To Peach his own

With minimal sports action at this time of year, how have you passed the time? Researching Pink Sauce? Hyping yourself up for “Phase 5” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Still pretending to care about Formula 1?

Whatever you’re doing, rest assured that we have you covered for all happenings in the college basketball world. Peach Jam wrapped up yesterday, so that’s where we’ll start.

STARTING FIVE

1. MoKan Elite wins Peach Jam

Team Takeover’s break is over. After ranking outside the Circuit’s Top 25, the squad went 4-1 in pool play and rode its stingy defense to the title game. However, MoKan Elite’s length proved to be too much for Takeover, as it fell, 53-52.

MoKan/Link Academy coach Rodney Perry stifled his opponent with a 1-3-1 zone, accentuated by highly-touted frontcourt players Omaha Biliew (2023) and John Bol (2024). Biliew (who plays at Link during the school year) also displayed his burgeoning offensive game, attacking from the perimeter off of just one to two dribbles.

Big man Kayden Fish (2023) led the team in scoring with 13 points in just 12 minutes, further underlining the robustness of MoKan’s frontline.

Nevertheless, it was point guard Trey Green who spurred the offense to a championship. The 5-10 dynamo (also a Link product) used his incredible quickness to slice up Team Takeover. He finished his day with 6 assists, feeding dimes like they were spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. But his biggest moment came with just over a minute left. With Takeover’s Jeremiah Quigley (2023) guarding him, he shook him with an in-and-out to crossover, then promptly splashed a long 2:

The shot put MoKan up 7 and felt like a dagger.

Team Takeover did its best to answer; back-to-back triples, one from Darren Harris (2024) and one from DeShawn Harris-Smith (2023) cut the lead to 1 with 5.1 seconds to go. However, MoKan was essentially able to run out the clock and win the game.

It’s fitting, though, that Harris-Smith (Takeover’s lone 2023 player ranked in 247Sports’s Top 150) ended his week with a 15-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist performance. The stat-sheet stuffer will be one of the biggest risers of the week.

Where will they end up?

• As of now, Omaha Biliew is considered an Iowa State lean. Three 247Sports analysts have logged a crystal ball for the Cyclones.

• A favorite has yet to emerge for John Bol, but he has scheduled a visit to Michigan; Kansas, Kentucky and USC are also in the mix.

• Trey Green has visits set up with Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and Xavier.

• Indiana has to feel good about its chances with DeShawn Harris-Smith. Mike Woodson and his entire staff watched DHS closely for most of the week.

2. Tobacco Road Two-Step

Peach Jam produced a number of stand-outs, and two of the biggest will captain Tobacco Road backcourts a year from now.

Duke commit Jared McCain (2023) and Team Why Not didn’t qualify for the eight-team playoff, but he still logged a terrific week. The 6-2 combo guard exhibited an uncanny knack for scoring the basketball, averaging 25 points on 46/38/92 splits.

McCain boasts a dense build, capable of absorbing contact as he drives to the basket. But his long-range shooting distinguishes him from other players in his class. As the video above shows, McCain confidently buries 3s off the dribble and off the catch (both in spot-up situations and off of screens).

It’s easy to envision him in a Trevor Keels-like role (secondary playmaking, slashing, shooting). But per my assessment, he has displayed more shot creation upside than Keels did at a similar stage.

McCain’s counterpart, North Carolina commit Simeon Wilcher (2023), also turned heads in North Augusta. After injuring his ankle earlier this spring, the 6-4 guard showed zero signs of rust, leading City Rocks to a 5-0 record in pool play before falling in the first round of the playoff to Houston Hoops.

Wilcher is an absolute monster on the dribble drive, optimizing his burst, length, and craftiness to finish at the rim. While he isn’t overly explosive vertically, he still has enough bounce to catch a couple of bodies.

If UNC has the season it anticipates, RJ Davis could leave early for the NBA Draft. That would open the door for a dynamic starting backcourt of Wilcher and incoming freshman Seth Trimble for 2023-24.

See, it isn’t all so bleak, Tar Heel fans.

3. “Self” imposed ban?

Sunday afternoon, Matt Norlander of CBSSports reported Kansas’ internal decision to keep coach Bill Self and assistant coach Kurt Townsend “off the road for the live recruiting period in June and July.” To put it in layman’s terms, the two coaches couldn’t scout prospects in person at any of this summer’s AAU events.

From the article:

So what does this all mean?

In the short term, probably nothing. The reigning champs claimed the sport’s biggest achievement with just one McDonald’s All-American on the roster (David McCormack), and do have three of them (Gradey Dick, MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh) coming in this season. Because few coaches develop players better than Self, the Jayhawks don’t exactly need top-10 recruits. Kansas will continue to reel in four-star kids with the occasional five-star mixed in, get its pick of the transfer crop, and keep rolling — with or without Self doing an in-person evaluation.

4. Grand Larsson-y

Over the past few weeks, Arizona’s Pelle Larsson has generated buzz as a 2022-23 breakout candidate. And for good reason. The NBA swooped up three of the Wildcats’ top five scorers — Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry, and Christian Koloko — leaving a production void, especially on the perimeter.

We’ve covered the importance of newcomers Cedric Henderson, Courtney Ramey, and Kylan Boswell. But what if the key to Arizona’s season is the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year it already had on its roster?

The 6-5 Swede swings between both guard positions, exhibiting skill as both a scorer and a facilitator. Notably, Larsson is a catch-and-shoot assassin (40 percent from beyond the arc for his career) who also effortlessly gets into the paint. In 2022, he took 41.1 percent of his shots at the rim, finishing at a 67.6 percent clip, per Hoop Math.

But for all of his offensive potential, Larsson brings just as much on the defensive end. He has the size to guard multiple positions and he flashed moments of brilliance as an on-ball defender last season. Below, he clamps Colorado’s Jabari Walker:

Don’t be surprised if Larsson makes an All-Pac-12 team this year.

5. O Come, O Come, Enmanuel

Incoming freshman Hansel Enmanuel, a one-armed wing and potential NIL benefactor, committed to first-year coach Corey Gipson and Northwestern State over the weekend.

Gipson was an assistant on the retired Mike McConathy’s staff for the past seven seasons. If he keeps some key tenets of his predecessor’s system, it’ll be easy to see why Enmanuel chose the Demons. Under McConathy, Northwestern State relied heavily on its transition game, consistently finishing top-20 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric. That’s where Gipson will optimize the rookie — in case it wasn’t obvious from the above clip, Enmanuel is a blur in the open court and an explosive leaper.

Secondly, McConathy went deep into his rotation (Northwestern State ranked 6th in bench minutes, per KenPom last season). If Gipson deploys that same strategy, playing time will be available for Enmanuel early on.

His presence alone likely won’t be enough to pull the Demons out of the bottom tier of the Southland, but Enmanuel’s journey will still be fascinating to follow.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

A tweet about tweets

Ah, who doesn’t love a good impression?

Oh…we’re talking about social media impressions. Well, those are good, too. Check out which men’s college basketball programs generated the most of those in June, per SkullSparks:

Look at the Boilermakers crashing the blue blood party! How many of those tweets were complaints about Jaden Ivey’s college usage after watching him in Summer League?

OFF THE CAROUSEL

Sean Miller is BACK!

After a year away from the game, Sean Miller returned to Xavier, where he worked as an assistant and a head coach from 2001 to 2009. Listen to him share about his time at Arizona and what he hopes to bring to the Musketeers in Year 1.

THE FAST BREAK

Links to read as you contemplate the best fast food burger (it’s Five Guys):

• The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton wrote an excellent piece detailing expectations for Texas in Year 2 under Chris Beard.  

• As hinted at earlier, GG Jackson made his reclassification and commitment to South Carolina official.

• Stanford hired former North Carolina point guard (and 2017 National Champion) Nate Britt to be its director of player development.

• LSU’s women’s program showed off some nice innovation, hiring Jennifer Roberts to be in charge of NIL opportunities. Her title, Director of Player Personnel and Influence, is the first of its kind in women’s hoops.

• Incoming Pitt freshman Guillermo Diaz Graham helped lead Spain to a gold medal in the FIBA U20 Euros.

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