Top performers from the Nike Peach Jam are putting on a show in South Carolina

Elite high school talents from across the nation are going head-to-head in one of the summer’s premier basketball showcases
Team WhyvNot's Cheikh Yessoufou (24) moves towards the basket during the Team Takeover and WhyNot game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center on July 17, 2024. Team Takeover won 64-62.
Team WhyvNot's Cheikh Yessoufou (24) moves towards the basket during the Team Takeover and WhyNot game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center on July 17, 2024. Team Takeover won 64-62. / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Jerry Easter
Jerry Easter (2) stands on the court during an AAU basketball game July 6, 2023, at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C. Louisville assistant coach Nolan Smith and Kentucky head coach John Calipari were in the gym to watch Easter help lead All Ohio to a 76-63 win against Team WhyNot. / Brooks Holton / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Cameron Boozer
July 17, 2024; North Augusta, S.C., USA; Nightrydas Elite's Cameron Boozer (12) moves towards the basket as Team Herro's Xzavion Mitchell (2) defends during the Nightrydas Elite and Team Herro game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. Nightrydas Elite won 88-58. / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Brayden Burries
Strive for Greatness Brayden Burries (1) and Mokan Elite Xavier Wilson (35) battle for the ball during the Strive for Greatness and Mokan Elite basketball game at the fourth day of the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. Strive for Greatness defeated Mokan 63-54. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Jalen Haralson
La Lumiere junior Jalen Haralson (32) defends teammate Ace Bucker during an open practice Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, at the La Porte Civic Auditorium. / Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA

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.

Tyran Stokes
Tyran Stokes (4) look to the sidelines during the Vegas Elite and Boo Williams game at third day of the Peach Jam in Riverview Park Activities Center. Vegas Elite defeated Boo Williams 71-52. / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.


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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.