Friday morning’s Peach Jam session is in the books and we’re stopping by to provide a quick rundown of the morning activities in-between. If you followed along on twitter, you’ll know that I followed UK targets mainly all day. I must’ve been on the right track because John Calipari attended the same games. Even when I switched away from watching Spiece Indy when Trey Lyles got hurt, Coach Cal took the same opportunity to leave and check out the dominate Houston Hoops Squad led by Justise Winslow, Justin Jackson and Kelly Oubre. During that game I chatted with Jerry Stackhouse who was impressed with Justise Winslow. He originally asked who he was after a couple of nice jumpers, then couldn’t stop talking about him. #realrecognizereal
Now on to some quick hitters from the games this morning:
Game 1: Oakland Soldiers vs Expressions Elite
This game featured heavy UK target Stanley Johnson and other on the radar target, Abdul Malik Abu. Both are pictured to the left grabbing knees. This game was an up and down battle and free throws were the only time to rest. Johnson and Abu had impressive games but Stanley Johnson gave everyone in attendance possibly the game of the finals so far. After running, jumping, diving everywhere on the court for the full 32 minutes, he finished with 33pts, 14rb, 4stl and 2blk. Malik Abu finished with 19pts, 10rb in what would’ve been a great all-around game had it not been overshadowed by Johnson’s dominance. Johnson led his team to victory in a hard fought battle that came down to the final seconds. The win was all the more impressive because Ivan Rabb (a top 5 2015 player) only played 5 frustrating minutes and was a non-factor. I stood right by the bench but could not discover exactly why he barely played. He seemed fine and cheered his team on throughout the game. We’ll see if he rallies tonight.
More on Stanley Johnson: Johnson displayed nearly every attribute one can in a game. Most importantly, I don’t think there is a player in the finals with a motor comparable to Johnson. He literally doesn’t stop. He plays D, moves without the ball, goes after loose balls (pictured to the right)….and came flying out of nowhere twice to block a bigger man’s shot. On one of the those blocks, he retained possession and went coast-to-coast for a tough layup and foul. He has a nice jumper, that sometimes is a little bit too much of a line drive. Either way, in this game he dropped 3-5 from downtown. Even when he comes through the lane like a freight train, he somehow manages to finish under control or find the open man. He is the complete package and today was far and away the most exciting player to watch. UK fans should have him at the top of their list for 2014.
Following the game, Johnson was asked about Kentucky’s recruitment of him and he had this to say “I’m the only person that was offered by Kentucky at my position so that’s a big deal for me…..So just kind of realizing that kind of made me think about that a little bit more.”
Kentucky has actually recently offered small forward, Kelly Oubre, playing for the Houston Hoops.
When further asked about Big Blue Madness, Johnson said ““That’s supposed to be the biggest show ever. I talked to Cliff, Cliff [Alexander] went last year. I have a couple people going with me this year. The coaches have explained it to me already. I told them I want to be there for their best. And this is their best. I’m really excited for it. I’m excited to see all the fans. I’ve never seen Rupp. They say it’s like 30,000 deep. I want to see that full.” Johnson also said that Duke was “at the bottom of the barrel” because they haven’t been recruiting him as hard as other schools.
Game 2: Jackson Tigers vs Team Scan
This game featured the top guard of 2015, Malik Newman and one of the top big men for 2015, Cheick Diallo (Pictured to the left — Diallo Shooing FT and Newman in headband). Newman came into this game following 40pt and 25pts performances on Thursday. He kicked off the game with the intent of getting his teammates more involved but eventually had to take over late in the 2nd half. In doing so, he finished with 26pts and 6asst. He nailed 3 consecutive clutch free throws with 30 seconds left to tie it. Team Scan went back up by two and Newman missed the eventual game winner. Diallo finished with 8pts, 7rb, 1blk in the victory. Syracuse commit Chris McCollough led Team Scan with an impressive 22pts and 11rbs.
More on Malik Newman: Newman is an incredible talent and pure scorer. I like how he followed up yesterday’s dominating offensive performance by distributing the ball to begin the game. He got his guys involved and they were making shots. Late in the game, when they needed him most, he turned it on and kept them in the game, just missing a late game-winner. He was double-teamed most of the game. When he wasn’t, he scored easily. When he was, he often found ways to draw a foul when driving in. He’s averaging 30ppg so far in the Peach Jam Finals. As well as he is playing, unfortunately his team is not following suit. They are 0-3 so far and take on 2-1 Texas Titans in the night session.
Game 3: Spiece Indy vs. Team Penny……..Houston Hoops vs. Boo Williams
The Spiece Indy game was a letdown as I was looking forward to watching Trey Lyles. Lyles caught a hip injury early in the 1st half and went out for the rest of the game. He wound up not being needed as teammate and top 50 prospect Trevon Bluiett went off for 41 pts, hitting 5-10 from downtown getting the victory 87-80. Unfortunately, most people, including myself and Coach Cal missed that show as we left to catch the loaded Houston Hoops team on another court when Lyles went out.
Houston Hoops features a trio of top 20 prospects including Kelly Oubre, who recently received a UK offer. Justin Jackson and Justise Winslow are the other two. With nearly half of the coaches and attendees from the Spiece game added to the attendance, Justise Winslow played terrific racking up 21pts, 7rb, 6assts on 9-12 shooting. As I mentioned earlier, during the game I was chatting with Jerry Stackhouse and after the lefty Winslow knocked down one of his many smooth strokes, he finally stopped me and said “damn, who is #20 out there?” Most other people in attendance know Justise Winslow but if they didn’t, they do now. As I mentioned in my first Peach Jam Preview post, I was really looking forward to watching Winslow and thought that after the Peach Jam we may see him rise even further up the rankings. I’m curious to see if UK gets in the mix now that they have also offered Oubre. Oubre finished with 14pts, 10rb and still has one of the best hair-do’s on the circuit (pictured left).
Another prospect for UK fans to keep their eye on is Boo Williams player, Thon Maker. Maker has climbed the rankings into most recruiting services top 5 for 2016. Only a sophomore, he is so tall at such a young age that he’s crazy thin and looks like he can be broken in half by a guy like Jahlil Okafor. And teams understand right away that the way to get him out of his game is to push him around. Lucky for him, he also has a jumpshot and decent handles. He has a long way to go in understanding the game better (like when you’re 7′ and underneath the rim don’t bring the ball down to your waste). But, that’s to be expected as a sophomore. Again, its early but go ahead and put him on your wish list. He finished with 15pts, 7rb against Houston and yesterday put up 15pts, 10rb against the Okafor and Alexander.
We’ll be back with a post later tonight following the night sessions. We will be live tweeting again tonight starting at 6:00pm. Be sure and follow @uknationofblue and @rookiewire for live action and LIKE us on Facebook.
Tonight we’ll have more on Tyus Jones, Charles Matthews, Elijah Thomas, Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander.
Houston Hoops (2-1) take on Mac Irvin Fire (3-0) in the feature game tonight at 9:00pm. A game with atleast 6 top 25 prospects on the court together. I imagine I better get there early for that one. In fact, maybe I can catch the bus with Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander. They’re staying literally a few doors down from me and have the best transportation at the Peach Jam.
