This past weekend I embarked on my annual trek to the Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC. The EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) Finals at the Nike Peach Jam was the last leg of a tournament that spanned four other locations over 3 months totaling 360 games (Sacramento, Dallas, Hampton and Minneapolis). 40 teams from across the country enter and only 24 qualify for the Peach Jam Finals. At the Finals, games begin in pool play to determine the final eight teams, creating the tournament bracket that will eventually decide the 2014 EYBL Champion. At each of the stops, recruits are put to the test competing head to head with other top players and teams. Last year, over 240 coaches from the top college programs around the country attended to observe the talent. It is a site to see and something any basketball junkie would certainly enjoy.
Antonio Blakeney – Nike Peach Jam
Along the way, I decided to stop in to the Under Armour Association Finals (UAA The Finals) in Atlanta as well, to get a quick look at the talent participating. The UAA Finals is similar to the Nike EYBL and attracts nearly every other top player that isn’t an EYBL participant. Considering its only about a 2 hour trip from the Peach Jam, basically every major coach and scout pulled the same daily double on Thursday as I did. UAA for the morning session and Peach Jam for the evening.
Rather than breaking down the days or specific games, I decided to punch up a few notes on prospects that really stuck out to me. With 4 games going at a time from 9am to 10:30pm, pre-planning is a must to determine your schedule for the day and you’re better off picking which prospects you really want to make sure and see in person as opposed to which game might be the best. And that’s why I decided to write up some notes on particular players that I found myself watching more than others. And let’s be honest, if you’re not in attendance you’re likely aren’t rooting for a specific team and instead just care about the performance of recruits your team is targeting.
On Rookiewire.com I wrote-up some notes on the players that made an impression on me, and as a favor to my friends at Nation of Blue, I’ve pulled out some of the UK target notes and added them below. I spent a good amount of time checking out Kentucky’s targets over the weekend and once again they are circling the best of the best. For more on the AAU circuit, incoming college freshman and NBA Rookies click on www.rookiewire.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the link for each:
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Stephen Zimmerman and Ivan Rabb are great individually, but disappointing as a team:
Stephen Zimmerman
Ivan Rabb
If I told you that two top 10 big men were on the same AAU team and both were agile, could score, pass, etc….you’d assume that team goes undefeated. Not so fast. Much like Mac Irvin Fire last year, that had two top 5 big men in Jahlil Okafor (Duke) and Cliff Alexander (Kansas), that doesn’t necessarily guarantee wins. Granted both teams are still good, but again a little disappointing considering the insane talent level. However, taking a look at them individually and you can see why the hype is there. Ivan Rabb is extremely athletic and uses it wisely. He could still increase his low-post skills a bit and of course put on some muscle (which will come with time). He’s thought to be an Arizona lean and many think he will indeed follow previous Oakland Soldiers (Aaron Gordon, Stanley Johnson) to Tucson. Stephen Zimmerman on the other hand does possess low post moves and had a lot of the coaches in attendance giving each other the head-nod, as if to say “yep, I saw that”, when he posted up strong, turned quickly to the baseline for a fairly deep left-handed hook shot. It was swift and pretty. Zimmerman also attacks the rim aggressively and skips out on double-pumps for moves straight to the rim where he either dunks or gets fouled. He’s got the best court vision of the big men in 2015 and its obvious when you watch him for an entire game. He passes out of the post well, makes the right moves in transition and generally passes up a tough shot in favor of giving the teammate the ball for a better one. He’s also a terrific rebounder and effective defender down low as well as on the perimeter. His recruitment seems pretty open at the moment, but he has at least 4 visits scheduled (Kansas, UK, UL, UNC) this fall that will hopefully shake some news out on the teams he’s favoring. UPDATE: Good news for the BBN, Zimmerman has cancelled his visit to the ‘Ville and scratched them from his list following the commitment of Ray Spalding.
Alonzo Trier, Malik Monk, Antonio Blakeney, Tyus Battle can score at will:
There are others that can put up numbers in bulk but these four stood out to me as guys that can score anytime and on anyone. Time and time again one of these four would drive in the lane amongst the trees and fling up a shot off the backboard that magically falls in. When they weren’t doing that, they were using their quick triggers to knock down shots from deep. Monk poured in 59 in one game during the EYBL season and on my last night at the Peach Jam he dropped another 40 point game in (mixtape below). In a class that may be short on point guards, its in pretty good hands when it comes to combo guards and Kentucky is in the mix for all of these guys. And that’s not even mentioning Malik Newman who was unable to play due to injury. BBN NOTE: Malik Newman tweeted the following out this morning regarding he and Diamond Stone’s package deal “My boy committing before me…wish him the best of luck… @Diamond_Stone33 don’t mean that’s the school I’m going to tho…” – Stone is expected to announce his decision on November 12th on ESPNU.
Cheick Diallo has a great motor:
Cheick Diallo, 2015’s top power forward, was impressive in just about every way, but most importantly it was his motor. On offense he sprints to the post and locks down his position and immediately backs his man down with a wide open stance calling for the ball. In the pic to the left he caught the ball on the perimeter baseline, made a quick spin and leaped to the rim for a strong dunk. When he’s not abusing defenders, he’s tipping offensive rebounds to himself or teammates and time and time again rebounded his own miss for a putback. At the next level, his coach won’t have to spend any time teaching him how to play every possession. On defense he’s a quick/out-of-nowhere shot blocker.
BBN Note: Diallo played through some discomfort with his back over the weekend but still helped lead his team to the Semifinals game along with Tyus Battle. New UK assistant coach Slice Rohrssen was in attendance for every single minute of Diallo’s games. Rohrssen has been in-deep with Diallo’s camp during his time with Pitt and is now hoping to parlay that effort into landing him at UK.
Harry Giles III is officially back:
Harry Giles has been at the top spot on and off in the 2016 class, but after his serious ACL/MCL injury many haven’t been so sure he can keep a hold of it. Others like Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum have jumped him in some rankings. After missing nearly an entire year, Giles started slowly back from injury throughout the summer but this weekend seemed to get his feet under him and find his stride. Giles is now playing like he’s on a mission to get the top spot back. He’s still not 100% as he gets used to playing with a brace, but says he has no pain when playing. On my final day at the Peach Jam, Giles had his best game when he led CP3 to a victory over Alonzo Trier’s Athletes First. Giles finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. At 6’10” 220, he still moves very fluid but can also buckle down and fight for rebounds as well as anyone. With Giles back in the game, and guys like Tatum, Josh Jackson and Thon Maker still in the mix, its going to be crowded at the top for the next few years.
Jayson Tatum is a child-abuser:
I made a special trip to a 16U game, along with basically every single coach in America, to watch top 3 2016 prospect Jayson Tatum, who is playing for the 16U St. Louis Eagles because the 17U team didn’t make the Peach Jam. Needless to say, that’s not good news for the rest of the 16U bunch. Tatum simply dominated on offense (and defense) all the way to a 35 point outing. Tatum has a terrific jumper, which he easily gets off due to his 6’8 lean frame. Its no surprise that he already has offers from every major school, including the big dogs like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and North Carolina. I should note that Tatum is in fact 16 years old, so he wasn’t cheating or anything….even though it certainly seemed like it. I tried to think of something witty to describe just how easily Tatum dominated his opponents but Jason Smith beat me to the punch:
What St. Louis 2016 prospect Jayson Tatum is doing to these 16U's (he normally plays 17U) can be best-described in two words – child abuse.
— L. Jason Smith (@TheCAJasonSmith) July 18, 2014
Last but not least here’s a pic of your fearless leaders hard on work observing top big man Diamond Stone (how many coaches can you name in this pick?):
Calipari and Robic Checking Out Diamond Stone
To read more on the players I checked out at the UAA Finals, click the following link – UAA Finals: Jaylen Brown vs Josh Jackson; Diamond Stone dominates. Until next time, be sure and follow www.rookiewire.com on Facebook and Twitter by clicking each.
Below are some video highlights from the weekend:
Jayson Tatum Peach Jam Highlights:
Day 1 Highlights:
Stephen Zimmerman Massive Dunk:
Cheick Diallo Highlights:
Malik Monk Mixtape:
