Cameron Boozer leads team to historic championship at Nike’s Peach Jam

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The stage was set for a monster matchup for the final under-17 game at Nike’s Peach Jam as the two best teams in the EYBL and the three top players in high school basketball squared off.

On one side of the ball was the No. 1 player in the incoming senior class, A.J. Dybantsa, and the No. 1 player in the incoming junior class, Tyran Stokes with Oakland Soldiers (California). On the other side was arguably one of the best grassroots teams ever with Nightrydas Elite (Florida), led by three of the top incoming seniors, Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer and Caleb Wilson.

Nightrydas Elite made history Sunday when it became the first grassroots team to win consecutive Peach Jam championships at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels after defeating the Soldiers, 71-62. The Boozer twins have also won three straight Florida state championships and are two-time gold medal winners for Team USA, most recently taking home gold in Istanbul for the U17 FIBA World Cup.

It was the Cameron Boozer show in the championship game as he did a bit of everything, finishing with 19 points (7-for-8 from the field), 10 rebounds and five assists.

“This group has been together a long time and our goal, always, is to win,” Cameron Boozer said after the game. “I’m so proud of my teammates. Everyone chipped in and we played our asses off. If you want to win, you have to get the entire team involved, it’s not just about you. I know they were trying to play me tight and I knew guys coming off screens were going to be open because of the spacing.”

Both the Nightrydas Elite and Oakland Soldiers were 14-1 coming into Peach Jam. Fans, college coaches and NBA scouts packed the gym all week as both teams went a perfect 5-0 in pool play and beat tough teams to advance to the finals. Head coaches from Duke, Miami, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Auburn, Florida, UConn and Alabama lined the sidelines for the semifinals and finals at the Riverview Park Activities Center. San Antonio Spurs point guard Chris Paul and former NBA All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Boozer (dad to Cameron and Cayden) were also watching the future NBA talent hit the…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-21 18:34:26

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