A Surprise Decision: L.J. Peak to Georgetown

One year in Chicago was enough to send L.J. Peak, a talented 6’5” wing scurrying back to warmer weather in South Carolina in order to finish off his high school career in Gaffney. Unfortunately for South Carolina Gamecock fans, Peak’s return home will only last one year before he packs his bags again for Washington D.C. and the Georgetown Hoyas. 

L.J. Peak - Georgetown

In a surprise announcement at his high school gym, Peak chose to spend his college career as a Hoya after narrowing his choices down to Georgetown, South Carolina, and Florida State. To the delight of the crowd, Peak put on a Gamecock hat before flipping it off and replacing it with a Hoya hat. The in-state Gamecocks were rumored to be the front runner, but Peak chose the Hoyas despite recently cancelling his visit to the campus. 

Scouting Report:

Despite a recent drop in the recruiting rankings (ESPN #54, Scout #68, and Rivals #82) L.J. Peak is one of the most well rounded shooting guards in the class of 2014. He can check off all of the boxes necessary for an elite shooting guard: height, athleticism, an ability to score from all three levels, defensive intensity, and an ability to perform under the spotlight. This past season Peak scored in a variety of ways against opponents from all over the country. He attacked the basket off the dribble or on the break often finishing with powerful dunks. He hit mid-range jump shots off the catch or the bounce and also showed off a short floater at times. Peak also proved more than capable from behind the three point line as he usually knocked in shots from either wing position. On the defensive side, Peak used his height and quickness to disrupt players on the perimeter and forced steals that led to easy fast break points while also rebounding well from the guard position. 

While Peak can score in bunches as noted below there were also times where he disappeared for long stretches while watching his talented teammates takeover. In one City of Palms’ game, Peak went 0-8 from the field and in the AAU setting he had several games where he took less than five shots. Peak was a solid performer during the spring AAU setting, but given his high school success a more dominant outing was expected.

Background:

South Carolina

Peak rose to prominence during his time in Gaffney, South Carolina and started to hear from high major colleges early on in his career while receiving his first scholarship offers from South Carolina, Clemson, and Tennessee as a freshman. Although he received offers during his first year of high school, he played a part in a state championship run as an 8^th grader in 2010 before playing a lead role in another state championship as a sophomore in 2012. During his second state title run, Peak earned all-state honors while averaging 17.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and was rated 21^st in his class by scout.com.

Illinois

While Peak won a lot of hardware in the state of South Carolina, it was this past winter where he got to test himself against national competition. After winning a South Carolina state title as a sophomore, Peak’s family packed their bags and moved to Chicago, IL as he suited up for Whitney Young.  Peak teamed up with fellow juniors Jahlil Okafor and Paul White to turn an underachieving squad into Chicago public league champions. Throughout the year, Peak got a chance to test himself against the top players in Chicago as well as the country’s top teams in tournaments held in such places as Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and West Virginia. 

Playing alongside the top big man in the country in Okafor, Peak introduced himself to the Chicago hoops scene with a 17 point, 6 rebound performance against Dematha in his first game. In the City of Palms tournament in December, Peak averaged 10 points and four rebounds in three games. As the missing piece for the Dolphins, Peak helped propel his team to a top five ranking in the country heading into a game against another local power, Simeon. 

On a cold January night, Peak showed off his skills to a nationally televised audience on ESPN as Whitney Young took on Jabari Parker and Simeon, the three time defending state champions. While the game highlighted the superstars in Parker and Okafor, it was Peak who stole the show. In the third quarter Peak brought his team back from a nine point halftime deficit by scoring 14 points. His points came off dunks, deep threes, and mid-range jump shots. While his talented teammates did not rise to the occasion, Peak was aggressive throughout and attacked the seniors on Simeon while looking like the best player on the court at times despite the loss.

In a sign of things to come, Peak rose to the occasion in big games as the spotlight grew brighter. He played an integral part in an overtime win to give Whitney Young the Chicago public league championship with a win over Morgan Park and then followed that up by once again stealing the show in the Argo Sectional Semi-Finals against the Curie Condors. 

In front of a packed house that came to see Okafor battle another talented Curie big man in Cliff Alexander, it was Peak who scored 23 points in a winning effort. In a back and forth affair, Joseph Stamps made the mistake of talking trash to after a made shot. Right after the trash talking began; Peak scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and took Stamps’ soul while scoring on him possession after possession. 

One day after this win Peak’s season and time in Chicago came to an end at the hands of Simeon in the Sectional finals. Peak kept his team in the game with a hot first half, but it didn’t last as Simeon was on a mission to get back to the state finals. Despite a blowout loss, Peak finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds against the eventual four time state champion.

AAU:

With his transfer back to the southeast, Peak recently joined up with the talented CP3 All-Stars on the Nike EYBL circuit. During the four regular season sessions, CP3 went 15-3 as Peak teamed with Theo Pinson and Shelton Mitchell to form a talented and athletic backcourt. Through 18 games Peak averaged almost 12 points a game and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field. Next week he will have a chance to add to his high school hardware with a Peach Jam championship in his native state of South Carolina.

The Future:

Overall, Peak is a perfect fit for Georgetown’s Princeton offense and he also adds another skill set to the Hoyas already talented 2014 recruiting class which includes combo forward Isaac Copeland and point guard Tre Campbell. In JTIII’s offense, there are many backdoor cuts for lay-ups and dunks in Peak’s future not to mention open jump shots from the wing and corners. The multi-dimensional scorer should thrive in this type of half court offense. 

Back in the comforts of Gaffney, SC with his college commitment out of the way, Peak will look to close out his high school career with one more state championship. After a brief pit stop in the Windy City, fans in South Carolina will get one last chance to watch their star player before he brings his diverse skill set up north to Washington D.C. and the Big East.