The Nike EYBL Peach Jam.
One of the premier, if not the best, summer events for high school basketball prospects. It has previously catapulted a lot of players up in the rankings, while some have fallen. A lot of players can really make their mark during a tournament of this caliber and this year was not any different.
There was plenty of ranked talent at this year’s Peach Jam, including the top two prospects by Rivals, 247 Sports and ESPN in the class of 2022.
A lot of players outplayed their rankings and many made a case for them. After looking through the box scores, here’s some things that I found.
Shot making was at a premium.
The Peach Jam has been labeled as one of the toughest events to play at for high school prospects. There were a total of 84 players ranked inside ESPN’s 2022 and 2023 rankings that played at least two games. So there was a lot of competition on the floor in just about every matchup. Meaning, scoring was at a premium, and out of all of the talent at the Peach Jam, Shaedon Sharpe scored more than any other player, while playing fewer games than the next closest prospect.
Sharpe finished his 12-day stay in North Augusta scoring 20 points in his last four games, while accounting for at least 23 percent of UPlay Canada’s scoring in his last six. In all, he finished scoring a total of 271 points, good for 22.5 points per game on 48 percent shooting to go along with 5.8 rebounds.
He scored 25 points six times, two more than any other player.
Nick Smith Jr was right there with him. One would argue Sharpe and Smith Jr as 1A-1B, in any order, as the best scorers at the event and the stats back it up. Smith Jr poured in 31 points in the championship game becoming the first player since Michael Porter Jr with a 30-ball in the finale.
Smith Jr and Emoni Bates were also the only players to score at least 30 points without any turnovers.
But that’s not it on Smith Jr. 13 different players scored 30 points at the event but Smith Jr was the only one to do it and finish with less than 15 shots. He finished with exactly 30 points against Albany City Rocks and finished 11-of-14 (79%) from the field, 4-of-5 (80%) from three and had zero turnovers. His field goal percentage was the highest of any player in a 30-point game during the event.
Fletcher Loyer, Terrance Arceneaux, Keyon Menifield were all also underappreciated scorers especially on the rankings. Loyer scored 20 points seven times during the event and shot 50 percent in all but one where he shot 43 percent. His stats show efficiency and he also took care of the ball. He produced four games of 20 points and no turnovers, more than any other player during the tournament.
Menifield Jr scored at a rate better than any other player. He finished with 230 total points in 10 games, good for an average of 23 PPG, the best of any player at the Peach Jam. He recorded 20 points in nine out of 10 games, more than any other player and scored 40 percent of his teams points in four games, tied with Emoni Bates for the most by any player.
Versatility was key.
Arceneaux was the first player to drop a 30-bomb at the Peach Jam and he did it shooting 61 percent from the field. But it was more than scoring. He recorded three 20-point, 10-rebound games, tied for the most by any player.
But the one to steal the show was easily KyeRon Lindsay of Pro Skills. Three players recorded at least 200 points and 100 rebounds. One is ranked either 1 or 2 by all recruiting services, the other is a top-60 ranked player by all recruiting services and the last one was Lindsay.
Lindsay finished the tournament with five double-doubles, the third most games behind top-10 players Jalen Duren and Brandon Miller. He also recorded a block in every game but one, and scored in double-figures each time he touched the floor.
Guard play was essential to winning.
I also took the data and made some super easy formulas to show players impact on the game. Basketball Reference has a lot of easy formulas that I used and I also tried to get as close as possible to seeing who combined to score and assist on the most points in a single game. Without much tracking data, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact figure but I got as close as possible.
With the fewest points scored on an assist being two, it was easy for me to use math to find an approximation of how well a player influenced a game.
For starters, DeAngilo Smith and Bryce Griggs were the only players to record multiple games of 10 assist. Smith led all players with 68 total assist followed by Jaden Bradley with 67 and Jaden Clayton with 66.
Smith was also the only player to record a triple-double, that could have been a quadruple-double had he had time to grab three more steals. His stat line finished like this in that game: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assist and seven steals.
Griggs was the only player with at least 200 points and 50 assist. He approximately scored or assisted on 50 points vs MoKan Elite, the most in a single game by any player.
Zakai Zeigler was 1 of 4 players to record a 20-point, 10-assist game, but was the only one to do it without turnovers. Basketball Reference has a game score formula that gives a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game. The scale is similar to that of points scored, (40 is an outstanding performance, 10 is an average performance, etc.) and that same game Zeigler recorded 20-10 without turnovers, was rated the highest in that formula with a score of 29.4.
And to the surprise of no one…Jaden Bradley had the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any player (6.0). He had at least five assist in nine games, tied for the most by any player, while being 1 of 2 prospects with at least 190 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assist joining Cason Wallace.
Shooter alert!
Sometimes stats do not tell you the whole story but with shooting, it definitely will. Brendan Hausen and Denver Anglin each knocked down 38 three pointers, the most of any player. And of all players to shoot threes at least 30 times, Anglin had the best three point percentage of them all, knocking down 49-percent of his attempts.
| Denver Anglin (NY Rens) | 49% |
| Zakai Zeigler (NH Lightning) | 44% |
| Jackson Shelstad (Oakland Soldiers) | 44% |
| Rodney Rice (Team Durant) | 42% |
| Jaylen Martin (Nightrydas) | 41% |
| Brendan Hausen (Team Griffin) | 41% |
Hausen had five games where he made at least five three pointers, the most by any player and he shot better than 45 percent in three of those games. Anglin hit seven three in one game, tied for the most by any player during the tournament.
In all….
from the 17U division at the Peach Jam, these were the players that made the biggest impact statistically.
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