Peach Jam: 8 Players who boosted their stock
Peach Jam week is an institution in the basketball recruiting world. For 27 years, it has been the biggest stage for players to showcase their abilities. This year, the week moved to the first week of July. It was also an NCAA-approved live evaluation period for college coaches.
Pre-approved national media, along with NBA scouts and a who’s who of college coaches, lined each court throughout the week. It was a proving ground for players and their reputations. Each time you watch a player, it is a chapter in that player’s story. With each viewing, you take the data accumulated from previous viewings and reset the lens. You gauge each player’s progress with their current production to look at their long-term projection.
Peach Jam is a setting where the cream can rise to the top. The stage is set for the players who come in with reputations to cement their status. It is also a place where unheard of players can come in and create their reputation. Each player’s path is different.
On3’s Jamie Shaw was courtside for Peach Jam, and here are some players who boosted their stock with their play throughout the week.
Four-star PG Jase Richardson
Height/Weight: 6-2/175
High School: Miami (FL) Christopher Columbus High
2024 On3 150: No. 67
Jase Richardson played confidently all week, and in turn, he was able to consistently make plays. This upward trend is not something new, he has trended in this direction since EYBL Session 3 in early May.
Richardson, who is the son of former NBA dunk champion Jason Richardson, shot over 55 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line during the EYBL regular season. The 6-foot-2 guard has been a tough eval over the past couple of years. For one, he has battled through some tough injuries that have kept him out for extended periods of time, and for seconds, he plays high school and travel ball with other ball-dominant guards.
In his final 14 EYBL games (Peach Jam, plus sessions three and four), Richardson averaged 19.3 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He is hitting his stride at the right time, and his confidence is high.
Four-star PG Jaylen Cross (2025)
Height/Weight: 6-3/175
High School: Greensboro (NC) Caldwell Academy
2025 On3 150: No. 99
North Carolina is always a hotbed for D1 basketball talent. The state routinely churns out multiple On3 150 prospects, along with 30 and 40 players who are recruited to play at the D1 level each cycle. It is no surprise when a player from North Carolina bursts onto the scene at any point in the process.
Jaylen Cross is a 6-foot-3 point guard. He is aggressive at the point of attack and touches the paint at will. Cross plays with a great pace, hunting his spots and having no problem getting his teammates involved. The shooting is respectable, and the reads are a plus. Defensively, Cross can guard multiple positions along the perimeter. He moves his feet at the point of attack and has the length and anticipation to get into the passing lanes.
Cross averaged 18.8 points while shooting 54.9 percent from the field during Peach Jam. His confidence is high right now.
Three-star F David Punch
Height/Weight: 6-7/190
High School: Harker Heights (TX) High
2024 On3 150: NR
If this was 1992, David Punch would have the entire Big East fighting for his signature. His archetype of player has seen a lot of success in college basketball, and while it may take coaches these days a little longer to notice, it continues to see a lot of production.
Punch is a 6-foot-7 forward, probably considered undersized with his measurables, but his ability to ‘go get it’ goes unmatched on many floors he steps on. Punch is a good athlete, able to move explosively both vertically and laterally. He can guard multiple positions with his ability to open his hips and slide his feet. He is the type of forward that would be considered a mismatch at the four because of his relentless nature of simply continuing to come at you throughout the entirety of a game.
Punch will need to continue developing his jump shot and his shooting touch, but he gets out in transition with a purpose and can attack the rim in straight lines in the half-court. He averaged 13.3 points on 56.5 percent shooting from the field and 9.0 rebounds during his six games during Peach Jam week.
Four-star PF Morez Johnson (Illinois)
Height/Weight: 6-8/205
High School: Harvey (IL) Thornton Township
2024 On3 150: No. 54
Tough guys will always catch my eye. Morez Johnson proved with Meanstreets to be the ultimate tough guy throughout Peach Jam Week. The 6-foot-8 Illinois commitment finished with five double-doubles in his six games played, including a 26-point and 19-rebound performance against UPlay Canada.
There is not much physical projection with Johnson, as he is already a big and strong prospect. His offensive game is best at 10 feet and in, and he is a solid athlete. However, one thing that measurables cannot measure is ‘want-to,’ a trait that Johnson has in spades. When playing 10 feet and in, he is relentless in chasing buckets. On the boards, he is in continuous pursuit of the ball, in and out of his area.
Johnson plays within himself, understanding what his strengths are and leaning into those strengths. He averaged 17.0 points and 13.2 rebounds while shooting 60.3 percent from the field, leading his team to Peach Jam’s Elite Eight.
Four-star F Jackson McAndrew
Height/Weight: 6-9/180
High School: Plymouth (MN) Wayzata High
2024 On3 150: No. 47
On3 is already ahead of the industry with 6-foot-9 Jackson McAndrew, but after his showing in the Peach Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.) portion of Peach Jam, he might be in line for another bump.
McAndrew’s superpower is his shooting. At a listed 6-foot-9, he is in the conversation as the top movement shooter in the 2024 class. McAndrew plays with excellent balance, and he has a natural shooting stroke with deep range and confidence. He will need to continue adding strength, as his frame is still physically underdeveloped, but his shooting will translate as he moves to higher levels.
Through 23 games on Nike’s EYCL Circuit, McAndrew averaged 17.0 points and shot 41.3 percent from three on 201 attempts. He is also a capable straight-line driver on sloppy closeouts, finishing above the rim, and is tougher on the boards (6.1 rebounds per game) than one may think.
Four-star SF Drake Powell (UNC)
Height/Weight: 6-6/180
High School: Pittsboro (NC) Northwood High
2024 On3 150: No. 40
Drake Powell is someone that I have watched since he was in middle school. And from his first high school game, one thing that has always followed Powell was winning. He has that special ‘it-factor’ that makes those around him better.
Powell is a competitive perimeter defender. He is not the type to accumulate the counting stats, blocks, and steals, but the type of defender that simply makes life difficult for any person placed in front of him. He has a physical frame with length and explosive straight-line pop. The questions about his game to this point have come on the offensive side. Powell shot 50 percent from three and 87.5 percent from the free throw line during five Peach Jam games. And while his Team CP3 team did not do as well as expected, dropping nine of their final 14 games dating back to the regular season, there is no denying the stamp Powell put on his team.
Powell finished with double-figure rebounds in multiple games during Peach Jam, including a game against the New Heights Lightning, where he had 18 points and 18 rebounds with four assists. The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 16.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his five Peach Jam games.
Three-star C Emmanuel Stephen
Height/Weight: 7-0/215
High School: Glendale (AZ) Dream City Christian
2024 On3 150: NR
There is something to be said about a brute force of nature who protects the paint and keeps errant shots away from the rim. Emmanuel Stephen is a ferocious rebounder and has excellent natural timing around the basket.
Stephen’s offense is relegated around the basket, providing vertical spacing in the dunker spot, as the roll man in the pick-and-roll, and creating his own offense on the offensive glass. He is also a natural rim protector. He has a strong frame with great length, but a lot of his rim protection comes from his high motor and the relentless nature he pursues the ball. Stephen finished with ten or more rebounds in three of his five games, and he finished with four or more blocked shots, also in three of his five P.I.T. games.
Through 22 games on Nike’s EYBL Circuit this season, Stephen averaged 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while shooting 59.8 percent from the field. What he is best at translates.
Four-star PF Chris Cenac (2025)
Height/Weight: 6-9/200
High School: New Orleans (LA) Isidore Newman
2025 On3 150: No. 68
Watching Chris Cenac gives me flashbacks of when I first saw Noah Clowney early in his high school career. The pair have similar frames, skinny but lengthy and projectable. What was unique about Clowney was his mobility at his size and the toughness he played with in the paint.
Through his eight P.I.T. games, Cenac averaged 7.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. His LivOn program called him up to play with the 17U team after spending Nike’s EYBL regular season averaging a double-double with the 16U group. Cenac is by no means a finished product, he needs to continue adding weight and establishing his offensive identity (he shot 42.2 percent from the field during P.I.T.) however, at this stage in his development, there are a lot of positive indicators to project moving forward.