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.

Nike EYBL: 1st Team

The 2013 Nike EYBL regular season was the most competitive league throughout the spring bringing pretty much almost all of the top players in the country together. With each team playing 18 games here are the five players most deserving of the 2013 Nike EYBL First Team: 

POS	Name	PPG	RBG	APG	FG%	FT%	3PT%	ORTG
PG	Tyus Jones	22.8	2.6	6.9	57.0%	88.0%	45.6%	121.18
SG	Malik Newman	24.7	5.9	3.0	42.1%	81.8%	37.0%	105.31
SF	Justin Jackson	17.3	5.6	2.7	59.9%	76.3%	48.0%	139.45
PF	Stanley Johnson	18.5	9.8	1.8	43.1%	65.2%	29.9%	104.54
C	Cliff Alexander	16.0	11.4	1.1	58.7%	60.0%	40.0%	135.21

Tyus Jones, 6’2”, 2014, Howard Pulley Panthers

Once Andrew Wiggins re-classified to the class of 2013, both ESPN and Scout.com ranked Tyus Jones as the top player in the country. Playing outside of the national spotlight during the high school year, Jones dropped from the top spot despite leading his Apple Valley high school squad to the 4A state championship in Minnesota. After his 3^rd year on the 17U EYBL circuit, Jones might have done just enough to regain his perch at the top. Through four EYBL sessions, Jones led the league in assists with 5.9 per game (2^nd year in a row) and also finished second in scoring with 22.8 points per game. He did all this while shooting 57% from the field and leading his underdog Howard Pulley Panther squad to the Peach Jam.  During April and May, Jones hit NBA type 3’s, game-winning shots, and highlight reel dunks in addition to having a 2.6:1 assist to turnover ratio to solidify himself as the best point guard in the game.

Malik Newman, 6’4”, 2015, Jackson Tigers

Despite only finishing his sophomore year, combo guard Malik Newman led the EYBL in scoring with 24.7 points per game while tacking on 5.9 rebounds and 3 assists per game. In Dallas, Newman put on the most impressive individual scoring display of the AAU season with 36 points in 22 minutes before succumbing to cramping against Spiece Indy. Although he is always the focus point of the opposing defense, Newman still scored at will and in a variety of ways. Most comfortable with the ball in his hands, Newman excelled in utilizing the pick and roll from just above the NBA three-point line to drive to the basket for lay-ups or pull-up jump shots. He also liked to curl off screens for quick release threes. The most impressive scoring threat over the spring will get to show college coaches that he is the top player in the class of 2015 during the Peach Jam. 

Justin Jackson, 6’7”, 2014, Houston Hoops

Mr. Efficient. After being strictly a perimeter based jump shooter as a 15 year old playing in the EYBL two years ago, Jackson only launched 25 threes in 18 games this year. As a three year veteran, Jackson averaged 17.3 points on 60% shooting using his mid-range floaters and drives to the basket for high quality shots. Jackson had some of his most impressive games against top opponents including 27 points and 7 rebounds against Expressions Elite on 11-17 shooting and 18 points on 7-9 shooting against Team Scan. On the offensive end, Jackson also likes to operate out of the post against smaller defenders and use his shooting touch to knock down 10 foot face-up jumpers. Jackson is not the most flashy or dominant of players, but he certainly was one of the more efficient during the EYBL regular season.

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

While not a power forward per se, Stanley Johnson was the most dominant player, strength wise, in the EYBL. In 18 games, Johnson averaged 18.5 points and 9.8 rebounds and physically over-powered his opponents every game. As a sophomore, Johnson frustrated Shabazz Muhammad with his strength and power on the defensive end and now in his last season of AAU he was doing the same to players on the offensive end. One example of his power and skill came against Athlete’s First in the Dallas EYBL. In a tight ball game everyone knew that Johnson was going to attack the basket. Despite knowing this, Athlete’s First could not contain Johnson as he caught the ball from the top of the key on three consecutive positions and finished at the rim each and every time. Last year, Johnson averaged 16 points in the Peach Jam as he teamed with Aaron Gordon to lead the Oakland Soldiers to the championship and now will look to defend his title. 

Cliff Alexander, 6’8”, 2014, Mac Irvin Fire

The rumors started to fly in early April that “Big Cliff” was finally going to play in the EYBL. Sure enough Alexander showed up in L.A. for the Mac Irvin Fire in the first EYBL set and put up a 9 point, 9 rebound performance in his first game. While he was expected to team with fellow top big man Jahlil Okafor, Alexander was left to shoulder the load with Okafor only participating in five games. Alexander took off in the second EYBL set in Hampton, VA and showed off his skills and athleticism to all of the big name coaches in attendance. During these games, Alexander averaged 17 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. Standing at 6’8”, he provides an intimidating persona down low by blocking shots and dunking everything in sight. Alexander is also great at running the floor and showed off an improved post presence during the spring. Throughout the EYBL regular season, Alexander averaged 16 points and 11.4 rebounds on 59% shooting. With Alexander’s emergence and a healthy Jahlil Okafor in July, the Chicago twin towers could lead the Mac Irvin Fire to their first Peach Jam title.