Jamming out

Midway through Peach Jam, who are the players who have caught our eye? Plus, a mid-major scheduling alliance to love, and grading the Ivy League transfers moves

Good morning!

Peach Jam had a little bit of everything on Tuesday, including some terrific on-court performances — and one player who made news off the court. Let’s dive in.

1. Dybantsa, Stokes, just jamming out + more

We’re nearly halfway through Peach Jam, with plenty of notable performances and storylines underway. Here’s some of the most notable.

The scariest duo on the Peach Jam circuit are on the Oakland Soldiers: AJ Dybantasa, the top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class, and Tyran Stokes, the top recruit in the 2026 class. They thrived in their latest game, a 73-65 win over UPlay..

Their team is atop their pool standings at 3-0, but don’t play again until Thursday.

Former Illinois commit Jeremiah Fears plans on re-classing into 2024, and he’s destroying teams in Peach Jam. Fears scored 20 points in Indy Heat’s win over Brad Beal Elite — with Brad Beal himself in attendance. Fears had an unfathomable three four-point plays in one game.

What a day it was for Nigel James, who scored 15 points in Expressions Elite’s win over the Florida Rebels. However, that was just the start of James’s day as he later committed to Marquette. He joins wing Ian Miletic in Marquette’s 2025 class.

James is just 6-feet, and he’s known for his defense. Imagine that, Shaka Smart going after a tough, smaller guard who can defend. Sounds about right for Smart’s squad.

In the EYBL division, Oakland, Nightrydas Elite (which features the Boozer twins), Team Takeover, and Drive Nation are the unbeaten squads through three games.

One of the more intriguing storylines has been watching Team Melo, which of course features Kiyan Anthony, the son of hoops legend Carmelo Anthony. Kiyan dropped 40 on Monday against Mac Irvin Fire in the PIT division.

Team Melo has more than just Kiyan, though. Point guard Tyler "Hype" Jackson, a 4-star prospect, is a terrific player in his own right. Yet, a 60-53 loss to Team Griffin (Oklahoma) on Tuesday showed they can’t do it all. Anthony scored 16 points (7-18 shooting) and Jackson scored nine points.

Griffin features 4-star prospect Jerry Easter, a 6-5 combo guard who’s leading the all of Peach Jam in scoring through four games (24.5 ppg). They play Team Final today, the only other unbeaten team in PIT. That’s a fun mid-week showdown.

2. Gotta love this new conference showdown

More scheduling news in college hoops, but this one is particularly interesting to me.

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