When the Peach Jam tips off July 6-10 in North Augusta, S.C., the Northeast will be well represented.
The New York-based PSA Cardinals and The Rens are both among the 20 teams with automatic bids. So are the NJ Playaz and Philadelphia-based Team Final. The Albany City Rocks and New England’s BABC and Expressions Elite also qualified.
“As a program we have made Peach Jam in both the 16U and 17U division since we have been part of the Nike family,” said PSA Cardinals director Terrance “Munch” Williams, whose team finished 14-2 through the first four stops on the EYBL circuit. “This season has allowed us to continue that consistency within our program. At this point in time, our goal in both divisions is to win the championship of the Peach Jam.”
A slew of high-major Division 1 coaches from places like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Syracuse, Louisville, St. John’s and many others are expected to watch the Cardinals at Peach Jam.
They feature 2017 stars Mohamed Bamba, Brandon Randolph, Quade Green and Deng Gak and 2019 point guard Cole Anthony, the son of former NBA point guard Greg Anthony.
After suffering a sprained ankle earlier this month, the 7-foot Bamba, a Harlem native, missed the final nine games of the EYBL regular season. He still managed to average an EYBL-best 13.9 rebounds to go with 12.7 points and 3.1 blocks per game.
The 6-5 Randolph, a Yonkers, N.Y., native who plays with Bamba at the Westtown (Pa.) School, recently added offers from Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Villanova, Arizona and Notre Dame.
The 5-11 Green, out of Philadelphia (PA) Neumann-Goretti, has added offers from Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Louisville while being pursued by Syracuse and others.
The 7-foot Gak out of Blair (N.J.) Academy picked up a Duke offer last month and has since added Oklahoma, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M.
As for the NY Rens (8-8), they are led by 2017 stars Hamidou Diallo, who holds offers from Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse and UConn among others. The 6-6 Diallo averaged 18.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game despite making just shooting 8-of-48 from deep (16.7 percent) from deep.
The Rens also feature 2017 standouts Jordan Tucker, Jordan Nwora and Jose Alvarado.
The Playaz (11-5) — who won the Peach Jam title in 2014 behind current Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe — needed to win several games at the final EYBL stop near Atlanta and did so. The team founded by Jimmy Salmon features numerous New Jersey high school prep standouts, including Daniel Mading, R.J. Cole, Jamir Harris, Marcus McClary, Justin Minaya and Leondre Washington.
Team Final (10-6) features 2017 standouts Justyn Mutts, Lonnie Walker, Daron Russell, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (Villlanova) and 2018 Cam Reddish.
Expressions Elite features Nick Richards, the 6-11 2017 big man from St. Patrick’s who is being courted by Kentucky and Syracuse, among others. Richards averaged 11.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for Expressions Elite.
FULL LIST OF PEACH JAM TEAMS
**Four teams will still be added as wildcards
Team CP3
Team Takeover
California Supreme
Albany City Rocks
Meanstreets
Howard Pulley
E1T1
CIA Bounce
Nike South Beach
Pro Skills
PSA Cardinals
Expressions
BABC
The Rens
Phoenix Phamily
Team Penny
Mokan Elite
NJ Playaz
St. Louis Eagles
Team Final
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NWhen the Peach Jam tips off July 6-10 in North Augusta, S.C., the Northeast will be well represented.
