Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer wasted no time getting eyes on one of the most talked-about young guards in the country on Thursday morning at Peach Jam.
That prospect was JJ Crawford, the rising sophomore at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle who has already built a national profile as a five-star talent. Playing for NW Rotary 16U in North Augusta, S.C., Crawford delivered a big performance in front of Scheyer, first-year UNC basketball head coach Mike Malone, several other college coaches, and NBA scouts as his team rolled past Nightrydas 104-69 to move to 2-1 at the event.
Crawford finished with 26 points and did it with efficiency. The 6-foot-4, 160-pound scorer went 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 from 3-point range, making the kind of impression that tends to travel fast in a gym full of decision-makers.
"Always so impressed with the poise and polish of JJ Crawford, who just turned 16 this past month," League Him's Jacob Myers noted afterward in the following post on social media.
Always so impressed with the poise and polish of JJ Crawford, who just turned 16 this past month. He opened up the live period this AM with 26 points on 10-14 FG amongst a packed gym of college coaches and NBA personnel including HCs from Duke, UNC, BYU + more. pic.twitter.com/dnKBgqPsh5
Through three Peach Jam games at the Riverview Park Activities Center, Crawford is averaging 16.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from deep.
The recruiting buzz around Crawford is already substantial. ESPN has him ranked No. 1 in the 2029 class, and his offer list includes Kansas and Kentucky, two bluebloods that only add to the sense that he’s one of the most heavily pursued young players in the country.
Thursday was the first day college coaches were permitted to attend Peach Jam, and Scheyer’s group showed up early. Crawford was among the first prospects they watched, while Duke’s staff also has offers out to multiple players on hand in the 2027 and 2028 classes.
Duke also has a 2027 commit in Wisconsin Lutheran School forward Kager Knueppel, a newly minted composite five-star who is playing for Team Herro at Peach Jam and was scheduled for a noon ET game Thursday on NBA TV.
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Duke Commit Kager Knueppel Is Making Scheyer Look Smart Early
Kager Knueppels early rise is giving Duke another reason to feel good about its 2027 recruiting work. The four-star forward and Blue Devils commit has climbed the national rankings while turning in a strong showing with Team Herro at the 2026 Nike EYBL Peach Jam, and the buzz around him only adds to the momentum around a class that already features other major targets such as Beckham Black, Adan Diggs and Lewis Uvwo.
The appeal is easy to see for Duke: Knueppel brings the kind of size, skill and feel that tends to play well in Durham, and the family connection does not hurt either. As the younger brother of former Duke player and current Charlotte Hornet Kon Knueppel, he already comes with a familiar name and a program tie, but the bigger story is how quickly his stock is moving as the Blue Devils continue to build around Scheyers next wave of recruiting. [Read more 🡒]