Peach Jam: Mac Irvin is Ready For A Championship

Over the past years, big men Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander have dominated the Chicago basketball scene. Now, as they are ranked first and second in their class by ESPN they look to extend their domination down to the famed Peach Jam in their final month of their AAU basketball careers. Last year the Oakland Soldiers captured the EYBL championship despite an injury plagued regular season and now that the Chicago based Mac Irvin Fire AAU team is finally at full strength they are looking to accomplish this same feat.

Injuries:

Okafor and Cliff battle in Chicago

During the EYBL regular season, Mac Irvin went 11-7 in April and May to finish third in their pool. The season got off to a promising start as the team defeated their Chicago rivals in the Illinois Wolves and Meanstreets to win the Milwaukee based Swish N’ Dish tournament. Okafor dominated down low and newcomer Jalen Brunson provided a steady point guard presence with a deadly three point stroke. Things got better after their championship win as Cliff Alexander decided to join forces with Mac Irvin and test himself in the EYBL. After spending his previous summer on the D. Rose All-Stars, Alexander made the leap giving the Fire the top two big men in the country. Before the two high school rivals became familiar with each other as teammates, Okafor went down with a foot injury that sidelined him for all but five EYBL games in May.

With Okafor out of pocket, big Cliff began his domination routinely putting up double-doubles and averaging 17 points and 16 rebounds in Hampton. Despite his strong play, Mac Irvin went 5-4 during April. Okafor made the trip to Dallas in mid-May to take part in the third EYBL session and big things were expected from the duo. In their first game together things were going as planned as Alexander sprinted the floor and finished with rim rattling dunks while Okafor used his power and quickness in the post to score at will. The honeymoon was short lived as their opponent (ICP Elite) made a massive second half comeback and Okafor was forced out of the game early to ice his previous injury and limited to 17 minutes. The Fire dropped one more game in Dallas before rebounding to win three in a row with both big men turning in double-double performances throughout. In the last EYBL session in Minneapolis, Okafor lasted 10 minutes in the first game before exiting but the Fire still went 4-1. 

After a healthy three year high school career, Okafor is certainly not used to missing time due to injuries. While missing games is new to Okafor, it certainly wasn’t new issue for the Fire. Last year the team had high hopes for Peach Jam with Jabari Parker and Okafor on the same team. Unfortunately, Parker got hurt in June and was shut down for the remainder of the AAU circuit as well as a much anticipated match-up with Andrew Wiggins. 

Wing Play:

Alexander and Okafor are the stars of the team, while junior point guard Jalen Brunson has received his fair share of attention as he made his ascension up the recruiting rankings. Oftentimes the wings on Mac Irvin in Josh Cunningham and Miles Reynolds get overlooked; however this group will play a key part in deciding how far Mac Irvin advances in Peach Jam. Cunningham recently won a 3A state title for the Chicago based Morgan Park high school team and continued to his strong play during the AAU season. He is currently averaging 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and received invites to attend the Kevin Durant and Lebron James Skills Academies. Reynolds made his mark during the City of Palms tournament back in December. He is currently averaging 9.7 points per game and hit a team high 24 three pointers. In Pool Play, Mac Irvin will have an offensive advantage in every game down low. It will be up to the wings to hit open shots in order to give their talented big men space to operate. The five teams that will match-up with the Fire are led by their wings on offense. Cunningham and Reynolds will have the task of slowing down players such as Justin Jackson and Kelly Oubre for Houston, Malik Newman for Jackson, and Terry Larrier for Team Scan. If the Mac Irvin wings can make their mark on both sides of the ball the team will be dangerous.

Dead Legs:

With a healthy Okafor, the biggest concern for the Fire is jet lag. Okafor just finished putting together an All-Tournament performance for the USA 19U team in Prague as he went 3-3 in the championship game this past Sunday. After winning the championship, Okafor went through a 12 hour flight with several time zone changes to get home before flying right back out to the east coast.

Three players in Alexander, Brunson, and Cunningham recently competed in the Lebron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas. While these players got to compete against the best of the best, the camp did not finish up until Monday evening meaning that these players flew back to Chicago on Tuesday and had one day of rest before packing up once more for the southeast. After strong performances in Prague and Las Vegas, the road weary group will have to overcome their travel schedule to start strong on Thursday.

The Big Men:

As noted above, Okafor is returning from a trip overseas with the US team and Alexander is returning from the Lebron James camp. By all accounts both big men dominated and showed off why they are ranked so highly. Despite coming off the bench and playing against guys one to two years older, Okafor finished second on the US team with 10.8 points per game while shooting 77% from the field. Meanwhile, by all accounts “Big Cliff” came out to play in Las Vegas reminiscent to his 2012 Pangos camp performance and was one of the top players in camp.

Okafor relies on power and quickness in the post. With his large hands he can palm the ball away from the defender before making his move. He loves to make a left to right hand spin move for an easy lay-up. 

As for Alexander he loves to run the floor and dunk in transition. He developed a solid right hand hook and can also operate out of the high post in order to give Okafor room down low. Big Cliff averaged 16 points and 11.4 rebounds per game during the EYBL regular season and will look to extend his double-double streak into Peach Jam.

Overall:

With these two dominant big men finally healthy and on the same team, Mac Irvin can compete against anyone. As long as they overcome their jetlag and get consistent and solid play from their wings, the Mac Irvin Fire have a good chance on bringing their first EYBL championship back to Chicago.