NIKE PEACH-JAM * PEACH-STATE * PEACH INVITATIONAL

Some short notes we were able to garner from the south, where several of our local clubs played in some highly competitive events around the heavily populated Atlanta area. Shoe company representatives have latched on tightly, spinning off the success of the Nike Peach-Jam. The arrival of Adidas and Under Armor with pop-up venues, have made things in the area a lucrative attraction.

Over at the Peach Invitational the state’s No. 1 player Ayo Dosunmu solidified his status as an elite prospect. His last two outings he registered jaw dropping performances we were told. Ayo’s Morgan Pk teammate Tamell Pearson was terrific as well. The six foot eight Pearson landed an offer from Washington State, Bradley, Oklahoma State, while Illinois and Cleveland State position themselves for official visit. Young’s Javon Freeman, who I feel is vastly under-valued had a superb week at the Peach-Jam; his recruitment continues to pick-up, Valpo, St. Louis U, VCU, and now Wichita State just offered. He and his Mean Streets teammate, Xavier Castenada will head to the Oladipo Camp in Washington D.C..

Champaign Central stand-out forward Tim Finke struggled some at the Peach-Jam, which can happen to the best of players his confidence probably wavered some. We are expecting the six foot seven forward to revive his play next week. I can’t help but rekindle my thoughts of how his play in July should form from the resemblance of former area stand-outs such as Brian Wardle (Hinsdale Central), Matt Lottich (New Trier), Colin Falls (Loyola Academy), Jon Scheyer (GBN), or even Eric Vierneisel (Jacobs) big games were a gold-standard for those dudes. I’m pulling for Finke to pick-it-up. Also, College Coaches can’t miss-read the performances by Justin Boyd (Young) Orlando Allen (Thornton) and Kaleb Thornton had at the Nike Peach-Jam as well. The trio are very good players, they should be sized-up correctly at another event, perhaps the Vegas track.

The D Rose cast did not fare well the first week out either; several notable players did not have the look of mid-major recruits. The new acquisition of highly regarded Talen Horton Tucker (Simeon) was the one bright spot. He performed well, while putting-up high scoring numbers. Talen, landed offers from Michigan State and Florida State this week. D Rose will re-group in St. Louis this week at 3 stripes. Ragged play hurt the RWA Program at the Peach State event while six foot nine George Conditt (Corliss) illustrated what his up-side may resemble in a few years. Conditt, shot-it-okay on the perimeter and handled himself well out there. He even blocked a few shots last week. Carbondale’s 6-6 Kani Acre continued to enhance his stock with fine play for RWA which will head to Louisville this week. Darius Beane (Carbondale) the state’s No. 6 prospect in our Spot-Lite report did his thing in Spartanburg, South Carolina on the Adidas circuit. He shot-it-well and finished at the rim, while handling point-guard duties for the Gateway squad out in Missouri. Beane, will stay close and play in the 3 stripes event in St. Louis this weekend.

The Illinois Wolves had a solid week in the South; Libertyville’s 6-7 wing Drew Peterson was impressive, Orr’s rising talent Tyronn Mosley was okay. He will attend the Under Armor Top 100 event this week; the Wolves 16-U squad had several guys turn in sparkling performances. Tom Welch 6-6 wing out of Naperville North and Femnd’s 6-4 guard Bryce Hopkins played well. Waukegan’s Bryant Brown can flat-out play, he is a player to watch, the Wolves will be at NY2LA.

Last week at NY2LA the Ramey Jets won the tournament and was led by the forgotten tandem of Malachi Smith a 6-4 guard out of Belleville West & Kevin Caldwell a speedster & talented from Alton, both of these guys were impressive. Under-the-radar prospect Jalen Hodge played well too for the Jets. We will see them in NY2LA this week. Mercury Elite received stellar performances from Isaiah Fuller (Oak-Park) Willowbrook’s 6-6 Ethan Schummer and Ben Wolf 6-9 out of Naperville Central. Mercury Elite will be back in Milwaukee NY2LA this week. Kessel Heat has had a quality showing most of the spring & early summer, demonstrated last week why they could surprise some people the second week at NY2LA. Quinlan Bennett (Proviso East), Ryan Kutsor (Lake Zurich), and Anthony Lynch (Elgin-Larkin) played well. 6-10 Jalen Shaw (Elgin-Larkin) should have a better showing, we are hoping Warren’s 6-3 athlete Brandon Ellis will have a big week as well.

Simeon’s Massiah Jones captured the attention of Northern Illinois. UWM and Wis-Green Bay with his electric performances while hoop’n with Caron Butler Elite.

In Romeoville last week Zion Griffin (Hinsdale South) continued to sizzle, he will be at the Hardwood in K.C. Sam Schafer (Y&R), Robert Harvey (Y&R), and Asa McGuire (Y&R) and Maurice Commander had flashes where they looked strong.