For supposedly being a 'down' year locally, the local AAU teams were about as strong as they've ever been to finish off the month of July. Team Takeover 17s ended up losing in the Peach Jam final by a single point, while they beat Team Durant in the semis to get to the title game. Jahn Lamothe did not have one of his better games vs. TTO, going scoreless in 27 minutes of action. He did impact the game in other ways though, dishing out 4 dimes, pulling down three boards and adding a steal. But again, this is the inconsistency I referred to earlier in the spring. Lamothe has all the tools and ability, but he needs to continue to get more consistent. He was excellent for most of the EYBL season and I should also give credit to Takeover's guards, who did a good job defensively. Speaking of TTO's guards, the Terps are heavily involved with Paul VI guard Deshawn Harris-Smith, who was arguably the best player on the court in both the EYBL semifinal win and championship loss. Harris-Smith had 14 points (3-4 from deep), 8 boards and 4 assists in the win over Team Durant, tying Kwame Evans for high scorer in the game and then went for a game high 15 points, 8 boards and 5 assists in the championship game loss to Mokan. With so many new blue blood offers and that Michigan offer for Elmarko Jackson, Harris-Smith now seems to be a top target for the Terps and maybe even their overall top target at the moment. The Terps and Indiana seem like the two teams sticking out the most at the moment for Harris-Smith. Again, like Jackson, this is a huge recruitment for Maryland.
Speaking of Elmarko Jackson, he led WER1 to the Under Armour circuit champioship on Saturday versus Derik Queen and Baltimore-based Team Thrill. Jackson had 14 points, 7 boards, 5 dimes and a steal in a losing effort. He also struggled with 5 turnovers as Thrill zoned him all game long to keep him out of the paint. Still, Jackson had a tremendous spring/summer and no one raised their stock more (although I've been telling you all he's a top 5 guard in the class for over a year). Queen had a solid outing for Thrill in the win, the '24 big man had 6 points, 8 boards, 2 steals and a block. He also struggled a bit with 4 turnovers. Maryland is all over Queen and there is still a possibility he could reclass to 2023. Team Thrill was led by former Calvert Hall guard Mike Williams, who poured in 26 points in the win. He's transferring to Bishop Walsh and could be a name to keep an eye on moving forward. Previous staff had offered and he picked up new offers from Clemson and Charleston over the weekend with more likely to come.
Jamie Kaiser continued his impressive play out in California this past weekend, although the team didn't didn't have the greatest weekend. Still, they won the adidas title over Team Loaded earlier this month, again showing how strong the local AAU play is. The big news on Kaiser coming out of the weekend is that he is transferring to IMG Academy. He's got official visits coming up to Indiana and UCLA in the next week and as of now is expected to make a decision some time not long after that. I do not see UCLA happening at the moment as they have others prioritized over Kaiser at the same spot. Indiana is the biggest threat but I still think the Terps are the team to beat as of right this minute. Getting Kaiser would be a huge recruiting win after the spring/summer he's had and the way his recruitment took off. Oregon was the latest to offer over the weekend.
Finally, it isn't just the 17's looking impressive and doing all the winning. Takeover 16s beat the NY Rens for the 16u Peach Jam title with an absolutely loaded squad that includes former St. Frances point guard Daquan Davis, who led the team with 19 points in the championship game. Nyk Lewis and Caleb Williams, who both also have Terps offers, were the other two in double-digit scoring for TTO with 15 and 10 points respectively.
Maryland has a chance to restock and reload with some of the top talent nationally that just so happens to play in the DMV over the next two cycles.
Speaking of Elmarko Jackson, he led WER1 to the Under Armour circuit champioship on Saturday versus Derik Queen and Baltimore-based Team Thrill. Jackson had 14 points, 7 boards, 5 dimes and a steal in a losing effort. He also struggled with 5 turnovers as Thrill zoned him all game long to keep him out of the paint. Still, Jackson had a tremendous spring/summer and no one raised their stock more (although I've been telling you all he's a top 5 guard in the class for over a year). Queen had a solid outing for Thrill in the win, the '24 big man had 6 points, 8 boards, 2 steals and a block. He also struggled a bit with 4 turnovers. Maryland is all over Queen and there is still a possibility he could reclass to 2023. Team Thrill was led by former Calvert Hall guard Mike Williams, who poured in 26 points in the win. He's transferring to Bishop Walsh and could be a name to keep an eye on moving forward. Previous staff had offered and he picked up new offers from Clemson and Charleston over the weekend with more likely to come.
Jamie Kaiser continued his impressive play out in California this past weekend, although the team didn't didn't have the greatest weekend. Still, they won the adidas title over Team Loaded earlier this month, again showing how strong the local AAU play is. The big news on Kaiser coming out of the weekend is that he is transferring to IMG Academy. He's got official visits coming up to Indiana and UCLA in the next week and as of now is expected to make a decision some time not long after that. I do not see UCLA happening at the moment as they have others prioritized over Kaiser at the same spot. Indiana is the biggest threat but I still think the Terps are the team to beat as of right this minute. Getting Kaiser would be a huge recruiting win after the spring/summer he's had and the way his recruitment took off. Oregon was the latest to offer over the weekend.
Finally, it isn't just the 17's looking impressive and doing all the winning. Takeover 16s beat the NY Rens for the 16u Peach Jam title with an absolutely loaded squad that includes former St. Frances point guard Daquan Davis, who led the team with 19 points in the championship game. Nyk Lewis and Caleb Williams, who both also have Terps offers, were the other two in double-digit scoring for TTO with 15 and 10 points respectively.
Maryland has a chance to restock and reload with some of the top talent nationally that just so happens to play in the DMV over the next two cycles.
