Atlanta Jam Day 1 Notebook from Justin Byerly
The Atlanta Jam is here. The first live period of the 2023 season. The coaches were out and there will be more this weekend seeing the guys that will hopefully fill up college rosters over the next couple of years. Let's dive right in and see who stood out on the first night.
1 of 1 Rare Elite Start Where They Left Off
Jermaine Jackson's squad has some dudes and they went right at Monarchs from Canada in their first game of the weekend. Leading the way for 1 of 1 Rare was Jeremiah Jackson. Shooters shoot and Jackson showed he is a capable shooter from the outside. He finished with 14 points in the win.
Also leading Rare was LJ Rush with 11 points and Gevonte Ware with 12 points. Rush is a guy that is a bouncy guard with some flash to his game.
Ware is a big and strong forward that can run the floor. He is hard to stop when he is at full speed. He takes it strong to the basket every time he gets a chance and spends a lot of time at the foul line. He has a lot of toughness and has good timing as a rebounder and a shot-blocker.
Scott Wood Elite Impresses
Scott Wood Elite guard Nathan Fife has been on our stage before and he always shows out. Tonight, Fife dropped 23 points including making five shots from the three-point line. He is a natural scoring guard that can fill it up when he wants to. He showed a nice handle with a really good hesitation dribble that left the defenders wondering where he went. He has a variety of ways that he can score the ball and is playing up a year as a 2025 prospect.
Cash McSweeney was another impressive prospect for Scott Wood Elite. The forward showed some really nice footwork and a soft-touch around the rim. He is also interesting with his ability to step out and knock down shots from the outside, stretching the floor.
Cornish Has Big First-Half
SWFL Hoops Red wing/forward Jamil Cornish had a huge first half against No Guts No Glory in their win on Friday night. Cornish scored 23 points in the first half in a game that ended up being really close towards the end. Cornish is a 6-foot-5 prospect with a lot of athleticism and scoring ability. He is going to fun to continue to watch this weekend.
1 of 1 Elite Has Some Dudes
As we saw in Raleigh last week with 1 of 1 Rare Elite, we also saw from 1 of 1 Elite. The play of JaJuan Nicholls was up there with the best that we saw on the opening night of Atlanta Jam. The big man is a ferocious dunker and he is a rim-protector.
I thought Brandon Callahan had a solid showing as well for 1 of 1. He has good size at the guard spot and has beefed up some since the high school season and last travel season. He has a really good looking shot and is capable of making some from the outside. He came up with a few deflections and steals that led to easy baskets for Nick Johnson's squad.
One guy who might not kill it on the score sheet but just does everything really well is Christian Andrews. The 6-foot guard originally from WNC has won state title after state title down at Dorman High School and he is one of those guys that just doesn't make mistakes. He has a textbook jump-shot and always makes the right pass.
