NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – After a week of action at Peach Jam, there were a lot of notable performances from players of all age groups, and today we take a look at some of the very best from the 17U division. There were many worthy candidates, so narrowing the list down to five was no easy task.
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More from the Peach Jam: Stock boosters | The Cassidy Awards | Friday's takeaways | Thursday's takeaways | Wednesday's takeaways | Takeaways from the beginning of the event
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McNeeley was consistently knocking down shots from the mid-range and from the perimeter over the course of the week, but he didn’t have a better performance than in Drive Nation’s win over Team Melo. He accounted for 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He was terrific in creating off of the bounce for himself and for others, and was very comfortable operating from the perimeter, mid-range, and post-ups.
McNeeley also scored a methodical 28 points in a win over Seattle Rotary on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Recruitment: McNeeley holds offers from programs such as Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Alabama, Indiana, Texas, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and others.
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Ducharme went absolutely nuclear from the floor in his matchup with Vegas Elite. Every shot that left his hand looked like it was going to go in and he let them all go with extreme confidence. He ended the game with 42 points on 15-of-25 shooting from the field, 6-of-11 from behind the arc and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Ducharme showed the ability to get hotter than anyone else at Peach Jam at the drop of a dime. When his shot was falling, he was liable to hit a handful in just a few minutes.
Recruitment: Syracuse, Xavier, Penn State, Iowa, Providence and Stanford have offered Ducharme, among others.
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Despite All-Ohio coming up short in a loss to the Georgia Stars, Royal did everything that he could to try to secure the win. The four-star forward finished the game with 27 points and 16 rebounds, finishing consistently within 10 feet and maneuvering his way to the basket while picking his spots in the mid-range as well.
Royal finished the game 12-of-21 from the field and 10 of his 16 rebounds came on the defensive end of the floor.
Recruitment: Royal will trim his list down to three on Friday. The four-star prospect holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Marquette, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and others.
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Johnson put together one of the most complete performances of any guard at Peach Jam against the Oakland Soldiers, tallying 31 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The NY Rens guard only coughed up one turnover in the matchup and also shot 50 percent from the field. Johnson was silky smooth and consistent in getting to his spots, showcased a very quick first step, and made nearly all of the correct reads.
Recruitment: Johnson holds offers from Seton Hall, St. John’s, Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, DePaul, VCU and others.
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In a star-studded matchup between the NJ Scholars and Team Griffin, nobody shined brighter than Mgbako. The five-star Duke commit shot 50 percent from the field on the way to a 26-point outing. Mgbako also corralled eight rebounds in the matchup and finished with two blocks as well.
It was the future Blue Devil’s best shooting performance of the week as well, as he finished 5-of-9 from the outside. The 6-foot-8 forward played with the most confidence that he has in a long time and he produced in a game-to-game basis at Peach Jam.
Recruitment: Mgbako is committed to Duke.
