Nike Peach Jam
This week we traveled down to North Augusta, SC to check out the 2019 Nike Peach Jam. The Peach Jam is the end of the road for the Nike EYBL Circuit which holds most of the marque talent around the United States. For most the EYBL can be considered as the NBA for kids considering that most of these guys will more than likely be future draft picks. The finale of the EYBL Circuit is hosted at Riverview Park which is newly renovated (2 years old) and now has 6 courts. From the time you drive around the looping drive way you can feel the excitement attached to the Peach Jam. Hundreds of cars and thousands of people walk through the doors daily just to soak in the experience. When you walk inside there is Nike banners everywhere. For a first timer this could seem like walking inside of a theme park, but it has a shoe store/basketball gym vibe. The top 24 teams in the league arrived here to battle it out to see who’s the best. The grit and grind of 2 high level games per day is what sets the EYBL apart from other events. Below we will touch on key things to look for if you have a chance to go experience this atmosphere.
College coaches- with it being an NCAA Live period or evaluation period you have hundreds of college coaches in the building. The Who’s who of coach that range from Coach K, John Calpri, Tom Izzo, and Roy Williams just to paint a picture of who all is here watching. They fill the baselines and side lines for all the big time match ups, and gives it that sweaty palms atmosphere of pressure that these players have work so hard to earn the opportunity to display there skills at.
Fans- like mentioned earlier the fans come through the doors by the hundreds in the morning session and by the thousands in the afternoon. With Augusta being a basketball city already and the games located right across the bridge it is easy to fill the center daily. People come far and wide to see the talent on display or just to get a chance to see what the atmosphere is really like. Hundreds of grassroots prospects come in as well to see their peers in action. With there being 4 major events in the city at the same time there are hundreds of teams in the city which turns in to thousands of players coming to watch.
You never know who you’ll see- I’ve been to the Peach Jam 6 times the first time coming in 2010. My first time there I had a chance to meet Doc Rivers who’s son Austin Rivers who played at the time was there competing. CP3 can be found there every year almost. Players like Bradley Beal coach their teams in hopes of adding that extra bit of star power to the side line. A list of guys I’ve seen at the peach jam through the years: Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo Lebron James, Shannon Brown, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and many other EYBL alumni coming back to support.
If you haven’t had a chance to get down to North Augusta, SC for the Peach Jam it’s one of the things you will want to check off the bucket list!
Riverview Park hallway