KSR's Live Period Takeaways from Peach Jam

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim and Jacob Polacheck have been in North Augusta since Thursday, checking out some of the nation’s top talent at Peach Jam and mingling with the college coaches in attendance during the NCAA Live Period.

Assistant coaches Cody Fueger and Jason Hart opened the event late Friday evening, followed by Mark Pope replacing Fueger early Saturday morning. Overall, it’s been a day and change of the Kentucky staff checking out some of the best talent high school basketball has to offer.

KSR’s got some takeaways to share late Saturday evening ahead of championship Sunday in North Augusta.

Mark Pope doesn’t know what rest looks like

Let’s just talk about how the day started, Coach Pope showing up at the crack of dawn on Saturday with a cup of coffee in his hand ready to watch some hoops. Many coaches do this, that part is no surprise. What separates the Kentucky coach, though, is he came directly from two recruiting stops the night before. With the recruiting period opening at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, he started in Atlanta at the Adidas All-American Camp, then flew to Indianapolis for the Puma NXT PRO16 Finals an hour or two later. Pope fit two recruiting stops in a four-hour window, then made another flight back south to North Augusta to open the day at Peach Jam.

It’s insane. Coaches see multiple events in a weekend, almost always two. But three in a window as tight as that one was rather unprecedented. And then he stayed there through the final buzzer at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday — a 12-plus hour day, only to go back and do it again for the Finals on Sunday.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is a GRINDER!!!

Started the live period in Atlanta, flew to Puma Pro16 in Indiana, and now is in the gym at Peach Jam to watch the Boozer twins + Caleb Wilson this morning.

Recruiting never stops/sleeps!!! pic.twitter.com/FopNpem6e0

— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) July 20, 2024

— Jack Pilgrim

There’s No High School Basketball Player Better than AJ Dybantsa

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. AJ Dybantsa is really, really, really good at basketball.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Utah Prep (Hurricane, UT) has drawn some massive crowds at Peach Jam this week and has not disappointed. Playing alongside 2026 No. 2-ranked prospect Tyran Stokes, Dybantsa and the Oakland Soldiers have steamrolled to a 21-1 EYBL record, tied for the best at Peach Jam.

Dybantsa has averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while playing 28.3 minutes per game. Kentucky is firmly in the mix as the five-star wing plans visits for the fall.

–Jacob Polacheck

Caleb Wilson isn’t far behind in top prospect race

We get it, AJ Dybantsa and Cam Boozer are 1A and 1B in the ‘best player in high school’ race, Tyran Stokes included in that conversation if we’re including all classes. Those three are the elite of the elite, as physically dominant as you’ll find at their respective positions. Dybantsa is the long, smooth do-it-all wing while Boozer is the walking double-double, as high a floor as you’ll find in college. And then Stokes is the physical freak who is a downhill bulldozer with terrific feel and an expanding jumper, a rising junior who could produce at a high-major today. Can’t go wrong with any of the three.

But man, Caleb Wilson is pretty darn good too. And he probably deserves to be in that conversation.

He went for 29 points on 14-18 shooting in a blowout win to advance to the Peach Jam Finals, scoring all over the floor as a ridiculously skilled 6-10, 200-pound face-up forward. He finished through traffic, knocked down fadeaway mid-range jumpers and even hit a running floater from just inside the arc to beat the quarter buzzer. His frontcourt counterpart gets all of the love on his Nightrydas squad, but Wilson is absolutely deserving of equal attention.

And Kentucky is in on him, the Wildcats scheduled to get an official visit from the five-star forward this fall.

— Jack Pilgrim

Pope and Coach Cal meet with BBN

Big Blue Nation found Pope amid his nationwide recruiting journey, one sweet young fan wearing a “We’ve got hope with Pope!” shirt stopping the Kentucky head coach and asking for a picture.

Pope got down on his knee to meet with the girl and shared pleasantries with Dad, who was also rocking Kentucky gear.

Kentucky fans have found Mark Pope at Peach Jam pic.twitter.com/bZ2GR9hXBB

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) July 20, 2024

And then a few short hours later, that same young fan found Coach Cal — who still looks bizarre in Arkansas gear — and got a picture.

That coach with that shirt is certainly a sight to see, but props to John Calipari for being a good sport.

Here at Peach Jam, John Calipari poses with a young Kentucky fan in a “We’ve Got Hope With Pope” shirt. What a sight. pic.twitter.com/3NPUJA9jQt

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) July 20, 2024

— Jack Pilgrim

2025 is the Priority, Focus on 2026 Later

If there’s one thing that was made clear this weekend, it’s that Kentucky is locked in on the 2025 class. They can focus on 2026 later.

Mark Pope and Co. spent the majority of the weekend honing in on their 2025 target. Most notably, that includes the likes of AJ Dybantsa, Jasper Johnson, and Tounde Yessoufou.

2026 targets Tyran Stokes and Brandon McCoy Jr. were a couple of the players they watched, but only because they played up with the 17U’s. Otherwise, it was all 2025.

With zero commitments in the 2025 class, this staff is laser-focused on putting together a strong group amidst one of the strongest recruiting classes in recent memory. Next up? Official visits.

— Jacob Polacheck