EMERSON, GA —The GBCA team camps have become two of the best weekends for summer recruiting in the south. With the transfer portal having taken center stage in April, June has become one of the most important recruiting periods for prospects. Playing well at Lakepoint for the two weekends can up a players’ profile in a hurry. 

College coaches, in addition to both local and national media, filled the Champions’ Center for a busy opening day of the weekend. I was on hand from start to finish, here are some quick highlights from the games that I saw. 

Grayson picks up a strong win 

Summer results aren’t all that important at the end of the day, but getting a good win against a team that will be in the national conversation certainly isn’t a bad thing, and Grayson did just that with a win over Myers Park. 

Anthony Alston continued his rise with a good overall day. I know Justin Young watched him from all the way out in Phoenix and liked what the 2024 guard did as a scorer, and Alston backed that morning performance up with another good scoring game with 15 points. 

The 2025 front court made up of Jacob Wilkins and Amir Taylor  both finished in double figures as well, and they probably combined for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 rebounds. 

2026 guard Kayden Allen had a complete game for them with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and some solid defense. Allen is a talented scorer, one of the best rising sophomores in Georgia, and when he’s doing all of the other things outside of putting points on the board, his game elevates to a different level. 

Another 2026 guard Kamari Brown provided a grat spark of energy off the bench. The minutes will be taken up by older players ahead of him, but if he can bring that kind of effort to the floor when he gets his opportunities, he’ll be plenty helpful to this team. 

The Rams are deep, man. I talked about it after seeing them at the Relentless Hoops Summer League. They got good contributions from a number of guys, but the benefit of the depth comes from their ability to use the bench as a motivator. They can rotate with little drop off. 

Now, to Myers Park’s credit, they were without one of their best players, but Grayson was as well, so that evens the playing field in that regard. 

Kell’s trio of rising seniors closes the day strongly

Kell figured to be one of the best teams in Georgia with all of the returning players they had from last season’s championship group. 

Despite playing without Peyton Marshall, who is returning from a trip to Adidas Eurocamp in Italy, the Longhorns ended the day with an emphatic win behind productive games from their trio of rising seniors. 

The player of the game was CJ Brown. He led with 21 points, and he got them in a variety of ways. Brown has always been able to go on scoring outbursts via his elite athleticism. He did that, but he also showed off a little more of his jumper with some mid-range shots. 

Brown is deserving of a level up in recruiting in my estimation. He’s one of the more popular recruits here, and that should materialize in terms of offers sooner than later. 

Cannon Richards was impressive as is often the case with him. He’s one of Georgia’s most productive forwards. It’s his athleticism and motor that never cease to impress. 

Richards’ best asset is his rebounding. He pulls boards in traffic and will go out of his area to grab them as well. His jumper was working well for him on Friday night as well.

Jaylen Colon is the most underrated of the bunch. His value as a shotmaker can’t go understated. He’s one of the best shooters in Georgia, and that showed in flashes. 

Colon does more than just shoot though. He does little things that lead to wins that may not necessarily show up on box scores. 

Pace balance, defense shine in opener

Pace Academy is coming off of a state championship, and most of that team is back and looking just as good as they did back in March in their opening game of the weekend. 

It was an effort built on balance and defense. The Knights only allowed 32 points, and they had six players finish with either 8 or 9 points. 

KJ Greene shined as one of the team’s leaders. He set the tone for the rest of the squad. 

2026 F MJ Madison has taken steps forward across the board as well. He brings some two-way versatility and had some great moments. 

Chandler Bing, Eric Chatfield, and LJ Moore were some of the major contributors a season ago, and they all had their bright spots in the win as well. 

A new addition, 2026 guard Brian Clark looks to be a welcome addition to an already deep team. 

JR Leonard backs up early interest

One of the more popular names in Georgia’s 2025 class has been Riverwood’s JR Leonard. The 6-foot-5 guard heard from plenty of schools as soon as the class was able to be directly contacted by college coaches—more on that later. He backed up those early interests with a productive day. 

When I got to catch Leonard, he dropped 24 points in a win and kept building his reputation as one of the best scorers in the state’s group of rising juniors. 

In total, he averaged 19.5 points per game in three games on Friday. 

New look at Norcross

Norcross has a new look after graduating several seniors. 

This group of Blue Devils got a particularly impressive game from 2024 forward Casey Williams. The 6’7 wing plays hard, with a good motor. He pursues rebounds hard and is a strong scoring presence around the basket. 

2026 W Jaron Saulsberry looks like a guy who can have a prominent role on the squad as soon as this season. Initially, his impact will be made as a versatile, athletic defensive presence. 

2024 guards Toby Ojukwu, Michael Pace and Kennedy Warren had good moments for the Blue Devils as well. That backcourt has a chance to be a sneaky good one in the Peach State. 

West Forsyth opens hot

In the first time slot of the weekend, West Forsyth picked up a win and looked good in doing so. 

Will Moore, Sam Maynard, Chase Damerell were among the standouts for the Wolverines. 

Moore is the most highly-touted prospect of the bunch, having gotten looks from high-major programs. Despite having battled the injury bug recently, Moore had a healthy crowd on hand to watch him, and he didn’t disappoint. 

His 3-point shot was working particularly well for him on Friday afternoon. He also showed plenty in the leadership department, as he was noticeably vocal on both ends of the floor. 

He didn’t get to show his high-level athleticism much, but it came out in flashes. 

It wouldn’t be a shock to see his recruitment regain some steam after these June live periods. He certainly started things off well. 

Maynard and Damerell were bright spots as well. The Georgia Legacy teammates are a pair of versatile forwards showed that they should be garnering some college attention as well with their overall productivity. Both can defend and play multiple spots on the floor defensively and offensively. 

This weekend and going forward, they should be prime targets for coaches at the next level.