Good Morning, Illini Nation: Five players to watch at Peach Jam

Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:

Nike's annual summer-end event on the EYBL circuit tipped off Friday in North Augusta, S.C. Peach Jam is the event on the AAU schedule where top basketball talent in the country converges on the South Carolina/Georgia state line and brings with it a bevy of interested coaches.

So count on an Illinois presence with the Illini recruiting some of the best players nationally in the Class of 2025 (and beyond). Here are five Brad Underwood and Co. will likely be watching:

Jasper Johnson

Illinois got in the mix for Johnson — a top 15 prospect in the Class of 2025 — after Orlando Antigua returned to the program as associate head coach. The 6-foot-4, five-star guard out of Lexington, Ky., followed up a strong spring for Team Thad (14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game) by helping Team USA win gold at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup where he teamed with current Illini Morez Johnson Jr.

AJ Dybantsa

The offer from Illinois to Dybantsa came after now former Illini commit Jeremiah Fears said that was one guy he would try and recruit to Champaign. Even without Fears in the mix anymore, pushing for Dybantsa still falls under the "good idea" umbrella. The 6-8 wing is the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, just won gold at the FIBA U17 World Cup for the U.S. and put up 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and three assists per game for Oakland Soliders in the EYBL regular season.

Brandon Lee

The number of boxes Lee checks made his recent Illinois offer something of a no brainer. The 6-2 guard might not have great positional size, but he's a Puerto Rico native with international experience that plays for The Patrick School (N.J.) on for NY RENS on the EYBL circuit. As a reminder, Giorgi Bezhanishvili attended The Patrick School, and Kofi Cockburn played for NY RENS. Lee, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025, averaged 22.8 points and 3.3 rebounds this spring in EYBL action.

Amari Evans

Evans also received an offer after Antigua returned to Champaign. The 6-5 guard played this past season for Overtime Elite, but he's from Pittsburgh and plays for New Heights Lightning — a New York-based program — on the EYBL circuit. Evans put up 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for New Heights and shot 37 percent from three-point range this spring.

Trey McKenney

While Lee and Johnson landed on Illinois' board because of Antigua, McKenney was a Tim Anderson connection. The four/five-star guard out of Flint, Mich., played for MeanStreets last year before moving to Michigan-based The Family this EYBL season. McKenney and The Family are actually playing in the Peach Invitational Tournament — the NIT to Peach Jam's NCAA tournament — but the gold medal winner (also on that AmeriCup team) will still get a chance to shine after averaging 11.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in the regular season.