Three Things from @JustinByerly at The Atlanta Jam
SUWANEE, GA - The Atlanta Jam kicked off tonight at Suwanee Sports Academy outside of Atlanta. The atmosphere is getting back to normal around the gyms and parents and spectators could be heard with a buzz that we have missed over the past year. It's good to be back and it's good to be watching travel basketball again.
Far and Away
We had programs make it down to the Suwanee Sports Academy from Seattle, Washington, New Haven, Connecticut and California and they did not disappoint. Team Rampage from California came in and got a win over The Atlanta Astros 60-52 to start the night.
Leading the way for Team Rampage was 6-foot-4 Mikey Pierce who scored 13 points. The junior guard can score from all over the floor and has size at the guard spot. Junior point guard Jevon Blakmore also scored 13 points. Blackmore can really get off the floor and grabs a lot of rebounds off of his athleticism. Team Rampage causes a lot of problems on the defensive side of the ball and force turnovers leading to baskets.
Northwest Select out of Seattle, Washington also impressed in their game against Metro Elite. Unsigned senior point guard Winston Cole scores in a variety of ways and is one of the more vocal players I have seen this travel season. He talks on defense and is always moving on offense. I like his demeanor on the floor and he plays hard. His coach tells HoopSeen that he is talking to Nevada and Wofford lately.
Team Pettaway Elite out of New Haven, Connecticut is a hard-nosed bunch of big guards. Leading the way in their win was Jayquan Kirkland, a 6-foot-4 wing who scored 17 points and 15 points from Quentar Taylor, a 6-foot-1 guard that moves as well as any big-bodied guard I have seen.
Brafford Ceiling Keeps Rising
Team Swish do-it-all prospect Nate Brafford had one of the best performances I have seen from him on the travel circuit. The 6-foot-8 junior scored 28 points, grabbed over 12 rebounds and caused so many problems on defense. His length deflects passes and also allows him to grab a lot of rebounds. He shot the ball as well as I have seen him, making six shots from beyond the arc. He does a really good job of bringing the ball up in transition and breaking down defenders off the dribble.
Brafford tells HoopSeen that the same schools are recruiting him, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida and Stetson. He said he has spoken to former Western Carolina Head Coach Mark Prosser since taking the Winthrop job but no new offer. Brafford had an offer from WCU before Prosser left.
Coaches Back in the Building
It’s great to see college coaches back in the gym. This weekend would have been a live period weekend for Division I college coaches of all levels but with Covid-19 it was cancelled.
Division II, Division II and junior college coaches can attend and evaluate. We are getting closer to getting back to how it used to be with college recruiting and I for one am looking forward to it.
At any given time tonight, I saw four or five coaches together checking on a game. I haven't seen that in over a year so it was something great to see.
