Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Dante Allen, Nightrydas win Peach Jam, cement dynasty status

Syracuse basketball recruiting target Dante Allen and his AAU teammates have accomplished a remarkable feat that some high school hoops experts say may never happen again, or at least not for a while.

On Sunday, the 6-foot-4 guard and his colleagues with the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite captured the coveted Peach Jam crown on Nike’s EYBL circuit in the main 17U division. Peach Jam had been running since July 12 in North Augusta, S.C., and there was an NCAA live period this past weekend.

In the championship game, Nightrydas defeated another excellent squad, the California-based Oakland Soldiers, 71-62. Allen, a 2025 four-star point guard/shooting guard and a top-80 national prospect in his class, was fabulous, finishing with 21 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Allen, in helping Nightrydas claim the grand prize, connected on 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from long range. At the 2024 Peach Jam, Nightrydas went 8-0. Per analysts, Allen and his Nightrydas teammates have also won Peach Jam on three straight occasions in the 15U, 16U and now the 17U division.

That's incredible. A huge congrats to Dante and the Nightrydas program!

Syracuse basketball 2025 4-star recruit Dante Allen was terrific in AAU this season.

Allen, who received a scholarship offer from the Orange staff in late April of this year, averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while at Peach Jam, according to the EYBL's Web site.

During this league's regular season over various spring sessions in April and in May, Allen had strong performances as well, averaging 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

Not only has Allen now emerged victorious at Peach Jam, but as a senior during the upcoming 2024-25 season, he will significantly contend for a high school national championship. In late May, word broke that Allen would transfer to the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

As a junior in 2023-24, Allen averaged 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 3.0 assists per encounter in leading the Riviera Preparatory School in Miami to its second consecutive Florida High School Athletic Association ("FHSAA") Class 3A state tournament championship.

Montverde, though, is on a whole different level. This past term, the Eagles went undefeated, winning the regular-season title in the 14-member Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic (“EYBL Scholastic”) and then claiming the Chipotle Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind., this past April.

In the EYBL Scholastic, Allen will square off against several Syracuse basketball recruits, such as 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony of Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., and 2025 five-star big man Chris Cenac Jr. of the Link Academy in Branson, Mo.

Allen's 17U Peach Jam championship comes a year after Syracuse basketball incoming freshman and 2024 five-star power forward Donnie Freeman won this title with the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover.

In the semifinals of this year's 17U Peach Jam tournament, Nightrydas defeated Team Takeover, 83-65.