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.
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| 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 8th 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 21st 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.
