COLUMBIA, S.C. - Every year some of the top schools from the Columbia area get together for a preseason fall league. This season is no different, as the talent was wall to wall - and so was the crowd. Rivals.com’s Jamie Shaw was in the stands and here are the standouts.
Jackson is the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2023 class, and we have come to expect versatile and dominating performances from the 6-foot-9 forward. Jackson delivered as he stepped into multiple 3-pointers and attacked the basket for ferocious dunks.
Jackson’s recruitment is just starting to take shape as he has had a consistent line of high major coaches in his gym this fall. Jackson was able to make it up to North Carolina for its Late Night with Hubert Davis event.
“It was a first for me, being in a college arena while the players were there with a crowd,” Jackson said. “It was an amazing atmosphere. I had the legend Roy Williams behind me; I kept looking over my shoulder but I didn’t want to make it weird. I got to see how their players play and how I could fit into the system. They get their big guys the ball a lot, they stretch out, get the rebounds and push it up the floor.”
Jackson has been busy visiting campuses this fall. He has taken trips to Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech as well as being on campus at North Carolina and South Carolina multiple times. As the high school season is starting, the visits are slowing down some but he does have one more visit scheduled.
“I am still trying to set dates for other visits, but I do have a visit set with Georgetown the first week of November,” Jackson said.
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Scott is a smooth shooter, with deep range and the ability to get to his spots off movement or off the bounce. He is a lengthy and quick twitch athlete, and when he is attacking the rim, he is at his best. Scott finished the running clock game with 22 points.
Already up to eight offers, Scott has started to make his rounds on visiting some of the programs who have offered him. The 6-foot-5 wing has made his way across town to South Carolina multiple times and made it to Athens to visit Georgia. This past weekend, Scott was in Blacksburg, Va. to get a feel for Virginia Tech.
“I loved the campus and their entire coaching staff shows me love. They are a very deep team, they play together very well and are all friendly. They have a great community too. That was one of my biggest takeaways from Virginia Tech is that their community really buys into athletics as well as academics.”
With a summer that has included a run to the Peach Jam finals and an invite to the Team USA U16 mini-camp, Scott has one more visit on the books before he slows down a little to gear up for the season.
“I am going to Clemson next weekend. Since they have been a football powerhouse for so long, I want to see how they take care of their basketball team, both academically and athletically,” Scott said. “I have had a long time connection with the coaching staff there, they were in it with me since the very beginning of the process. They are a school I have really been excited to get to see.”
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What a step Williams has taken this summer. The 6-foot-6 lefty has always been very bouncy, but his skill set, and confidence, has started to round out. In this setting, Williams showed his ability to defend multiple positions and end defensive possessions with rebounds. He also showed sneaky weakside timing for protecting the rim.
Offensively, his team did a good job of lining him up at multiple spots on the floor. Williams would post on one possession, play from the elbows the following possession, and initiate the offense his third trip up the floor. With a great frame and quick-twitch explosion, Williams continues to get better with his best basketball ahead of him.
Air Force did a good job of wrapping the Columbia (S.C.) Blythewood High forward up before things really got started. Had they allowed Williams to wait things out, his options could have really expanded.
