Just over a week ago, Carmel Christian announced the hiring of Tamar Slay as their new head basketball coach. This move sent a ton of waves throughout the high school landscape, as the Cougars have been established as one of the top programs in the state over the last six or seven years. Additionally, Slay has already previously shown success as the former head coach of United Faith—where he won a state title in his lone season at the helm. Plenty of folks have questioned whether it’s too late in the process to assemble a meaningful roster, but that seems like a moot point after Cody and Colin Peck made the transfer. Let’s see what this means for Slay, the Pecks, and Carmel Christian as a whole…
Like most notable transfers, this move is highly beneficial for both sides. The brotherly duo gets to develop, play better competition, and be seen by more coaches while Coach Slay gets a useful contributor in Colin and a potential star in Cody. This will serve as an attractive draw to gradually lure more players to the program and subsequently maintaining their status as one of the top schools across North Carolina.
In looking at Colin, he’s a strong, active forward prospect with athleticism and a sturdy frame. He finishes well around the basket, moves well without the ball, and is capable of applying pressure as a shooting threat along the perimeter. Colin utilizes his body nicely around the basket to play through contact, both as a finisher and rebounder, and understands how to run the floor in transition. He provides quality effort defensively and doesn’t force the action as an offensive cog. As a 6-foot-6 rising junior, it’ll be interesting to see how he develops and appeals to college coaches over these next two seasons.
Meanwhile, Cody is starting to slowly make the transition into becoming a national-level prospect. It’s probably still a little bit early, but his combination of tools, intangibles, and skillset (in addition to his trajectory) should have the masses watching very closely. Cody already displays impressive timing as a rebounder and rim-protector. He’s a great at blocking shots as a weak-side defender, walling-up from a standstill, and anticipating errant passes around the paint. Although he’s clearly in the process of adding strength, Cody is already very tough, disciplined, and able to utilize his length to consistently overwhelm opponents. Offensively, he’s quite comfortable finishing out of the post, attacking off the bounce, or hitting jumpers from midrange and beyond the arc. Cody moves extremely well for his size, both when running in transition and recovering as a help defender, and covers so much space through his ridiculous wingspan. Add in his IQ, willingness as a passer, and insane amount of upside, and there’s nothing but positives to say about him. Expect these two to make an immediate impact and progress as foundational pieces for the Cougars.