NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — One of the big talking points at the Peach Jam this week, and really for this entire recruiting cycle, has been the overall state of the high school talent in the United States.
This comes on the heels of a 2024 class that ended up being better than expected. Cooper Flagg‘s reclassification, the rapid rise of Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe, and the continued ascension of Dylan Harper will make the 2024 freshman class and 2025 NBA Draft class better than advertised. Now, the same chatter has begun about the potential for the 2025 class to raise the bar again.
This comes amidst a larger backdrop of international-born players, or French-born players to be more specific, being selected first overall in consecutive NBA Drafts for the first time in history. The grassroots world is talking about this, actively rooting Flagg to break the trend, and hoping the classes behind him have the firepower to follow suit.
AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes, currently ranked No. 1 overall in the classes of 2025 and 2026, respectively, are the players most consistently mentioned. But to those who have watched the most ball, it is obvious that any conversation that does not include 2025’s No. 2 prospect, Cameron Boozer, is egregiously incomplete.
Let me say it more plainly, Cameron Boozer is the best high school basketball player in the country right now.
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That’s not to say that Boozer is necessarily the best long-term prospect, although that is plenty debatable. Dybantsa has a higher ceiling, but Boozer has a higher floor. If both players maximize their potential, Dybantsa, a jumbo wing and a 6-foot-9 shot creator, will ultimately be the better player.
But Boozer is as much of a sure thing right now as any high school player we’ve seen in a long time.
A potential showdown in the Peach Jam finals
This week at the Peach Jam, it’s not about who’s going to be better down the road. It’s all about the here and now. While it’s hard not to try and project what Dybantsa and Boozer will look like in college and then ultimately at the NBA level, right now both players are trying to win a Peach Jam championship and then wrap up their high school careers in the coming months.
Both Boozer’s Nightrydas Elite team and The Oakland Soldiers squad, which features Dybantsa and Stokes, finished the EYBL regular season at 14-1. After Thursday’s action, both teams were 4-0 at the Peach Jam, setting the stage for a potential final that would be must-see TV.
If that championship match-up comes to fruition it will be all about how Dybantsa and Boozer measure up for 32 minutes.
Boozer’s versatility and ability to impact the game in multiple ways is what makes him so special. But Dybantsa holds the edge in all the glaring stuff. He’s a polished scorer who knows how to get to his spots and has the potential to be a jumbo creator. At 6-foot-9, Dybantsa is a big, scoring wing, which gives him terrific positional size.
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Boozer isn’t as natural as a creator, and he’s closer to a true modern big, who can play the four or the five with both versatility and efficiency.
But… Boozer is the better passer. He can facilitate from various spots on the floor and is the best long-outlet passer the high school game has seen since Kevin Love. Boozer is the better rebounder. He’s a constant double-double threat, and active on both ends, aided by elite hands.
Boozer is more effective off the ball because he knows how to play within an offensive structure. He screens well, has gravity as both a spot-up floor spacer and a roller, and possesses an innate understanding of where the ball and the five bodies on his team need to be.
Boozer may even be a better defender, but that’s truly debatable. Dybantsa’s court coverage is superior which gives him upside on defense, but Boozer is a very fluid lateral mover for his size, an exceptionally reliable team defender in terms of his understanding of weak side positioning and rotations, and an elite defensive rebounder, which allows him to finish possessions.
Overall, it’s the totality of Boozer’s versatility, paired with his maturity and intellect that make him an incredibly consistent basketball player. That’s the high floor. More so than any player in high school basketball, you know exactly what you’re going to get from Cam Boozer when he walks on the court.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I think Dybantsa is the best prospect in high school basketball, but if I needed to win a game today, Boozer is the guy I want on my team.
Sunday may be when we see the No. 1 and No. 2 players in 2025 go head-to-head for an EYBL championship.
