Peach Jam: Thursday 16 U Standouts

I attended Thursday at Peach Jam and caught the first day of the second live period in July with Division I coaches in attendance, in this article I'll break down my 16 U standouts from Thursday's action.    In a grind it out game, Sallie made some key shots for Team Melo 16 U to lift them past Brad Beal Elite. Sallie hit a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter, his fourth straight made 3-pointer. Making shots in a defensive minded contest provided huge value to his team and Sallie held his own on that end of the court as well. Sallie was named first team all state after scoring 29 PPG as a sophomore at Big Spring High School and should start to see a spike in his recruitment sooner rather than later.     Maybe the tallest player in attendance, Betts was dominant in the paint as Legynds got a key win over Team United in pool play. Betts is one of the best shot blockers in high school basketball and finished with 17 points on 7/11 shooting but most importantly had nine rebounds and eight blocks, completely dominating the paint. You'd think after a handful of blocks the opposition would start looking to avoid Betts but Betts kept getting challenged at the rim and protecting the rim. While Betts still has a ways to go, especially at the foul line where he went 3/10, Betts is one of the most dominant shot blockers in the country and his size gives him offensive upside whenever he's able to catch the ball near the basket.     Owens led the game with 20 points and was efficient as a below the rim finisher with a couple crafty layups in traffic at the rim. Owens was tough to stop at the point of attack and showed impressive body control at the rim avoiding shot blockers. Owens was also incredibly active and the ball found him in the right spots whether it was off a missed shot or loose ball. Owens was named third team Super 5 in Oklahoma as a sophomore and should see an increase in his recruitment following this weekend.     One of the best games I saw all weekend, Pettigrew made the most clutch play I saw down in North Augusta. Down two with only a couple seconds left, Brad Beal Elite gave the ball to Pettigrew and cleared out the way for him to hit a turnaround and-1 jumper as the buzzer sounded. Pettigrew went to the foul line and calmly knocked down the game-winning free throw to cap off a 21 point performance on 9/14 shooting on the main court on NBA TV. One of the top prospects in the Midwest from the class of 2028, Pettigrew has a handful of high major programs after him already.     One of the top national prospects in the 2029 class had Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer courtside to watch him and he didn't disappoint. I've been impressed by the unselfishness of Crawford this week as he hasn't been chucking bad shots and playing within himself while being up an age group. Late in the game Crawford took over with a mid-range bucket, a 3-pointer to tie the game and an assist in the pick and roll when he was blitzed. Crawford finished the thrilling contest with 17 points on 7/13 shooting. As Crawford continues to fill out his frame he has the offensive talent to start living at the foul line later on down the road.

I attended Thursday at Peach Jam and caught the first day of the second live period in July with Division I coaches in attendance, in this article I'll break down my 16 U standouts from Thursday's action.