EYBL / Peach Jam Finals - Pitt players and targets

[Vader_Storm]

Its that time of year again, the biggest high school / AAU tournament of the year is coming.

I like watching these games because this is generally the time when players start to step up as more eyes come to watch the peach jam tournament of champions.

Carlton Carrington

Carrington plays for Team Melo, and they are in fighting contention to make the Peach Jam to compete for the title. But they must win games to make it. And, they are off to a 2-0 start in the final EYBL session with 2 very strong performances by Carlton Carrington yesterday and this morning.

Stats through 2 games

vs Houston-

14 points
7 rebounds
3 assists
5-9 shooting
2-3 from 3
1 turnover

vs Brad Beal

23 points
6 rebounds
7 assists
7-14 shooting
3-8 from 3
1 turnover (the box score says 0, but he had 1 turnover as I watched the game)


These are big time performances from Carrington and he was the best player on the floor in todays game. Outside of a few bad shots he put up, he was money all game long scoring and making plays. As I said previously with him, he has the tools to be a really nice player in time but needs better shot selection and more consistency ( he is young for his class). Lets see how he finishes out the EYBL but so far, he is on a tear to start off like Judah Mintz last year when Mintz made his huge rise. He plays again this evening. The thing to watch with him is more dribble penetration. He has a good first step to attack the basket, but needs to do it much more often. Today, he attacked the basket and it paid off. He consistently is rebounding well and generating assist production as he did these 2 things very well at the DMV Live earlier this summer.


Jaylen Curry

vs TSF

26 points
3 rebounds
3 assists
10-18 shooting
3-5 from 3
1 turnover

vs Vegas Elite

12 points
6 rebounds
10 assists
5-11 shooting
1-1 from 3
3 turnovers


Curry put the team on his back today in a come from behind 2nd half victory after putting the team on his back yesterday with 26 points. He was fantastic with the ball making pinpoint passes to find open players as he racked up assist after assist in the 2nd half. Boo Williams is going to have to win out if they want to make the peach jam finals, but these are 2 big time performances from Curry to kick things off. Boo Williams plays again this evening.


The NY Rens with major Pitt targets Papa Kante and Ty-Laur Johnson are playing now.

 

[joeydavid]

Its that time of year again, the biggest high school / AAU tournament of the year is coming.

I like watching these games because this is generally the time when players start to step up as more eyes come to watch the peach jam tournament of champions.

Carlton Carrington

Carrington plays for Team Melo, and they are in fighting contention to make the Peach Jam to compete for the title. But they must win games to make it. And, they are off to a 2-0 start in the final EYBL session with 2 very strong performances by Carlton Carrington yesterday and this morning.

Stats through 2 games

vs Houston-

14 points
7 rebounds
3 assists
5-9 shooting
2-3 from 3
1 turnover

vs Brad Beal

23 points
6 rebounds
7 assists
7-14 shooting
3-8 from 3
1 turnover (the box score says 0, but he had 1 turnover as I watched the game)


These are big time performances from Carrington and he was the best player on the floor in todays game. Outside of a few bad shots he put up, he was money all game long scoring and making plays. As I said previously with him, he has the tools to be a really nice player in time but needs better shot selection and more consistency ( he is young for his class). Lets see how he finishes out the EYBL but so far, he is on a tear to start off like Judah Mintz last year when Mintz made his huge rise. He plays again this evening. The thing to watch with him is more dribble penetration. He has a good first step to attack the basket, but needs to do it much more often. Today, he attacked the basket and it paid off. He consistently is rebounding well and generating assist production as he did these 2 things very well at the DMV Live earlier this summer.


Jaylen Curry

vs TSF

26 points
3 rebounds
3 assists
10-18 shooting
3-5 from 3
1 turnover

vs Vegas Elite

12 points
6 rebounds
10 assists
5-11 shooting
1-1 from 3
3 turnovers


Curry put the team on his back today in a come from behind 2nd half victory after putting the team on his back yesterday with 26 points. He was fantastic with the ball making pinpoint passes to find open players as he racked up assist after assist in the 2nd half. Boo Williams is going to have to win out if they want to make the peach jam finals, but these are 2 big time performances from Curry to kick things off. Boo Williams plays again this evening.


The NY Rens with major Pitt targets Papa Kante and Ty-Laur Johnson are playing now.

Could you post a link to watch the games? My old one isn't working.

 

[pittchagg]

The EYBL games are all streamed on twitch. Here’s Rens.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Could you post a link to watch the games? My old one isn't working.

The link to watch the games is at the bottom.

The NY Rens win back to back games to keep their Peach Jam hopes alive as they continue to lock teams up on the defensive side of the basketball.


vs All Ohio

Johnson

14 points
2 rebounds
4 assists
2 turnovers
5-13 shooting
0-3 from 3

Kante

19 points
16 rebounds
1 assist
2 turnover
4 blocks
8-12 shooting

vs Team United

Johnson

10 points
1 rebound
7 assists
5 turnovers
4-9 shooting
1-4 from 3

Kante

7 points
6 rebounds
1 assist
2 blocks
2-4 shooting



Kante was the star in game 1 and put in the best performance out of anyone yesterday in the EYBL with a monster performance on both ends. Today, he was in foul trouble but the Rens were in cruise control the entire game with a blowout win.


Solid stats for Johnson overall but he is capable of a lot more than these first 2 games have shown. The Rens will need him to step up if they want to make a run. He was sloppy today with the ball. The Rens play again this evening and will need to continue to win games to make the Peach Jam Finals.

LiveStream - Nike EYBL

nikeeyb.com

 

[Vader_Storm]

I should have added that our staff are watching these players front and center including Jeff Capel.

And Papa Kante, unless something changes, is going to decide between Michigan, Rutgers, and Pitt later on this summer.

 

[Protes]

These are big time performances from Carrington and he was the best player on the floor in todays game. Outside of a few bad shots he put up, he was money all game long scoring and making plays. As I said previously with him, he has the tools to be a really nice player in time but needs better shot selection and more consistency ( he is young for his class). Lets see how he finishes out the EYBL but so far, he is on a tear to start off like Judah Mintz last year when Mintz made his huge rise. He plays again this evening. The thing to watch with him is more dribble penetration. He has a good first step to attack the basket, but needs to do it much more often. Today, he attacked the basket and it paid off. He consistently is rebounding well and generating assist production as he did these 2 things very well at the DMV Live earlier this summer.

Appreciate the reports . . . but have to refrain from getting too excited. After all, where did Mintz end up? If these guys blow up the Big Boys will come calling. Let me know when they are signed, sealed and delivered (at least for one year because there's a good chance they'll be transferring the next).

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Appreciate the reports . . . but have to refrain from getting too excited. After all, where did Mintz end up? If these guys blow up the Big Boys will come calling. Let me know when they are signed, sealed and delivered (at least for one year because there's a good chance they'll be transferring the next).

Agreed. It's interesting to read about but I have to see these guys in Pitt uniforms and on the court for at least 1 year before I care. Even if they make it that far, they'll have to stay for at least another year for me to get real interested.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the nightcap,

Carlton Carrington finishes with

21 points
7 rebounds
4 assists
0 turnovers
3 steals
8-17 shooting
3-8 from 3

Another Big Time performance and was a star in this game as he did everything. His minor hiccup in the game was missing 2 free throws with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. His team lost by 1 point and he did make a 3 at the end of the game. But his teammate also missed 2 free throws in the last minute of the game plus his teammate made a terrible turnover stepping out of bounds with less than a minute to play in the game. They had every chance to win and they came up short.

Carrington's team was down 14 early on and the only reason they came back was because of his play on both ends of the floor. His assists in this game were pretty, as multiple times he drove into the paint only to dish the ball back outside to wide open 3 point shooters which were made multiple times. He was easily the best player in this game as both Jacoi Hutchinson and Deshawn Harris Smith (4 star players) both had significant trouble stopping Carrington. Just as impressive, he is playing defense, rebounding, and generating assist production as he spent quite a bit of time running the point. Through 3 games Carrington has 11 assists and 3 turnovers. He has been a beast. Most of his shots today were 3 pointers and long range contested midrange jumpers. He loves the midrange and pullup game and he creates his own offense off the dribble. My only quibble with him is he needs to take better shots. But he has been proving he has the ability to make very difficult shots off the bounce, shots that are unguardable at the college level.

His team played far too poorly overall.



Jaylen Curry

7 points
1 assist
1 turnover
3-13 shooting
0-5 from 3
2 steals

Nothing went right for Curry or Boo Williams in this game. They fell down big early and lost by 23. And Curry did not play well, simply put.



Tylaur Johnson and Papa Kante

In another defensive slugfest by the NY Rens, the Rens fell short and lost by 2 points in a back and forth game.

Johnson

12 points
2 rebounds
4 assists
5 turnovers
2 steals
4-13 shooting
1-6 from 3

Kante

13 points
14 rebounds
1 assists
2 block
5-9 shooting

Kante played very well on both ends, Johnson did not on offense. Johnson is trying to do too much and has played out of control like X the last couple games. He is trying to play fast instead of smart and it is causing turnovers. It was also announced recently that Johnson is transferring back to his hometown in the Bronx and is playing for powerhouse OSL New York in the winter. The entire Pitt staff was at this game tonight to watch these 2 players.

 

[DT_PITT]

In the nightcap,

Carlton Carrington finishes with

21 points
7 rebounds
4 assists
0 turnovers
3 steals
8-17 shooting
3-8 from 3

Another Big Time performance and was a star in this game as he did everything. His minor hiccup in the game was missing 2 free throws with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. His team lost by 1 point and he did make a 3 at the end of the game. But his teammate also missed 2 free throws in the last minute of the game plus his teammate made a terrible turnover stepping out of bounds with less than a minute to play in the game. They had every chance to win and they came up short.

Carrington's team was down 14 early on and the only reason they came back was because of his play on both ends of the floor. His assists in this game were pretty, as multiple times he drove into the paint only to dish the ball back outside to wide open 3 point shooters which were made multiple times. He was easily the best player in this game as both Jacoi Hutchinson and Deshawn Harris Smith (4 star players) both had significant trouble stopping Carrington. Just as impressive, he is playing defense, rebounding, and generating assist production as he spent quite a bit of time running the point. Through 3 games Carrington has 11 assists and 3 turnovers. He has been a beast. Most of his shots today were 3 pointers and long range contested midrange jumpers. He loves the midrange and pullup game and he creates his own offense off the dribble. My only quibble with him is he needs to take better shots. But he has been proving he has the ability to make very difficult shots off the bounce, shots that are unguardable at the college level.

His team played far too poorly overall.



Jaylen Curry

7 points
1 assist
1 turnover
3-13 shooting
0-5 from 3
2 steals

Nothing went right for Curry or Boo Williams in this game. They fell down big early and lost by 23. And Curry did not play well, simply put.



Tylaur Johnson and Papa Kante

In another defensive slugfest by the NY Rens, the Rens fell short and lost by 2 points in a back and forth game.

Johnson

12 points
2 rebounds
4 assists
5 turnovers
2 steals
4-13 shooting
1-6 from 3

Kante

13 points
14 rebounds
1 assists
2 block
5-9 shooting

Kante played very well on both ends, Johnson did not on offense. Johnson is trying to do too much and has played out of control like X the last couple games. He is trying to play fast instead of smart and it is causing turnovers. It was also announced recently that Johnson is transferring back to his hometown in the Bronx and is playing for powerhouse OSL New York in the winter. The entire Pitt staff was at this game tonight to watch these 2 players.

Thanks for your updates and the link.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the morning session team Melo and Indy locked horns in an almost must win game for both teams. Carrington was matched up against Nationally rated Top 50 4 star Draven Gibbs Lawthorn a good chunk of the game. Both players brought the intensity on the defensive end. Lawthorrn finished 5-17 shooting with 13 points and 5 turnovers.

Carrington's line was

11 points
5 rebounds
2 assists
3 steals
0 turnovers
4-14 shooting
2-7 from 3


Almost all of Carrington's shots were contested jumpers off the bounce in 1 on 1 situations as he tried to create for himself (he also missed an easy dunk). The difficult shots he was making the prior 3 games were not falling today and he was attempting quite difficult shots when better opportunities were present. Outside of that, Carrington played well and his team shot the ball very well. Carrington's defense was the highlight, he was stout and he has a long wingpsan that continues to create turnovers and cause problems. Team Melo and Carrington won easily.



Also in the morning, Jaylen Curry was back to Elite form. Boo Williams and Curry won and his line was

14 points
11 assists
2 turnovers
2 rebounds
2 steals
6-11 shooting
2-4 from 3

 

[joeydavid]

In the morning session team Melo and Indy locked horns in an almost must win game for both teams. Carrington was matched up against Nationally rated Top 50 4 star Draven Gibbs Lawthorn a good chunk of the game. Both players brought the intensity on the defensive end. Lawthorrn finished 5-17 shooting with 13 points and 5 turnovers.

Carrington's line was

11 points
5 rebounds
2 assists
3 steals
0 turnovers
4-14 shooting
2-7 from 3


Almost all of Carrington's shots were contested jumpers off the bounce in 1 on 1 situations as he tried to create for himself (he also missed an easy dunk). The difficult shots he was making the prior 3 games were not falling today and he was attempting quite difficult shots when better opportunities were present. Outside of that, Carrington played well and his team shot the ball very well. Carrington's defense was the highlight, he was stout and he has a long wingpsan that continues to create turnovers and cause problems. Team Melo and Carrington won easily.



Also in the morning, Jaylen Curry was back to Elite form. Boo Williams and Curry won and his line was

14 points
11 assists
2 turnovers
2 rebounds
2 steals
6-11 shooting
2-4 from 3

Is Carrington still growing? He looks taller than 6'4" to me.

 

[FireballZ]

Agreed. It's interesting to read about but I have to see these guys in Pitt uniforms and on the court for at least 1 year before I care. Even if they make it that far, they'll have to stay for at least another year for me to get real interested.

Yet here you are…on this board…in this thread…

You should consider investing more of your excessive free time into things that you actually care about, bub.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Is Carrington still growing? He looks taller than 6'4" to me.

He was standing next to Robert Davis at the end of game 2 today. Davis is listed as 6'6 and he was a little bit shorter, maybe an inch. So at the least, he is a very legit 6'4, maybe 6'5.



The afternoon games.

The NY Rens were on cruise control and won by an easy 14 points in front of Pitt's full staff. Johnson and Kante were both solid. Johnson left the game with a hamstring issue in the 3rd quarter but later returned.

Johnson

6 points
3 rebounds
6 assists
3 turnovers
2 steals
3-8 shooting
0-2 from 3

Kante

12 points
3 rebound
1 block
5-6 shooting




Team Melo and Carrington took on the NJ Scholars, one of the heavyweights with multiple 5 stars and one of the favorites to win the tournament. After a deadlock 46 tie after 3 quarters in a back and forth game, poor depth and tired legs caught up to them and Carrington, and they lost by 9.

Team Melo was 6-38 from 3. The Scholars 3-18 in this game. Sloppiness generally happens when this is the 4th game played between yesterday and today, and weak legs resulted in lots of misses by everyone on both teams. Both of Carrington's turnovers came late in the 4th.

Carrington

10 points
8 rebounds
5 assists
2 turnovers ( both late in the game)
1 steal
4-19 shooting
1-11 3 point shooting

Better shot selection this game from Carrington. Most of his misses were good looks, and many of them in the first half barely rimmed out. The 2nd half you could see the tired legs, the misses were not only long and short anymore, he was missing badly left and right on top of long and short. He was ok in this game but again made some really beautiful passes including a very nice steal on 5 star Mgbako headed to Duke on the baseline and then he made a really nice homerun outlet pass for 2 points the other way after the steal. He also drew 2 nice charges on defense. Team Melo needs a win tomorrow and they play one of the weakest teams left in the field to get it.



Also in the afternoon, Boo Williams and Jaylen Curry lost by 2 points to Nightrydas. Curry's stats are below

Curry

9 points
9 assists
1 rebound
0 turnovers
2-12 shooting
2-6 from 3


Another game that you can see the tired legs of a 4th game in 2 days. Boo Williams was 7-27 from 3, and the Nightrydas 3-16.

 

[docpanther26]

Enjoy reading the updates, thank you. Hope Kante comes to Pitt…that would be nice.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the nightcap, the NY Rens take down #1 seed from group D powerhouse Expressions in the late game and was winning the game comfortably by about 10 points throughout. The Rens continue to use lock down defense to frustrate teams, but this was another game where many shots were missed by both teams with tired legs.

Stats

Tylaur Johnson

10 points
7 assists
4 rebounds
3 turnovers
2 steals
3-13 shooting
0-3 from 3

Papa Kante

8 points
12 rebounds
1 steal
1 turnover
4-7 shooting.


The game was chippy throughout but the Rens showed why they are a contender to win the Peach Jam as they simply have the talent to do so. Johnson played a decent game overall, just did not shoot it well. He is very shifty and can really pass and easily could have had 10+ assists if his team shot better; he did a great job finding the open man with Elite vision. Kante was again solid anchoring the paint with defense, rebounds, and some points. Both teams advance.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the morning session, The NY Rens lost to Nightrydas in a throwaway game as they already qualified for the Peach Jam. Tylaur Johnson sat the entire 4th quarter as did most of the starters for the Rens. In 2 1/2 quarters of action,

Johnson

10 points
6 assists
3 rebounds
3 turnovers
1 steal
4-10 shooting
2-5 from 3

Johnson was again quite effective passing the ball. He loves using behind the back and crossover dribbles to knife his way into the paint only to pass the ball back outside to wide open 3 point shooters. He was successful with this at least 3 times today on made baskets from 3 and continues to showcase high quality floor vision.

Kante was again solid and steady.

10 points
6 rebounds
2 assists
5-10 shooting

The biggest surprise in the morning game was Naasir Cunningham who plays for the NY Rens and is the #1 high school player in the country in 2024. He was 0-9 and scoreless in this game and I cant remember the last time if ever the top rated player in the nation didnt score a single point. He did not play well and literally did nothing well in the game.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Good Stuff - Keep the updates coming.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Boo Williams loses by 14 to close out the EYBL.

Curry's line

4 points
3 assists
3 turnovers
2 rebounds
2-11 shooting
0-3 from 3

Curry just could not get it going today. His shot was off. He made some really nice passes that did not result in points because his teammates fumbled the pass or missed the shot. Team Griffin also through some mild doubles at Curry to throw him off. Very crafty passer, in transition, nice bounce passes off dribble penetration for layups, reads the floor well. Fast in the transition game although there was not much transition game in this game today from Boo Williams.



Carrington is coming up. And his team needs the Win.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the opening quarter of the game, Carrington opens with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists and his team has roared to a 22 point first quarter lead in a must win game. His defense on Thomas Power was just as good as Power is 0-5 and scoreless. Power is a Top 60 Nationally rated 4 star.

 

[Vader_Storm]

In the opening quarter of the game, Carrington opens with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists and his team has roared to a 22 point first quarter lead in a must win game. His defense on Thomas Power was just as good as Power is 0-5 and scoreless. Power is a Top 60 Nationally rated 4 star.

Team Melo has a 16 point lead at the half. 11 points on 5-7 shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals for Carrington at the half. He's been big time in this game so far.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Team Melo has a 16 point lead at the half. 11 points on 5-7 shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals for Carrington at the half. He's been big time in this game so far.

14 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals through 3 quarters for Carrington as the lead is stretched to 25. All gas no brakes for Carrington today, he has gotten it done everywhere.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Team Melo wins by 30 in what was easily the teams best performance of the entire EYBL

Carrrington's line

21 points
12 rebounds
7 assists
1 turnover
9-13 shooting
2-4 from 3

This was about as close to a perfect game as you can get and was without question one of the best performances of anybody in the entire EYBL circuit. He was excellent everywhere including on defense. His shot selection was near perfect and he made the extra pass all game long to find wide open shooters to get his team the best scoring opportunity possible. At one point in the 4th quarter he almost looked too unselfish passing as he turned down some easy shots to make the extra pass to teammates who failed to convert. I wonder if he was thinking about trying to get a triple double at that point. Regardless, he was sensational and it was even sweeter because it was a must win game for Team Melo.

 

[joeydavid]

Team Melo wins by 30 in what was easily the teams best performance of the entire EYBL

Carrrington's line

21 points
12 rebounds
7 assists
1 turnover
9-13 shooting
2-4 from 3

This was about as close to a perfect game as you can get and was without question one of the best performances of anybody in the entire EYBL circuit. He was excellent everywhere including on defense. His shot selection was near perfect and he made the extra pass all game long to find wide open shooters to get his team the best scoring opportunity possible. At one point in the 4th quarter he almost looked too unselfish passing as he turned down some easy shots to make the extra pass to teammates who failed to convert. I wonder if he was thinking about trying to get a triple double at that point. Regardless, he was sensational and it was even sweeter because it was a must win game for Team Melo.

Definitely looked like he was in a zone shooting it today while not forcing anything. Your comments are spot on.

 

[joeydavid]