KSR's Monday takeaways from Nike Peach Jam

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KSR has arrived in North Augusta, SC for the 2022 Nike Peach Jam. For me personally, this is my first time making the trip to the most prestigious grassroots event of the summer. As a side note, I will reluctantly admit that I had zero idea the city of North Augusta is literally north of Augusta. Our hotel is within walking distance of the Augusta National golf course where The Masters is played every year. If anyone wants to donate to the “Zack Geoghegan and Jack Pilgrim plays nine holes at Augusta National” fund, hit me up on Twitter.

Speaking of Mr. Pilgrim, he’s arriving later today and plans to stay throughout the remainder of the event, which concludes on Sunday. I’ll be here until Thursday morning, so expect plenty of Peach Jam content over the coming days from KSR. Professional coaches and scouts are allowed in the building starting today while the dead period for college coaches ends at noon on Wednesday. It’s gonna be a busy week.

The event actually began on Sunday, but since I didn’t show up until yesterday, we’ll have to skip what happened in the opening act. However, the on-court performances from Monday more than made up for anything we missed the day prior. The schedule is set up so that the majority of the star-studded games take place later in the day, so it actually worked out that I showed up at the gym right as the fun was starting.

Justin Edwards vs. Robert Dillingham

Team Final vs. Team CP3 might have been the most talent-ladened game of the entire day. The likes of five-star GG Jackson, four-star Aden Holloway, and ’24 four-star Ahmad Nowell were a few of the headliners, but for my purposes, I was hyper-focused on Kentucky commit Robert Dillingham and potential Kentucky commit Justin Edwards — two of the ’23 class’ top overall prospects.

In this instance, Edwards and Team Final got the better of Dillingham and Team CP3.

Edwards finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals while shooting 7-16 from the floor, including a 2-6 mark from distance. He hauled in all 13 of his boards in the second half after a rough shooting performance in the first half. There wasn’t a possession where he wasn’t flinging his lanky arms all over the floor. Even when Edwards wasn’t directly forcing a turnover, he found was to help make it happen for his team’s defense. You could clearly see the NBA potential. For my money, it was the best game I’ve ever seen him play of the dozen or so I’ve been in attendance for.

If you haven’t heard by now, Edwards intends to make his college decision the Monday after Peach Jam on July 25. He’s down to either Kentucky or Tennessee, with the ‘Cats trending down the final stretch.

As for Dillingham, it was a forgetful night for the future Wildcat. The 6-foot-2 guard posted 10 points, three rebounds, four assists, and four turnovers on a 3-12 shooting clip (1-8 from deep). This was an example of the downside of what Dillingham can bring to the floor. When his shot is falling, he’s arguably the most exciting and dangerous player in the country. But when it isn’t, his impact feels limited. Granted, his on-ball defense is quite impressive when locked in — fueled by quick, shifting feet. However, Dillingham was rarely effective on the other end of the floor on Monday and it cost his team in the end.

Here’s the thing about Dillingham though. He could come out later today and drill seven triples. He’s an experience, that’s for sure.

DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw fall to Brad Beal Elite

Five-star guard DJ Wagner struggled to shoot the ball for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Spain earlier this month, and his efficiency hasn’t improved much at Peach Jam. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists on a shooting clip of 6-17 (0-3 from deep). Wagner was forcing the issue in the second half with his NJ Scholars team in a hole. While he did get to the rim for some impressive finishes, he had just as many possessions where he went to penetrate the paint and was met by three Brad Beal Elite defenders.

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The NJ Scholars trailed for the majority of the game and nearly came back in the closing minutes to sneak away with a win, but the team as a whole couldn’t hit the necessary shots down the stretch. Outside of five-star Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako, there just isn’t enough shooting on the Scholars around Wagner to help maximize his talents.

Playing alongside Wagner, five-star center Aaron Bradshaw helped make up for the loss in production for the Scholars. The 7-footer dropped 14 points and six rebounds on 7-9 shooting. There isn’t much else I can say about Bradshaw at this point after watching him play over 10 times. He’s simply a very steady center with an expanding range. As for his recruitment… that’s an entirely different story.

KJ Evans, Team Durant win late-night thriller

Easily the most exciting game of the day, Team Durant and JL3 Elite went back and forth for essentially the entire game. Both sides were trading multiple leads in the final 60 seconds with Team Durant’s Amani Hansberry hitting a game-winning layup with roughly two seconds left on the clock to seal the 67-66 victory.

I had my eyes on KJ Evans in this one, who is a Kentucky target but appears to be trending toward Arizona. It was a less-than-ideal start to the AAU season for Evans this year, but he’s done a respectable job of bouncing back the last several weeks. The 6-foot-9 point forward only scored eight points on 4-11 shooting but added 11 rebounds, two assists, a block, and three steals. A couple of his makes were tough finishes at the basket with the game still hanging in the balance. There’s still a long way to go in his development, but you can see the vision in spurts of his play.

Tuesday’s Peach Jam schedule for Kentucky fans

5:00 PM | Oakland Soldiers vs. Team CP3 (Dillingham)
5:00 PM | Team Griffin (Johnson) vs. NJ Scholars (Bradshaw, Wagner)
5:00 PM | Team Melo/Brad Beal Elite winner vs. Houston Hoops (Ali)
6:30 PM | All Ohio vs. Mokan Elite (Bol)
6:30 PM | Team Durant (Evans) vs. Team WhyNot
6:30 PM | JL3 Elite vs. NY Rens (Cunningham)
8:00 PM | Team Final (Edwards) vs. NH Lightning (Cadeau, Pettiford)