NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — One of many massive speaking factors on the Peach Jam this week, and actually for this complete recruiting cycle, has been the general state of the highschool expertise in the US.
This comes on the heels of a 2024 class that ended up being higher than anticipated. Cooper Flagg‘s reclassification, the speedy rise of Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe, and the continued ascension of Dylan Harper will make the 2024 freshman class and 2025 NBA Draft class higher than marketed. Now, the identical chatter has begun concerning the potential for the 2025 class to lift the bar once more.
This comes amidst a bigger backdrop of international-born gamers, or French-born gamers to be extra particular, being chosen first total in consecutive NBA Drafts for the primary time in historical past. The grassroots world is speaking about this, actively rooting Flagg to interrupt the development, and hoping the courses behind him have the firepower to comply with swimsuit.
AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes, at the moment ranked No. 1 total within the courses of 2025 and 2026, respectively, are the gamers most persistently talked about. However to those that have watched probably the most ball, it’s apparent that any dialog that doesn’t embody 2025’s No. 2 prospect, Cameron Boozer, is egregiously incomplete.
Let me say it extra plainly, Cameron Boozer is the perfect highschool basketball participant within the nation proper now.
That is to not say that Boozer is essentially the perfect long-term prospect, though that’s lots debatable. Dybantsa has a better ceiling, however Boozer has a better ground. If each gamers maximize their potential, Dybantsa, a jumbo wing and a 6-foot-9 shot creator, will finally be the higher participant.
However Boozer is as a lot of a positive factor proper now as any highschool participant we have seen in a very long time.
A possible showdown within the Peach Jam finals
This week on the Peach Jam, it is not about who’s going to be higher down the street. It is all concerning the right here and now. Whereas it is onerous to not try to venture what Dybantsa and Boozer will appear to be in school after which finally on the NBA stage, proper now each gamers are attempting to win a Peach Jam championship after which wrap up their highschool careers within the coming months.
Each Boozer’s Nightrydas Elite staff and The Oakland Troopers squad, which options Dybantsa and Stokes, completed the EYBL common season at 14-1. After Thursday’s motion, each groups had been 4-0 on the Peach Jam, setting the stage for a possible remaining that may be must-see TV.
If that championship match-up involves fruition will probably be all about how Dybantsa and Boozer measure up for 32 minutes.
Boozer’s versatility and talent to influence the sport in a number of methods is what makes him so particular. However Dybantsa holds the sting in all of the obvious stuff. He is a cultured scorer who is aware of how you can get to his spots and has the potential to be a jumbo creator. At 6-foot-9, Dybantsa is a giant, scoring wing, which supplies him terrific positional dimension.
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Boozer is not as pure as a creator, and he is nearer to a real trendy massive, who can play the 4 or the 5 with each versatility and effectivity.
However… Boozer is the higher passer. He can facilitate from varied spots on the ground and is the perfect long-outlet passer the highschool recreation has seen since Kevin Love. Boozer is the higher rebounder. He is a relentless double-double risk, and energetic on each ends, aided by elite arms.
Boozer is more practical off the ball as a result of he is aware of how you can play inside an offensive construction. He screens properly, has gravity as each a spot-up ground spacer and a curler, and possesses an innate understanding of the place the ball and the 5 our bodies on his staff must be.
Boozer might even be a greater defender, however that is really debatable. Dybantsa’s courtroom protection is superior which supplies him upside on protection, however Boozer is a really fluid lateral mover for his dimension, an exceptionally dependable staff defender by way of his understanding of weak aspect positioning and rotations, and an elite defensive rebounder, which permits him to complete possessions.
General, it is the totality of Boozer’s versatility, paired along with his maturity and mind that make him an extremely constant basketball participant. That is the excessive ground. Extra so than any participant in highschool basketball, you already know precisely what you are going to get from Cam Boozer when he walks on the courtroom.
I’ve stated it earlier than and I will say it once more – I believe Dybantsa is the perfect prospect in highschool basketball, but when I wanted to win a recreation right now, Boozer is the man I would like on my staff.
Sunday could also be after we see the No. 1 and No. 2 gamers in 2025 go head-to-head for an EYBL championship.
