​Elijah Crawford of Augusta’s team lined up to take a shot during the Skills Factory and CP3 game at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina, on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, a day when TSF edged CP3 59-58. The moment brought a touch of nostalgia to Clint Bryant as he watched the 2026 NBA Finals unfold. Amid the various positional matchups on display, the point guard duel between the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and the San Antonio Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox captured the interest of Bryant, a former Augusta University athletic director and men’s basketball coach who had seen countless Peach Jam games over the tournament’s 30-year history. He was the man who initiated Peach Jam’s move to Augusta, a decision he recalls with a sense of pride.
“We thought it was a good idea conceptually,” Bryant said of the event. “I don’t know if anybody knew, including Nike, that it would become the longest-lasting event of its time, and every major shoe company across the country has been trying to model and duplicate it since that time.” Since its inaugural run in 1996, the Nike EYBL Peach Jam has grown into a summer staple of high school basketball. Countless players who have competed there would go on to professional careers, and even more would earn college scholarships thanks to the exposure the tournament provides. The event consistently fills seats with college coaches, agents, and devoted fans alike.
But the Peach Jam did not begin as the marquee showcase it is today. It started as a concept that was still taking shape. In 1995, Eddie Meyers, then an assistant coach for Georgetown men’s basketball, pitched the idea to Bryant as Nike planned a summer travel tournament for youth players. The biggest challenge was locating a site that could accommodate multiple games simultaneously while also offering golf courses for coaches to enjoy during downtime. Nike initially considered Myrtle Beach or Las Vegas, but the intensive hotel and venue demands of those tourist hubs in summer made those options impractical.
Bryant proposed Augusta, drawn by its combination of premier golf courses and a cluster of colleges with gyms within a mile of Augusta University. Nike liked the plan, and Meyers visited to assess the potential venues. Once in Augusta, the evaluation of possible sites did not exactly scream perfection when looked at in isolation. Yet Bryant insisted on one more stop before Meyers left the area. Across the Savannah River in North Augusta lay a new facility—the Riverview Park—and Bryant believed it could be the game changer the event needed. The rest, as they say, is history, with Peach Jam growing into a longstanding emblem of youth basketball and a launchpad for countless athletes as they chased college and professional dreams.