Peach Jam: Championship Sunday Notebook
Sunday was championship day at the Peach Jam! It was an instant classic in both the 16U and 17U championship games. Read about it in our Peach Jam: Championship Sunday Notebook! MoKan Wins Peach Jam Crown in Thriller over…
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Continue ReadingSunday was championship day at the Peach Jam! It was an instant classic in both the 16U and 17U championship games. Read about it in our Peach Jam: Championship Sunday Notebook!
MoKan Wins Peach Jam Crown in Thriller over Team WhyNot
This one had it all! Star power? Check. National TV audience? Check. Nail biting overtime contest? Yup! Everything on the line? Absolutely! That is exactly what happened as MoKan took on Team WhyNot in the final. MoKan led most of the way, but Jalen Green as he did all week answered back in the second half with an epic performance. Both teams scored in the last 10 seconds to send the game to OT. MoKan kept feeding their star N’Faly Dante the ball and it ultimately paid off with a Peach Jam title. Team WhyNot got one final look, but it didn’t go down as MoKan took home the championship with an 85-84 win.
It all starts with N’Faly Dante for MoKan. The most dominant big man in the Nike EYBL was a complete force in the championship game. Early on they threw lob after lob to him. Once WhyNot took that away he started to go to work with his much improved post moves. Dante was a beast on the glass gobbling up rebounds at an insane rate. Finished with 22 points and 18 rebounds. He is college ready right now and with a possible reclassification to 2019 in play he could be a factor this season at the next level. His point guard Kennedy Chandler was maybe the most impressive lead guard I saw all week. Slick ball handler with a feel for finding his teammates while still scoring at a high rate. Gets to the rim with ease and is a solid shooter. Went for 20 points. Chaminade (MO) shooting guard Luke Kasubke finished off a strong week with another quality outing. Got going early with his three point shooting. Finished with four triples for 14 points. Mike Peake and Coban Porter also made several key plays down the stretch. These glue guys made a huge impact all week long! Dajuan Harris is an excellent utility guy that does a little bit of everything. Mehlville (MO) duo Dylan Branson and Davion Bradford each made intangible plays.
For Team WhyNot it was another slow start for their star and top 5 2020 Jalen Green, but he took over again in the second half. It was the best he shot the ball from three all weekend. Drilled an array of feathery jumpers. When he needed a bucket to send the game to OT he put his head down and went to the rim. So athletic and such a naturally talented scorer. Would just like to see the killer mentality all game and not in the second half. He had 27 points. Nimari Burnett was once again a well-rounded performer. The skilled combo guard connected on a couple threes, made regular trips to the foul line, and got on the glass. Also proved to be a high level passer. Finished with 20 points. Devin Askew is an elite 2021 point guard that has vision and is a big time pull up jump shooter. Pesky defender that came up with a few steals. He had 13 points. Addison Patterson had his moments especially in the first half as the Canadian was aggressive getting to the cup in the half court and transition.
Team Griffin Takes 16U Crown
The 16U championship was another instant classic. Team Griffin’s KJ Adams sprint down the lane for a score initially sent it to OT. Then he went one on one off the bounce to win the championship game 75-73 in double OT. This team has four high-major and top 50 2021 prospects. Adams led the way with 23 points (9-14 FG), 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Can’t forget the key plays late by Team Griffin point guard Trey Alexander to put Adams in position to do his magic. Team Takeover was pushed by Jakai Robinson who had 28 points (10-17 FG) in the championship.