3SSB Championships + Nike EYBL Peach Jam – Indiana Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Indiana moved headquarters to South Carolina for the last two weeks. We hit the round on Monday, July 8th and just returned back to the Hoosier state on Monday, July 22nd. After two weeks on the road, 12 days spent in the gym, 8-12 hours of basketball a day, and over 80 games covered it is time to look back and recap what we saw. Here are some of the big picture thoughts and takeaways, with a strictly Indiana focus, from the past two weeks covering the 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships and Nike EYBL Peach Jam.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jeffersonville Trio Became Favorites Among College Coaches</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those of us in Indiana already knew how good these three were. Jeffersonville was the most impressive team in the state at the Charlie Hughes Showcase during the June scholastic live period. That is where [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1373104' first='P.J.' last='Douglas'] both earned their first Division I offers while [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] went from a low and mid-major prospect to being watched closely by high-major programs. However, their trip to Rock Hill, South Carolina for the 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships served as a national coming out party for the trio. Now, the 6'8" Singleton is looked at as a Top 150 prospect in the country with power conference offers from Butler, Clemson, DePaul, Louisville, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Purdue, Wake Forest, and Xavier. Cooper added offers from Florida International and Eastern Michigan while in Rock Hill while Douglas had Canisius and Wright State join Bellarmine in his recruitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='2400000' first='Indiana' last='Elite Team Indiana'] 17u Impressed on the Big Stage</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a dominant run through the Adidas Gold Circuit in the spring, both Team Tradition and Team Indiana qualified for the 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships. Team Indiana certainly proved they belonged finishing their week in Rock Hill with an impressive 6-1 record. Along the way, both [player_tooltip player_id='1297069' first='Justin' last='Kirby'] (Fishers H.S. 2025) and [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025) broke out as stock-risers at the event adding to their respective lists of Division I offers. Kirby, who not only displayed his elite athleticism, but also relentlessly attacking the basket and had multiple double-doubles with rebounds from the guard position, added offers from Ball State, Campbell, Miami (OH), Ohio, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Vermont. Meanwhile, Snively added two scholarship offers from Canisius and Eastern Illinois. [player_tooltip player_id='1297097' first='Nathan' last='Baker'] (Fishers H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1907680' first='Cole' last='Henry'] (South Ripley H.S. 2025), and [player_tooltip player_id='2056300' first='Trey' last='Yoder'] (Woodlan H.S. 2025) all had really strong weeks for Team Indiana as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='2076927' first='Indy' last='Heat'] 16u Went Toe-to-Toe With the Best</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the 16u level, teams have to qualify for the honor of playing at the annual Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina. [program_tooltip program_id='2076927' first='Indy' last='Heat'] 16u was one of 22 teams in their age group to qualify. They finished 1-3, but lost on the final possession to Arizona Unity and had a respectable showing against the eventual 16u champions Brad Beal Elite in pool play. Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson led the way for them, but a pair of prospects from the Hoosier state really shined as well. 6'7" wing [player_tooltip player_id='1552625' first='E.J.' last='Hazelett'] III (Franklin Central H.S. 2026) and [player_tooltip player_id='1534261' first='Justin' last='Curry II'] (Noblesville H.S. 2026) made some waves among national media covering the event and should continue to see their recruitment take off heading into their respective junior seasons. Curry averaged 15.0 points per game while shooting 15-35 from three-point range in four games while Hazelett finished the week averaging 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 8-19 from deep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1296984' first='Braylon' last='Mullins'] Cut List to 10</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1296984' first='Braylon' last='Mullins'] was already a highly sought after prospect and borderline Top 100 player in the country heading into this spring. However, instead of deciding from his list in suitors in April, the four-star shooting guard decided to play out the grassroots season and see what would happen. Very quickly things blew up for Mullins. He led Indiana Elite to an undefeated spring on the 3SSB Circuit and ultimately helped get them to the 17u championship game at the Palmetto Road Championships. Along the way, every blue blood program in the country offered him a scholarship with the likes of Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope, Michigan head coach Dusty May, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, and two-time defending national champion UConn head coach Dan Hurley following him closely during the live period in Rock Hill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Monday, Mullins announced a Top 10 list of Alabama, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee, UConn. He currently has official visits scheduled through August, September, and October to seven of the 10 with Duke and Kansas still in the works.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Breakout Week for [player_tooltip player_id='2267046' first='Jason' last='Gardner Jr.']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing a key role for the Class 4A state champions as a freshman immediately places you among the best prospects in the state for your class. However, there was another freshman point guard that started for the Fishers Tigers over Gardner Jr. After showcasing what he could do in a complimentary role during the high school season, Gardner Jr. has proven through the spring and summer what he can do as the primary offensive option for Indiana Elite 15u. The super dynamic, left-handed point guard was a dominant force among his age group at the 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships. After multiple big scoring outputs he earned his first Division I offer from Cincinnati and was a major talking point among national media outlets who took interest in him as a name to include in initial Class of 2027 National Rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other Notes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1385611' first='Kasen' last='Daeger'] (Silver Creek H.S. 2026) had an outstanding week for Wildcat Select 16u in Rock Hill. After averaging 16 points per game and shooting 20-41 from three-point range in seven games, Daeger earned his first two Division I scholarship offers from Eastern Illinois and Morehead State. Once again, he has proven himself as one of the best catch-and-shoot threats in the state of Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2267044' first='Kaleb' last='Elkins'] (Warren Central H.S. 2027) only got one play-in game in with Bates Fundamentals 15u at the Peach Jam, but he finished with 22 points in that contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both [player_tooltip player_id='1560952' first='Evan' last='Harrell'] (Carmel H.S. 2026) and [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] (Crown Point H.S. 2026) earned offers from IU-Indianapolis after some strong play with Indiana Elite 16u in Rock Hill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2195051' first='Jaylan' last='Mitchell'] (Evansville Reitz H.S. 2027) was a big part of Brad Beal Elite 16u winning their age group at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam. Despite playing up a year, Mitchell finished the week averaging 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game proving himself as one of the top Class of 2027 prospects nationally.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297042' first='Jack' last='Smiley'] (Valparaiso H.S. 2025) averaged 8.2 points per game for [program_tooltip program_id='2076927' first='Indy' last='Heat'] 17u at the Peach Jam while shooting 8-21 (38.1%) in five games. He added an offer from Utah Tech early in the week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560945' first='Dezhon' last='Hall'] (Pike H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2471408' first='Sherman' last='Moss-Wright'] (Ben Davis H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561449' first='Steven' last='Reynolds III'] (South Bend Washington H.S. 2026), and [player_tooltip player_id='1561030' first='R'mani' last='Wells'] (Cathedral H.S. 2026) all played very well for Phenom United 16u at the 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->