Duke Basketball Head Coach Jon Scheyer Checks Out Phenom Recruit

JJ Crawford is just a rising sophomore at Ranier Beach High School in Seattle, jWash. But the five-star prep has been playing on the Nike EYBL stage since he was a mere middle schooler shining against high school kids. And on Thursday morning, his latest stellar performance came at Peach Jam with Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer sitting courtside.

Fueling his NW Rotary 16U squad's 104-69 win over Nightrydas to improve to 2-1 at the prestigious annual event in North Augusta, S.C., Crawford erupted for 26 points in front of Scheyer and a handful of other high-profile college recruiters, including first-year UNC basketball head coach Mike Malone, not to mention some NBA scouts.

JJ Crawford, ESPN’s No. 1 player in 2029, put on a SHOW in front of Duke and UNC 🚨😮‍💨

🔥 26 PTS
🔥 10-14 FG
🔥 6-9 3PT@JJ1Crawford @JCrossover @NikeEYB pic.twitter.com/d8i7Wkel3w
— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) July 16, 2026

Not only did JJ Crawford light up the scoreboard, but the 6-foot-4, 160-pound beyond-his-years bucket-getter, the son of former 20-year NBA guard and three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, also did so in highly efficient fashion. He shot a blistering 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 beyond the arc in the lopsided victory.

"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
— Jacob Myers (@League_Him) July 16, 2026

Across three Peach Jam outings thus far at the Riverview Park Activities Center this week, Crawford is now averaging 16.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Overall, he's shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three.

A few recruiting sites have yet to publish their rankings for the 2029 class. That said, ESPN has Crawford at No. 1 overall in the cycle, and his ever-growing list of offers, already featuring a couple of blueblood programs in the Kansas Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats, is further evidence of his status as one of the most heralded players among his peers.

Duke Basketball Staff Just Getting Started at Peach Jam

Thursday marked the first day that college coaches were allowed to attend Peach Jam, which continues through the weekend.

Jon Scheyer and his cohorts arrived right away in the morning, as JJ Crawford was one of the first prospects they watched. Meanwhile, the powerhouse crew from Durham has offers out to several of the talents on hand, all of which are in either the 2027 or 2028 cycle.

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheye — Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer stands on the court during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Plus, the lone 2027 Duke basketball commit, a newly minted composite five-star forward in Wisconsin Lutheran School's Kager Knueppel, is a standout for one of Peach Jam's premier 17U teams in Team Herro, playing at noon ET Thursday (NBA TV).

Add us as a preferred source on Google