Peach Jam - Day 2: The Stanley Show

Day two of the Peach Jam started off with competitive games and finished with a buzzer beater at almost 11pm. College coaches crammed the court as several big names continued to make their presence known in North Augusta. There were several fine performances, but there was one player that stood above the rest.

Player of the Day:

Stanley Johnson, 6’7”, F, 2014, Oakland Soldiers

Easily the player of the day, senior forward Stanley Johnson put on a show during the two games he played in on Friday. In the first set of morning games, John Calipari, Coach K, and the majority of the Pac-12 had their eyes on Stanley Johnson and he did not disappoint with his play. He began the game scoring from all areas on the court. A few three’s, a floater, and an and-one were on display early on. Johnson bullied his way to the basket as usual, but also displayed some grace with spin moves and pull-up jump shots in traffic. With big man Ivan Rabb dealing with foul trouble, Johnson also cleaned up on the defensive boards with 14 total rebounds. In a back and forth affair, Johnson finished with 33 points on 12-22 shooting including 3-5 from the three point line and gave the coaches that came a show in the early morning.

In the last game of the night against the undefeated CP3 team, Johnson went for 24 points and 11 rebounds on 10-17 shooting including the game winner with 0.3 seconds on the clock. After L.J. Peak tied the game on two free throws there was little doubt about who was going to take the last shot. After getting to the lane at will, Johnson drove to the basket one more time for the final shot. Starting from the left side of the court, Johnson quickly left Peak in the dust with a crossover and lofted up a soft floater from five feet out that found nothing but the bottom of the net. Simply unstoppable all day long, Johnson wants a chance to defend his EYBL title. 

Session 1: 17U

Abdul Malik Abu, 6’8”, 2014, Expressions Elite

Abu stepped up his game in the second half against the Oakland Soldiers and despite a losing effort finished with 19 points on 8-16 shooting and 10 rebounds. Abu started off the game guarding junior Ivan Rabb. While he gave up two inches to Rabb, he used his additional muscle to uproot Rabb from his position and put the talented big men in early foul trouble. At the start of the game, Abu hit a right handed hook shot and scored several other times down low using his strength advantage. He also knocked in a three pointer for good measure. He plays hard every minute in the game and gave the Soldiers all they could handle throughout the contest. 

Camron Justice, 6’2”, SG, 2015, Travelers Basketball

Before his game, the junior shooting guard got in a few extra practice shots as his coach reminded him to keep his feet set. The extra attention to detail paid off as Justice went 6-9 from the field for 17 points. Despite being an inch or two shorter than the ideal shooting guard position, Justice displayed a quick release and never tried to force any shots. He excelled in the first half as he hit a three and numerous 12-15 foot jump shots. His height is not ideal for high majors, but his skill set will certainly delight a school like Belmont that watched his every move.  

Reid Travis, 6’8”, PF, 2014, Howard Pulley

Travis dominated down low from the opening tip against the Travelers Basketball squad. With a size and strength advantage down low, he went 11-13 from the field and 7-8 from the foul line to finish with 29 points and 10 rebounds. One of the top performers throughout the spring and summer circuit Travis has shown no signs of slowing down despite his busy schedule. Travis excels in the post and can also step out to his a medium range jump shot which he did against Tennessee. 

Session 2: 17U

Deadrick Lawson, 6’8”, F, 2016, Team Penny

In a hard fought and competitive game, it was the rising sophomore that took control in the second half and led his team to victory. Even though Lawson was the youngest player on the team this did not stop him from dominating in the last five minutes as he finished with 28 points and 7 rebounds. With a taller defender on him in Nana Foulland, Lawson drained all three of his three pointers from the top of the key allowing Team Penny to pull away. While he shoots more of a set shot from outside the paint, his shots dropped through the net without touching the rim. Lawson also added in a spin move down low and crashed the boards for points after offensive rebounds. Even though he was the youngest player on the court, Lawson showed a veteran’s resolve in the second half. 

Bennie Boatwright, 6’8”, SF, 2014, Cal Supreme

If Boatwright managed to get his feet set behind the line it was close to a guarantee that his outside shot was going in during his game against Each 1 Teach 1,. Despite a loss, Boatwright went 6-9 from behind the line and finished with 20 points. His lone basket inside the paint came after a miss where he followed his shot for an offensive rebound and a lay-up. The game started off with Boatwright nailing three’s and then he caught fire again during the second half as well. While he usually has a height advantage on his defender, he prefers to operate from the outside and did so to the best of his abilities on Friday night.

Alex Owens, 6’9”, PF, 2015, E1T1

The big bodied power forward had a great game off the bench for the lone remaining undefeated team. Owens finished with 16 points on 6-6 shooting with 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes. Despite his 250 pounds, Owens is extremely nimble on his feet, has great hands, and is an absolute beast on the boards. When in the game on offense he primarily ran the pick and roll with point guard Joel Berry which resulted in open looks for Berry or lay-ups down low for Owens after rolling to the basket. This performance against an athletic Cal Supreme frontcourt had college coaches taking note. 

Other Notes:

L.J. Peak had two solid games on Friday for CP3. In the morning session against Meanstreets, Peak scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting with 8 rebounds. He matched up against his old high school teammate Paul White and looked to play with more energy than normal as he was familiar with all of the Chicago kids from this past high school season. In the evening session, Peak had 19 points on 6-12 shooting and hit two free throws to tie the game before Stanley Johnson hit the game winner. 

Paul White was finally playing up to his potential during the first three games in Peach Jam. Against CP3 he went for 20 points and 10 rebounds; however his run came to a quick end on Friday night as he suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game and if the rumors are true about a forearm fracture could keep him out for much longer.  

The last game of the night on court 3 featured Houston Hoops vs. the Mac Irvin Fire. Five top 15 players were featured in the starting line-ups which caused a packed house on both the court where the coaches sit and from the view above where the fans gather. After a close first half, Houston pulled away to take an 80-69 victory. The wing trio for Houston all scored in double digits led by Justin Jackson’s 23 points.

In the point guard match-up of the night, Tyus Jones went for 24 points and 7 assists in an overtime win, while Tyler Ulis had 22 points and a whopping 17 assists.

The games were not part of the Peach Jam and were in a remote gym a few miles away, but the big name coaches found their way to watch Ahmed Hill and Devin Booker. Tom Crean and several SEC and ACC coaches to watch Hill turn in a fine second half performance in which he scored 19 points and hit three second half three’s against an over-matched opponent. After Hill’s game, the playoffs began in the Elite Youth Invitational and Booker’s team took on a different over-matched opponent. With Izzo and Calipari on hand, Booker scored 13 points in the first three minutes and Alabama was up 45-9 at one point. Despite the lack of competition in these games, the college coaches still took some time away from Peach Jam to see their big name recruits.

Kevin Durant Skills Academy

The Kevin Durant Skills Academy tipped off Friday night on the pristine campus of Sidwell Friends High School in Northwest DC. Coming a few days after Nike’s point guard and big man skills academy, this event featured 19 of the top college wing forwards and 30 of the top high school wing forwards. The college players were up first and as a result they received an up close and personal view of Kevin Durant as he joined in on many of the drills and scrimmages.

College Notes

Standouts:

In a who’s who of college basketball, a few players that stuck out during drills and scrimmages were Geron Johnson of Memphis and Cleanthony Early of Wichita State. 

Geron Johnson

Johnson was measured at 6’3.5” and 203 pounds with a 6’8.5” inch wingspan. After averaging 10.4 points per game during his first year at Memphis, Johnson is looking forward to the spotlight now that he is familiar with the college game. Early on, Johnson used the one on one full court drills to show off his quickness and power constantly blowing by defenders for easy baskets. As a 35% three point shooter last year, Johnson was also one of the top outside shooters in the camp and during the scrimmages he showed off his range hitting several deep three’s. 

After making a name for himself during Wichita State’s Final Four run this past year, Early is looking to enhance his reputation this year. Standing at 6’7”, Early had the chance to go against both the shorter and taller wings in the camp. He knocked in several jump shots, attacked the basket, and was one of the most active players throughout the two hour session. For a few possessions Early got to go against Kevin Durant and during these opportunities he did not back down from the NBA superstar.

Late Arrivals:

Both DeAndre Daniels from UConn and Glenn Robinson III from Michigan arrived late to the Skills Academy. Despite missing their time to warm-up and various drills, both players jumped right into the activity. Daniels drove hard to the basket during the scrimmages and was the best finisher at the rim, while Robinson hit several outside shots and used his strength for rebounds on the defensive end. 

Potential:

These two players combined to average 6.5 points per game during their freshman seasons, but both Tyler Harris from Providence and Winston Shepard from San Diego State could be primed for breakout sophomore seasons. Shepard is the more refined of the two players as he played 20 minutes a game for one of the top teams on the west coast. Shepard struggled from the field during his freshman campaign shooting 39.3% but with his size (6’8”) and athletic ability, he remains a tantalizing prospect. During the shooting drills at the camp, Shepard still struggled but when it came time to scrimmage he got to the rim and showed off his athleticism with several highlight reel dunks. He also displayed his fast twitch muscle fibers when it came time for rebounds as he was usually the quickest player off of the court for tip-ins.

While Shepard played 20 minutes a game last year, Harris red-shirted the season after transferring from N.C. State. In Raleigh, the 6’8” forward only played in 19 games and averaged 1.8 points per game. While he still looked raw during the Skills Academy, one could tell that the year off helped his game. Harris has a 6’10” wing span and performed adequately during the dribbling and shooting drills. While he only weighs 204 pounds, it was obvious that Harris has potential to become a player for the Friars in the future.

NBA Scouts:

One NBA scout was overheard making fun of Marshall Henderson’s alligator arms. Henderson measured at 6’2” with a wing span of 5’11.5.” As he was the smallest player on the court at all times, Henderson struggled to find room for shots, but he did display the nicest stroke in all of the drills early on.

Another NBA scout noted that he really liked Damyean Dotson during his freshman year at Oregon and was a player that he planned on watching with a keen eye. Dotson is a 6’6” wing that was second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game.

The Freshman:

Jabari Parker is used to the attention and rightfully so after winning four consecutive Illinois state titles and earning a Sports Illustrated cover. These high accolades also earned him the attention of Kevin Durant during many of the one-on-one drills and scrimmages. As the only incoming freshman on the roster, Parker knew that he would have to adapt quickly to the size and strength of the college players, but he didn’t anticipate trying to adapt to Kevin Durant right off the bat. Durant picked Parker up in the one-on-one full court drills, and while Durant was not going 100% he was still playing pretty hard. On the first two possessions, Parker scored on Durant with a left-handed lay-up and kept Durant from scoring on the other end. The two went back and forth during the drills and scrimmages. Parker struggled from the outside, but he also forced Durant into some of his own struggles. Several times Durant looked like he was going to take Parker off the dribble and was forced to settle for a contested outside jump shot. Parker looks like he worked on improving his quickness during the spring time and will need that added burst when he starts play in Durham. Standing at 6’8.5” and 240 pounds, Parker still has a ways to go conditioning wise but already proved that he is ready for the challenges coming his way.

High School Notes

The high school kids did not get as much on-court time as the college kids and they also didn’t get to play with Kevin Durant, but pretty much all of the top ranked shooting guards and small forwards were in attendance. The top shooting guard in the country, Rashad Vaughn was a late arrival and forced to jump straight into the 3-on-3 drills. Despite a lack of warm-up, Vaughn used his left hand dribble to get to the basket at will. He didn’t get a chance to show off his stroke, but still displayed the athleticism that will have NBA scouts watching his every move.

One of the top players this spring was forward Devin Robinson from Richmond. Before the spring, two schools were recruiting him the hardest in VCU and Virginia Tech. After a strong performance Indiana dropped its hat in the ring offering Robinson a scholarship. Still growing into his body, Robinson has a ways to go to reach his potential as he currently stands 6’8” and 169 pounds.

Terry Larrier

6’7” Terry Larrier from Team Scan was another spring riser and also one of the most impressive players in the short scrimmages held at the end of camp. Larrier drove strongly to the basket several times from the left wing and threw down a handful of thunderous dunks down the middle of the lane that caught everyone’s attention. 

Riley Norris’ shooting touch was on display during the NBPA camp and the 6’7 wing from Alabama started to receive increased attention from college coaches. After the NBPA camp, Norris heard from the coaching staff’s of both UNC and Indiana who plan on watching him during July. So far Norris has visited the campuses of Florida, Vanderbilt, and Alabama.

Ahmed Hill, a 6’4” shooting guard out of Georgia struggled during the NBPA Top 100 camp but is looking forward to bouncing back during July where his Southern Stampede team will play in both Augusta and Orlando. Currently schools such as Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and Indiana are going after Hill the hardest. 

The Kevin Durant Skills camp continues on Saturday and Sunday which should give the NBA scouts a plethora of opportunities to watch the top high school wings in the country go at each other including Rashad Vaughn, Daniel Hamilton, Devin Booker, Justin Jackson, and Stanley Jackson go at one another.