Five Takeaways from Early Action at Jordan Holiday Classic

December 29, 2023 by Travis Graf

With the Jordan Holiday Classic halfway over, let's take a look at five takeaways from the action thus far.

Tahaad Pettiford Chose The Right School

2024 scoring guard Tahaad Pettiford is one of the most electric scorers in the class. It’s not always efficient and he’s capable of racking up turnovers quickly, but the heavy majority of the time he gets it done in that regard. There’s not a school in the country that has had more consistent success with smaller guards than Bruce Pearl and Auburn, who lets the backcourt rock out at all times. 

Pettiford ended Wednesday’s game with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, a couple steals, and five turnovers in a narrow overtime loss. 

Adam Njie is Going to Make Some College Happy

Available 2024 guard Adam Njie was very impressive in Cardinal Hayes’ 30-point win on Wednesday. The senior guard finished with an efficient 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting while knocking down two of his three attempts from the outside. Njie showed a good balance of scoring and creation with the ball in his hands. He also got it done on the defensive end, where he was a menace. Njie finished the game with five steals and played quality on-ball defense in the victory. 

Njie was originally committed to Washington State, but backed off of his commitment in August. He’s currently being pursued by Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Temple, and others. 

Our Savior Lutheran Has One of the Nation’s Top Backcourts

Our Savior Lutheran’s quartet of backcourt pieces scored 81 of the team’s 93 points in a five-point win over the Phelps School. North Carolina signee Ian Jackson is the headliner and spearheaded the attack with 31 points while knocking down 4-of-6 shots from the outside and thriving in transition. 

Syracuse signee Elijah Moore was very effective with his jumper, finishing 2-of-5 from three and knocking down a fair share of jumpers from the mid-range while having a couple barely rim out. His feel for scoring the ball off of the bounce on one or two-dribble pull-ups is impressive to watch. 

2026 Jordan Skyers impressed on his way to 20 points in the win. He was effective as a driver, showing good balance on drives and finishes. The form on his jumper is compact and it’s repeatable. I’d expect his recruitment to take off soon. Mississippi State signed Dellquan Warren also showed off a nice balance from the lead guard spot, accounting for 11 points and seven assists. 

Phelps School’s 2025 Duo Impresses

Outside of AJ Dybantsa, the top prospect in 2025, there’s not a player in the country with Will Riley’s size that’s able to initiate the attack up top as well as he does. His playmaking has improved drastically over the past six months, and he processed the game well as he made a lot of good reads with the ball in his hands. He’s getting comfortable driving both to his left and right hand and finishes well around the basket with either as well. Riley got paint touches with and without a screen and was effective when posting up opposing guards. 

Arizona, Arkansas, Villanova, and others are involved with the five-star. 

Viewings of 2025 forward Onyx Nnani have led to up and down performances and inconsistency over the past year, but he was the best version of himself on Wednesday. He showed inside-out ability and was efficient from the outside, knocking down 3-of-5 from three. Nnani also showed flashes of defensive versatility on the perimeter, able to switch onto quick guards and hold his own. 

St. John’s, Oregon, and Mississippi State are among the programs to watch in this recruitment. 

Brandon Lee is a Name to Monitor in 2025

Junior guard Brandon Lee was very impressive in a win over Don Bosco Prep, finishing with 34 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-8 from the outside. He showed off three-level scoring ability and the ability to create his own offense. He initiated a lot of contact throughout the course of the game, being rewarded with 15 free throw attempts, where he knocked down 14. 

Missouri State and NJIT are two of the offers on the table for Lee.