Jamming out

Good morning! You’re halfway through your week — though Peach Jam just got going.

Let's get to the news.

1. Tuesday’s Peach Jam standouts

The next best thing to being at Peach Jam? Sifting through stats and highlights from the event. Because there’s a lot.

• Brandon McCoy Jr. dropped 38 points (on 17 shots) for Arizona Unity. The team lost, 87-77, to City Rocks, but McCoy looked the part of the No. 6-ranked player in the class.

• Anthony Brown Jr. delivered a 37-point outing in a tight win for Team Durant and surely turned some heads. He sits at No. 101 in 247Sports' rankings, but he'll rise.

• Top-30 recruit Bryson Howard looked like a 5-star recruit on Tuesday. He scored 23 points with seven rebounds and five steals in Pro Skills' dominant 82-62 win.

• Julius Avant did all he could to lead his PSA Cardinals to a 76-73 win. The 6-8 forward led PSA with 28 points (on 17 shots), while drilling a trio of triples.

• Team Thad grabbed a 91-77 win over Brad Beal Elite, thanks to 24 points (8-of-14 attempts) from Kayden Allen, while guard 2027 guard LJ Smith scored 18 (4-6 from deep) in just 16 minutes. Talk about microwave scoring!

• The Oakland Soldiers may be the "must-watch" team at Peach Jam. Their top-five recruits, Tyran Stokes (14 pts, 12 reb) and Jason Crowe Jr (29 points on 18 shots) led the Soldiers to an 86-77 win over Team Final.

• The most dominant win came at the hands of the NY Rens, who dealt an 83-53 beatdown to JL3. Top-75 guard Jasiah Jarvis scored 19 points in 19 minutes (8-of-14 attempts).

• The least well-known player listed here is Desmond Bellot Jr, a 6-3 guard from Braintree, Mass., who scored 20 points to lead his Expressions to a win.

Peach Jam action continues this morning, starting with JL3 facing McCoy and AZ Unity. Then 90 minutes later, flip to NBA TV for lengthy Peach Jam action, beginning with City Rocks against Team Why Not.

2. Can the Big West maintain its upward swing?

Last year was a banner year for the Big West. Two teams finished in the Top 75 at KenPom, and the league was 12th overall, its best finish in the database’s history.

How likely is a repeat season?

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.