Stars, slams and standouts

Good morning! And thanks for reading the Field of 68 Daily. It’ll be a week heavy on recruiting news. We’ll have a full Peach Jam primer tomorrow.

In the meantime, we’ll highlight the notable aspects of last weekend’s AAU events.

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1. Coaches flocked to North Augusta, Rock Hill for recruits

The first of two recruiting live periods ended yesterday, which meant college basketball coaches flocked to venues to watch prospects.

This shot from the Adidas 3SSB event in Rock Hill, S.C. features no fewer than five head coaches, while three more took in action in North Augusta, Ga., for the Nike EYBL players. And who were the players that stood out?

Colben Landrew, a 4-star forward, helped lead Game Elite to the 3SSB title with 16 points, nine rebounds and clinched the title at the free-throw line. This was after a 28-point, 6-rebound performance on Thursday.

But it’s his teammate, Caleb Holt, who really stole the spotlight. Holt’s coming off a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup, and had a 20+ point game of his own. There’s lots to love about his positional size, athleticism and especially his motor.

Others to note from 3SSB:

• Carlos Medlock (20 points in front of Tom Izzo)

• Jacob Webber (22 points in one half for 6-6 CG; one of top shooters in class)

• Big man Will Stevens showed shooting touch while banging in the paint.

On the EYBL circuit, Tyran Stokes, the top 2026 recruit, had coaches watching him score at will, but other 5-star prospects had solid outings:

• Jason Crowe Jr. (37 points on 8-of-9 3s in a game where Stokes scored 27)

• Bryson Howard (36 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks)

• Guard Jordan Smith Jr. (22 points, 10 boards, 5 assists vs. NY Rens)

• Julius Avent (19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals)

There’s also no shortage of dunks at AAU events, but there were two over the weekend that you need to watch. First, 2026 guard Yohance Connor. Keep in mind, he’s listed at 6-3.

Is it more impressive than what Jalyn Collingwood did? He’s a couple inches taller, but dunked just as violently as Connor.

That’s the warm-up weekend ahead of Peach Jam. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us.

2. Coaches on tourney expansion + a new committee chair

NCAA Tournament expansion may be on hold, but the conversations continued through the weekend at recruiting events.

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