NORTH AUGUSTA, SC — Baker Dunleavy sat shoulder to shoulder with some rather intoxicating company during a Nike Peach Jam game on Wednesday night.
Sitting alongside Dunleavy was Brad Underwood, head coach for perennial Big Ten powerhouse Illinois. On the other side were Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and Marquette’s Shaka Smart.
Dunleavy, head coach at Quinnipiac, wasn’t looking for the same players as those coaches or others from Power Five programs. But his presence at Peach Jam, arguably the most important event on the AAU basketball circuit and attended by many of the country’s top recruits, was just as important to his low-major program.
“The guys who are at our level and who we rate (at Peach Jam) are certainly not going to be the top scorers on most of these teams,” Dunleavy noted. “These guys are high major players. But there are people who play roles on these teams, people who will slip through the radar that we need to be on. We need to evaluate them throughout their high school season, get a feel for them, and continue to monitor them if necessary.”
And so there Dunleavy was on Court 5 at the Riverview Athletics Center Wednesday, watching two players from the Philadelphia-based Team Final who fit into Quinnipiac’s various recruiting niches.
Rahmir Barno is a three-star point guard that has been offered by players like VCU of the Atlantic 10 – mid-majors who are considered a class above Quinnipiac. Sticking with a player like Barno could ultimately prove beneficial if he ends up slipping through the cracks.
Barno’s teammate Khali Horton is a stretch-four role player for Team Final who’s more of an under-the-rader prospect. He’s exactly the kind of kid the world’s Quinnipiacs have to evaluate to see if they’re worthy of an offer.
The same goes for a school like Sacred Heart. Head coach Anthony Latina spotted two of the best players in the program’s recent history, Bridgeport’s Quincy McKnight and East Hartford’s Cane Broome, at Peach Jam about a decade ago.
But Latina hasn’t been to the event since, including this year, due to a change in the program’s recruiting philosophy, mostly to do with the recently relaxed NCAA transfer rules.
In years past, the pioneer roster typically consisted of about 80 percent high school recruits and 20 percent transfers. Latina imagines that these numbers will change in the near future.
“Because that’s how it is,” said the coach. “I think we will spend less time and money in the summer.”
Why bring in a high school recruit who probably needs at least a year or two of experience when you can bring in a third- or fourth-year veteran ready to contribute immediately? Especially when the best of those high school recruits could end up elsewhere in a few years anyway (McKnight and Broome, for example, ended up in Seton Hall and Cincinnati, respectively).
Sacred Heart has brought in a number of transfers this year, including Hartford’s Raheem Solomon (Niagara), Hamden’s Aidan Carpenter (Siena) and Brendan McGuire (Quinnipiac), who should immediately pay dividends a high school recruit is unlikely to be able to match.
BIG NAMES
Of course, for the most part, the Peach Jam is still where the big boys roam. Coaches of national title winners such as John Calipari, Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo, Tony Bennett and Scott Drew, along with other big names such as Chris Beard, Dana Altman, Hubert Davis, Mike Brey and both Bobby and Dan Hurley, are firmly on the sidelines of each of the building’s six gyms.
It’s been a busy week for UConn. The live grading phase of the NCAA began Wednesday noon, and shortly after, assistant head coach Kimani Young and assistant Luke Murray were in town. Murray watched 2023 UConn sign Solomon Ball and Jayden Ross play for Team Melo on Wednesday and Thursday, and also watched impressive recruit target Jaylin Stewart play for Seattle Rotary on both days.
Young watched 2023 target Coen Carr play on Wednesday night, and both Murray and Young were under a crowded sideline Thursday afternoon to watch the PSA Cardinals play with 2024 targets Husky, Boogie Fland and Yves Missi, who played the team finals. On Thursday night, Young watched New Heights Lightning, which stars Tahaad Pettiford and Youssouf Singare, both of Husky’s main targets.
Hurley and assistant Tom Moore spent Wednesday in Chicago watching Stephon Castle play at an Under Armor event. Hurley was due to arrive at the Peach Jam on Thursday night while Moore was due to fly to Los Angeles for an Adidas event.
Showing face is just as important for coaches in games with dedicated players as it is in games with recruitment goals. With that in mind, realize that UConn was not represented at the Brad Beal Elite game on Wednesday or Thursday night. Brad Beal Elite features Scotty Middleton, a 2023 wing who has narrowed their picks to UConn, Seton Hall and Ohio State. However, conventional wisdom indicates that the huskies are out of the hunt.
In fact, Murray left the gym just before the tip.
But it’s not just college coaches at Peach Jam this week. Scouts from the NBA, as well as junior leagues like Overtime Elite, whose director of player development is Kevin Ollie, and G-League Ignite are among the observers. The same goes for agents from around the world scouting for potential clients not just in a few years but even now, with the Names, Pictures and Likeness (NIL) legislation benefitting both high school and college athletes.
SCOUT HONOR
Every NBA team is represented at the Peach Jam, most with multiple scouts coming at different times, beginning Tuesday — a day before college coaches can arrive. What is your goal?
“They want to get ahead of the game,[find out]who all the best high school guys are,” said an Eastern Conference scout. “Some people think that since this is the NBA, you only look at the top 5 or 10. Really, you have to know the top 20 or 30. Because these guys can end up in the top 10 or 20 in college, and when they finish Overtime Elite, G League Ignite or College, they’re suddenly in the top 5 or 10…”
“You must know who they are,” the scout continued. “You see them before they go to college. Now when they come to college and explode, you get a sense of it before they grew up.
The scout, who had to remain anonymous because he spoke about high school players, said he was impressed with Solomon Ball, who signs UConn in 2023. But like almost everyone else at Peach Jam, he was genuinely impressed by Cooper Flagg, the 6-foot-2, 15-year-old Maine phenomenon.
“Every now and then there are some exceptional young players,” the scout said, adding that it’s always possible that the NBA could change their minimum age limit from 19 to 18.
“He could be a pro in two years. Maybe he won’t go to college if they change it. He could be a lottery winner after his senior year of high school.”
NBA scouts don’t talk to the players, but can learn more about them not only by watching them play, but also by observing how they interact with coaches and teammates, and by talking to people they know (media, etc.).
Coming to Peach Jam is also essential for NBA scouts, as not every showcase event is open to them.
“Knowing the names in advance is a way of getting ahead of the game,” noted the scout.
Of course, NBA scouts aren’t the only ones trying to make this happen. Agents from all over the world come to Peach Jam to spy on potential clients in a few years – or even sooner thanks to NIL legislation.
The scout’s voice drops to an eerie silence when he’s talking about agents: “See, they’re trying to interfere. We’re trying to get names and info so we can gauge and get a feel for which guys are good for 2023 and who to look out for. The agents, they’re coming and they’re probably nudging people, ‘Who’s in charge of this kid? Who is he listening to? Who makes decisions for so-and-so?’
“Look how many NBA boys (AAU) teams have — Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Carmelo (Anthony), Tyler Herro. They are often here with the team. If the agent is representing them, the agents are probably really coming now to see who’s on their team and who they might be able to bring on in the future.”
One group that doesn’t seem to have as strong a presence at this year’s event, according to those who have covered it in previous years, are prep coaches looking to poach kids from other teams.
OVERTIME
When Overtime Elite (OTE) started a little over a year ago, it was the only way for high school-aged players to earn a salary ($100,000 minimum guaranteed) while taking classes and playing at a high level. NIL changed that so even high school athletes can make money.
Meanwhile, OTE players were considered professionals and were not eligible to play in college. With that in mind, the program has shifted, now offering bursaries to players who pay for their room and board rather than paying them contracts, with the freedom to sign NIL deals and ultimately play in college if they wish.
The first product of this new philosophy is Naasir Cunningham – who just so happens to be the No. 1 recruit in the country according to 247Sports.com.
A trio of OTE scouts made the two-and-a-half-hour trip from Atlanta on Wednesday to watch Cunningham, a 2024 five-star forward, play for the New York Rens. Cunningham, 17, will relocate to Atlanta after Peach Jam, train and play for the program under Ollie’s direction, and remain eligible to play at things like Duke or Kentucky in 2024.
OTE has had its critics since its inception, but it’s been fairly successful so far. Three first-season players signed pro contracts, including Dominick Barlow, who signed a two-way contract with San Antonio. Seven players graduated from high school this spring.
Meanwhile, twins Ausar and Amen Thompson are currently listed as lottery picks, possibly in the top five, of the 2023 NBA draft.
The league features three teams coached by Waterbury’s Ryan Gomes, ex-UConn assistant Dave Leitao and Tim Fanning, and competes at a glitzy facility in Atlanta (all the league’s playoff games were sold out this spring). as well as against other prep teams and overseas later this summer.
Most of the recruitment will be handled by a four-person scouting department, so Ollie, Gomes, Leitao & Co. won’t be at Peach Jam. But the scouts will do it even if they are not accredited. Tournament organizers wouldn’t say which coaches and scouts were approved for Peach Jam, but it’s worth noting that the three scouts watching Cunningham on Wednesday paid their own way to get through the door.
Trainers, agents, scouts – all try to get into Peach Jam in any way they can.
david.borges@hearstmediat.com