jam will be Thursday, with Team United 15s and Team United 17s on the docket.
That means watching senior power forward Zymicah Wilkins of Arden (N.C.) Christ School, who I have seen all three spring/summers of his traveling team career.
Wilkins play against Boston-based Expressions Elite, who has Marquette-bound guard Nigel James, Providence-bound forward Jaylen Harrell and wing Dwayne Aristode comes in highly regarded as No. 19 in the class of 2025.
Syracuse commit Sadiq White will help out Wilkins, and word is that White will be leaving the Charlotte area for Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
The Team United 15s squad features freshman King Gibson, a shooting guard, power forward Clarence Rosser Jr., center Charles Pur and small.forward Josiah Johnson-Freeman.
***
Some this and that…
Solid crowd came at Noon to watch Bryce James, son of LeBron, play against Arizona Unity, which has the current No. 1 junior in the country in point guard Brandon McCoy.
James went 2 of 10 for four points, and while has elite connections, and can produce clicks. McCoy had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Maybe Team Takeover can be the team that can top Nightrydas in the playoffs. TTO has three quality guards in seniors Nykolas Lewis and Derek Dixon and junior Jordan Smith.
The race for No. 1 in the class of 2027 seems wide open and it will be interesting to see how C.J. Rosser looks today. Sophomore small forward Baba Oladotun of James Hubert Blake High in Colesville, Md., is really similar to Rosser in both build and style of play, and is another one in contention. Another aspect that links them is that Rosser's mom played basketball at Virginia Tech, and Oladotun's father also played basketball for the Hokies.
Holly Springs, N.C., native Ryan Crotty has been torching the nets from deep for Boo Williams this spring. He hit a wall Wednesday and had a tough one against Albany City Rooks, shooting 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 9 on three-pointers. He entered the game shooting 11 of 25 on 3-pointers this week.
CP3 senior small forward Jackson Keith had been playing well, but got hurt after taking a tumble and has returned home to Durham, N.C. The Southern Durham High standout ended his three-game Peach Jam with 22.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and he shot 23 of 41 from the field (5 of 9 on three-pointers) in the Peach Invitational, which is the secondary event for Nike.
With Keith gone, CP3 welcomed back senior point guard Isaiah Denis of Davidson (N.C.) Day. Dennis had missed some games this week, but came back Tuesday. NC State offered Denis after watching him during the two live periods in June with Davidson Day.
The slender 6-foot-5 Denis, who can play both guard spots, had to lead a CP3 team that was down to six healthy players. Clemson senior power forward commit Trent Steinour of Lake Norman (N.C.) High joined Keith on the injured list, and wing Zacch Wiggins had left before the event for Team Curry.
Denis and CP3 played a quality Pro Skills Elite squad, which had two ranked senior players in No. 63-ranked point guard Jeremiah Green of Bel Air (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy and .No. 146-ranked Francis Chukwudebelu of Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy. Add in senior wing Bryson Wheatfall of Houston (Texas) Summer Creek, and it has some pieces.
Denis and the quad didn’t get off to a good start, but hung around and hung around. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, Denis got activated. He unofficially scored 13 of his 21 points in the last 11 minutes of the game to help force overtime. Denis and senior wing Isaiah Henry were carrying the short-handed CP3 squad.
Denis finished with three three-pointers, which is one of the big keys for him. When he shoots the ball well, it makes the rest of his game look better. He’s so explosive in the open court and is similar in style to former Pittsburgh freshman guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington, who went in the first round of the NBA Draft to the Washington Wizards.
Michigan, Ohio State and Pittsburgh are locked in for official visits, and then Denis wants to visit maybe two or three more colleges. NC State is in a dog fight for one of those last visits, and Tennessee is trying too.
There has been a lot of buzz about the Buckeyes in this recruitment, thanks to having assistant coach Joel Justus and his cousin also played basketball there.
***
Nicolet, Wis., native Davion Hannah had a game that he’ll likely forget about due to how bad the score got.
Hannah, who is transferring to Branson (Mo.) Link Academy Prep, is ranked No. 27 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2025. He plays for Tyler Herro sponsored Team Herro, sharing perimeter duties with Herro’s younger brother. The team has a shooting guard going to Wisconsin, a rugged power forward going to Iowa State and another power forward slotted for Northern Iowa. It’s not a bad team.
Arguably the top team in the EYBL, Nightrydas Elite of Florida, boat-raced Team Herro 88-58. The score was 49-15 at halftime and 72-29 after three quarters.
The Nightrydas are loaded:
No. 2-overall ranked power forward Cameron Boozer
No. 4-overall ranked power forward Caleb Wilson
No. 20-overall ranked point guard Cayden Boozer
No. 72-overall ranked shooting guard Alex Lloyd (Florida commit)
No. 90-overall ranked point guard Dante Allen
Now, Hannah had some struggles. There was one stretch where he turned the ball over back-to-back and Nightrydas got fast-paced dunks. Sometimes he tries too hard to get a shot off and over-dribbles. He has a solid body that will get stronger after a college S&C program and he’s motivated on the court.
Hannah finished going 4 of 16 from the field and 2 of 5 on three-pointers en route to 14 points. He added six rebounds, one assist and had four turnovers.
Hannah has a long list, but is hoping to officially visit NC State on Oct. 5, but he’ll see at least four schools before he gets to Raleigh (if he gets to Raleigh).
***
My last day of Peach Jam will be Thursday, with Team United 15s and Team United 17s on the docket.
That means watching senior power forward Zymicah Wilkins of Arden (N.C.) Christ School, who I have seen all three spring/summers of his traveling team career.
Wilkins play against Boston-based Expressions Elite, who has Marquette-bound guard Nigel James, Providence-bound forward Jaylen Harrell and wing Dwayne Aristode comes in highly regarded as No. 19 in the class of 2025.
Syracuse commit Sadiq White will help out Wilkins, and word is that White will be leaving the Charlotte area for Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
The Team United 15s squad features freshman King Gibson, a shooting guard, power forward Clarence Rosser Jr., center Charles Pur and small.forward Josiah Johnson-Freeman.
***
Some this and that…
Solid crowd came at Noon to watch Bryce James, son of LeBron, play against Arizona Unity, which has the current No. 1 junior in the country in point guard Brandon McCoy.
James went 2 of 10 for four points, and while has elite connections, and can produce clicks. McCoy had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Maybe Team Takeover can be the team that can top Nightrydas in the playoffs. TTO has three quality guards in seniors Nykolas Lewis and Derek Dixon and junior Jordan Smith.
The race for No. 1 in the class of 2027 seems wide open and it will be interesting to see how C.J. Rosser looks today. Sophomore small forward Baba Oladotun of James Hubert Blake High in Colesville, Md., is really similar to Rosser in both build and style of play, and is another one in contention. Another aspect that links them is that Rosser's mom played basketball at Virginia Tech, and Oladotun's father also played basketball for the Hokies.
Holly Springs, N.C., native Ryan Crotty has been torching the nets from deep for Boo Williams this spring. He hit a wall Wednesday and had a tough one against Albany City Rooks, shooting 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 9 on three-pointers. He entered the game shooting 11 of 25 on 3-pointers this week.
