COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp resumed on Sunday with two sessions, for both the underclassmen and upperclassmen, before Sunday evening’s conclusion.
This weekend’s mini-camp reinforced one of the biggest themes of the recent summer, and that’s the strength of the classes of 2025 and 2026.
In July, that narrative centered around a select few national prospects in the rising sophomore class, and while one of those players was truly dominant this weekend, both classes showed encouraging depth of talent as well as potential star power at the very top.
Boozer Dominates
Cameron Boozer wasn’t just the best of the underclassmen; his performance was probably the most consistently impressive among anyone in the field this weekend. Boozer was good on Saturday, but in somewhat subtle ways as he showed off his soft hands, passing ability, and inside-out offensive tools. There was nothing subtle about how good he was on Sunday though. He scored from various spots on the floor. He was poised, balanced, and strong through contact in the paint. He consistently knocked down open threes, both spotting up and playing out of pick-and-pop action. Defensively, he was in all the right spots, blocking shots, and being vocal.
What was perhaps most impressive though was his passing. Boozer seemed to make every right decision. There were left-handed bounce passes off the dribble, touch passes off the short-roll, and long outlets.
In short, he was dominant from start to finish, but did so in a way in which made it look easy. He was just on a different level than everyone else.
Class of 2025
Beyond Boozer, there were numerous underclassmen who managed to impress. Koa Peat, Bryson Tiller, and Darryn Peterson all showed why they are so highly regarded in 2025. Peterson was particularly consistent throughout the weekend. At 6-foot-5, he was composed and fluid handling the ball as a big guard, had good touch both as a lay-up maker at the rim and shooting off the dribble behind the arc, and showed the motor and intangibles to win sprints and give extra effort.
In the backcourt, Meleek Thomas, Nyk Lewis and Jerry Easter were two guards that established themselves right away on Saturday and continued to impress on Sunday. Jeremiah Green really stood out on day two, essentially for three main reasons. First, he made several heady passes and reads, both while probing the lane with his dribble and operating out of ball-screens. Second, he might have had the best floater game in the field. He shot them with both hands and off either one foot or two. Third, he impacts the game on both ends of the floor because of his ability to defend the ball.
On the wing, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Cam Holmes were two players who continued to stack positive plays and signs of upside as the weekend went on. With good wing size, high shoulders, good length, and a strong body, Williams-Adams checks a lot of boxes physically. He was athletic in transition but also showed shooting potential from behind the arc, even jabbing into a three on Sunday. Holmes has similar size and strength on the wing, and is also left-handed. He showed a fluid stroke off the catch and the dribble, and even glimpses of defensive versatility as he was able to sit-down and defend smaller guards.
Up front, Chris Nwuli had a solid camp as well. He got downhill as well as anyone, especially when able to get loose in the open floor. Even without the ball, he runs the floor with powerful strides and puts immediate pressure on the rim. He’s also athletic at the cup, dunking with both hands, and being a threat on the offensive glass.
Class of 2026
This was the first USA Basketball event for the class of 2026. Caleb Gaskins, Tyran Stokes, and Jalen Montonati were the first three players in the class to stand out on Saturday. On Sunday, Montonati was able to do it again with his combination of early perimeter size and skill. Beyond that though, he’s obviously a long way from being a finished product physically, which only adds to the optimism about his long-term potential.
AJ Dybantsa, a player who already has a sizable early reputation, showed some flashes of his undeniable long-term potential on day one, but seemed to be more comfortable and in a better rhythm on day two. At 6-foot-8, he has terrific positional size on the wing along with athleticism that stands out even amongst this level of competition. There’s potential in his shooting stroke as well with a clean and soft release. Given that unique combination of tools, he should only just be scratching the surface of his long-term potential.
Sam Funches is another intriguing long-term prospect to monitor. The 6-foot-10 lefty is just fourteen years old but he has length to match his size, has touch to develop as a face-up shooter, and a naturally high release that makes it almost impossible to block his shot.
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