Top performers from the Nike Peach Jam are putting on a show in South Carolina
If you are interested in watching the best of the best in boys high school basketball, you may want to get yourself to the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, South Carolina before the 2024 Nike Peach Jam wraps up on Sunday, July 21st.
Elite AAU teams, filled with a Who’s Who list of the nation’s brightest high school stars are on hand and, quite frankly, putting on a show.
Here is a summary of some the top performers who stood out over the first half of the week-long event.
Jerry Easter (Team Final, PA) - Link Academy
Easter is averaging 22.1 points per game in seven contests and has topped 30 points twice and scored 27 in another contest. He is also averaging 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Easter has connected on 11 3-pointers and is shooting 34.4% from beyond the arc while connecting on 83.7% of his free throw attempts.
Cameron Boozer (Nightrydas, FL) - Columbus High
Boozer continues to prove why he is one of the best players in the country. Thus far at the Peach Jam he is averaging a double-double with 22.5 points and 10 rebound per game and has scored more than 20 points in all four of his team’s games.
AJ Dybantsa (Oakland Soldiers, CA) - Utah Prep
Dybantsa have only played three games thus far, but he has topped 20 points in each contest, all victories, and is averaging 22.3 points per game. He’s getting to the free throw line where he has converted 12-of-15 attempts (80%).
Cheikh Yessoufou (Why Not, CA) - St. Joseph High
Yessoufou has scored the basketball at smooth 21.8 points per game clip through four games at the Peach Jam, including 29 in a 95-76 rout of Alabama Fusion on Monday. He also showcased his defensive chops in that contest with six steals and two blocks. He has also hit 5-of-11 three-point attempts (45.5%).
Jasper Johnson (Team Thad, TN) - Link Academy
Jasper has dropped 22, 21 and 20 points in his three Peach Jam contests for a 21 points per game average. He’s also averaging 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists thus far.
Makhi Leach (Ohio Buckets, OH) - Whitmer High
With a tournament-high 23 points in a one-point win over MoKan Select (MO), Leach is averaging 21 points per game in six Peach Jame contests. He’s also averaging 6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Leach has been hitting an outstanding 89.1% from the free throw line.
Brayden Burries (SFG, CA) - Eleanor Roosevelt
Burries has surpassed the 20-point scoring barrier in four of his five Peach Jam contests thus far this week and is averaging a double-double with 20.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. With 52 total rebounds, 10 assists and nine steals he has shown an excellent all-around game. He has shot well from long-range, converting 11-of-29 three-pointers and delivered on 77.4% of his free throw attempts.
Jalen Haralson (Indy Heat, IN) - La Lumiere School
A classic small forward, Haralson dropped 29 points on the Oakland Solidiers, despite a lopsided loss by his squad, in his opening game at the Peach Jam and has averaged 20.3 points through three games. He was clutch in a two-point win over BBE (MO) on Monday when he scored 19 points and had seven rebounds.
Tyran Stokes (Oakland Soldiers, CA) - Notre Dame High School
The Oakland Soldiers have rolled to wins in their first three Peach Jam contests and Stokes has been in the middle of it all, averaging a double-double with 19 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. He has shot 60% from the field and 50% from long range. He has also dished out 4.7 assists per game.
Jason Henlon (Ohio Buckets, OH) - Sandusky High
With so much talent on the floor, every squad needs someone who can run the show and get the ball to the right spots. Henlon is master at this with 3.5 assists per game, including eight in a win over Pro Skills Elite (TX). He is also averaging 13.5 points and 6 rebounds per game.