BBE 17s Turn Heads at Peach Jam

The first week in July brought about the showcase of the year on the Nike EYBL Circuit, Peach Jam, and for the Bradley Beal Elite 17U team, it was one more chance to bring their very best.

The 17U team stared down some of the best teams in the nation and left Georgia with a 3-2 record. That included wins over AZ Unity, Houston Hoops and Team Melo. Unfortunately there were losses too, including a tough one to New York Renaissance on Friday afternoon that left the BBE 17U squad on the outside looking in when tournament play began.

But the week still brought some valuable experience and exposure for the 17U Elite. Jeremiah Fears finished the tournament with averages of 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game (third among 17U players).

Lathan Sommerville averaged 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Tyler Tanner posted 9.4 points, 4.8 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game (second among 17U players). Jadis Jones averaged 8.8 points per game while shooting 62/5 percent from the field.

Fears got off to a hot start in the 62-45 win over AZ Unity with 21 points on 8-of-14 along with seven rebounds and two steals.

The second game of the week was a setback, a tough 70-66 loss to Mokan Elite, but it wasn’t without its star-making performances, as Sommerville scored 23 points on 8-of-11 and Tyler Tanner had 18 points on 6-of-8 with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Jadis Jones added 11 points and five boards.

BBE bounced back on Wednesday, dropping Houston Hoops 55-47, backed by a hugh 17-point, 13-rebound double-double by Sommerville.

Fears caught the attention of scouts in the showdown, going head-to-head with Houston’s Tre Johnson and forcing the highly-regarded guard to take 16 shots to score 16 points. In addition to his defense, Fears scored 10 points in the win and Jadis Jones added another 11 points.

BBE kept it rolling on Thursday with their biggest win of the week, defeating Team Melo thanks to strong performances across the board. Fears led the scoring with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Tyler Tanner had his best game of the week with 13 points on 6-of-11, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jordan McCollum added 10 points on 4-of-8 and Jadis Jones filled out the stat sheet with six points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

Despite the final game of the week being a 66-58 loss to New York Renaissance that eliminated BBE, there were standouts, including Tanner with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Landren Blocker, who finished strong with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals.