re: Tide Hoops | Recruiting

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When I tell you that Team Thad came out turned all the way up and ready to pounce all over the Albany City Rocks, believe me I'm not kidding. In terms of initial energy that was sustained throughout a game, the Memphis based crew turned in the most complete effort in all aspects of the game that I've seen from anybody at Peach Jam.

Thad is loaded with interchangeable, athletic, tough and versatile kids who can really get out and pressure defensively and crash the glass. On a day like Saturday when the shots were falling too, they are awfully tough to handle and it showed in their 73-52 win.

Three-star forward Malik Dia got it going early with tremendous effort and scoring. Four-star wing Kimani Hamilton was showing off his defensive versatility and making deep threes to finish the shot clock off and everybody else did their part in a complete team win. I'm going to continue to be bullish on Hamilton and I believe he's got the tools to make a run at the top 50. Pushing 6-foot-8 he's a big wing with loads of athleticism who can shoot a bit from deep and is showing more and more off the dribble.

Among the schools with head coaches in attendance for the game were Alabama (plus two assistants), Connecticut, Duke, DePaul, East Carolina, Elon, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Indiana (four deep for Jalen Hood-Schifino), Kentucky, Maryland (plus two), Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio, Rutgers, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

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Whenever you move somebody to five-star status, you hope that they back up the move with their play on the court. So far, Brad Beal Elite combo guard Nick Smith is doing exactly that.

Playing with an injured left hand that he'll not be able to allow time to fully heal until after the summer, Smith has been beyond solid through the first few days and continued that on Saturday. With Alabama's Nate Oats, Arkansas' Eric Musselman, Georgetown's Patrick Ewing, Kentucky's John Calipari and assistants from Auburn, Kansas and many others looking on, Smith looked like the best player on the floor in BBE's win over Each 1 Teach 1.

After some early turnovers, Smith settled down and showed his ability to really go and make a play off the bounce. He read ball screens, created space in one on one situations and generally came up big whenever his team needed him to do so. Look for him to be setting up more visits as soon as summer after seeing Auburn, Bama, Georgetown and Kansas during June.

The good thing about showing up to see Nick Smith is that many of the programs involved with him were able to pull double duty and check in on top 30 wing Brandon Miller. His specialty remains his mid range game and like Smith he was good for 14 points and he also chipped in with eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.

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I'm not a coffee drinker, I get my caffeine from a can of Pepsi. I felt pretty refreshed when I woke up this morning but had I needed an energy boost, top 25 point guard Jaden Bradley did more for me than any type of soda or energy drink ever could.

Playing with Team CP3, the 6-foot-3 floor general from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG was superb in every way as he led squad to a win over five-star point guard Dior Johnson and Vegas Elite. Bradley's stats were certainly impressive. With Alabama's Nate Oats, Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, Duke's Jon Scheyer and many more looking on, Bradley flirted with a triple double before finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

More than the numbers, though, I have an appreciation for the way Bradley carries himself on the floor. He shares the ball, is vocal about directing his team (an area he's really grown), doesn't get too high or too low and makes really good reads off of ball screens. He's not a blur athlete, but he thinks the game at a high level and takes care of the ball which can be dangerous and his size and strength allow him to finish through contact.

He visited Alabama, Arizona, Michigan and North Carolina during June and while things are pretty tight, the Crimson Tide are certainly among those in good shape. It will be interesting to see just how much Duke or Florida try to get involved and Gonzaga is another that is starting to make a push while Kansas keeps poking around.

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For my last two games of the evening I watched the Oakland Soldiers take out AOT in a highly competitive 16U game and then watched the Houston Hoops defeat Team Durant in an overtime thriller of a 16U game.

Mookie Cook was electric at times for the Soldiers in the win and the 6-foot-7 wing from Portland is a no brainer to move to five-star status and will be at least a top five player in the country when we update rankings. Cook is a monster athlete, can play with the ball in his hands and when he's off the ball he's always finding ways to make things happen. He controls the glass, he plays above the rim and he's a potentially elite defensive player. Head coaches from Arizona, Auburn (likely there to see Cook's opponent AOT given how good the relationship there) Gonzaga, Oregon State and UCLA were on hand along with assistants from Alabama, Arizona State, Indian, Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon (x2) and several others.

In a loss to the Houston Hoops, current five-star Kwame Evans Jr. put on a show. Especially in the first half. I wrote about him yesterday and while he's still got to put things together for entire games, but he's getting closer and closer. Seeing a 6'9" plus forward come down and run point for stretches, disrupt everything on defense and make pull-up threes and knowing that he's only 16 years old is a lot to digest. There is still a lot of time left in 2023, but Evans at this point looks like somebody capable of competing for the No. 1 spot in the class.

In a win, both Wesley Yates and Chris Lockett Jr. were outstanding for the Hoops. Yates is continuing to emerge as one of the most dangerous and confident long range bombers in the class of 2023 and Lockett has learned how to use his strength to his advantage. The duo combined for 42 points and has no shortage of high major attention.

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Let’s talk about prime time, elite playmaking skill in the 2022 class.

Jaden Bradley.

Averaging 6.6 assists per game at Peach Jam for @TeamCp3AAU. Had nine assists in morning game. Now, has six first half assists in the night cap.

Alabama’s staff was front and center.

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Rylan Griffen always proves to be one of the best scorers on the floor, whenever he’s playing. He had 27 points on 11/17 shooting, including three made three’s on five attempts.

Iowa State, Georgia, Kansas, K-State, Baylor, Oklahoma State, OU, TTU all in attendance.

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Great game from 2022 F Jarace Walker tonight in Dallas. 24 points (7-14 FG), 10 boards, 3 steals, and 7 blocks in a comeback win.

One of the best game I have seen from him. Always been an active shot blocker, scored with aggression, and was engaged defensively

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Oats and Pettway watching the end of Nightrydas/Thad in OT. Jaden Bradley & CP3 play on this court next.

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Oats moved to another court to watch Shaedon Sharpe & UPlay

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