Standout Performers from Toledo St. John’s at Rogers
Rogers delivered a statement win in their home opener on Friday night, knocking off Toledo St. John’s 47-38. The game was choppy, clunky, kind of poorly played, the first game of the season — whatever you want to call it.…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingRogers delivered a statement win in their home opener on Friday night, knocking off Toledo St. John’s 47-38.
The game was choppy, clunky, kind of poorly played, the first game of the season — whatever you want to call it. But, Rogers prevailed behind junior tandem DaSean Nelson and Ketaan Wyatt, who showed poise as they came up with enough clutch plays down the stretch to ice it.
Namely, Nelson’s offensive rebound on a missed free throw with under a minute left leading by just three was crucial. As for Wyatt, his varsity experience showed itself with ball control under pressure in the fourth, showing a mature understanding of time and score.
The Titans crawled their way to 38 points and had difficulty creating separation all night. Besides unsigned 6-foot senior guard Payton Moyer, who had a game-high 16 points, SJJ couldn’t consistently find high-percentage field goal attempts.
There were several standout performers from the game, both aforementioned and otherwise, so let’s jump right into it:
Nate Houston (2022), 5’11” G, Rogers
Houston premiered on the website in Monday’s posting of the 2022 Watch List, which includes just 25 players across Ohio. The young guard legitimized his place in that exclusive list in his high school debut.
Houston is a superbly fluid left-handed athlete who, frankly, surprised us with how well he shot the ball. Almost all nine of his points came via the jumper, including one from beyond the arch. In what was a super sloppy game in the first half, Houston came off the bench and provided stability and confidence for the Rams. Being able to go right off the dribble will become important as teams continue scouting Rogers.
DaSean Nelson (2020), 6’6” F, Rogers
Nelson played one of the worst halves of basketball we’ve seen from him in quite some time to start the game, which made his second half outburst all the more impressive. The ultra-athletic junior prospect went from calling for clear-outs in one-on-one matchups to playing winning basketball.
In the final two quarters, he re-dedicating himself to protecting the rim and defensive glass, while taking advantage of the defense’s attention by skipping passes over the top. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. Nelson’s biggest contribution, though, was the offensive rebound we described earlier.
Ketaan Wyatt (2020), 6’2” PG, Rogers
St. John’s has quick, small guards who came out with the idea of pressuring Wyatt, hopefully forcing him into bad decisions. Once again, Wyatt showed poise, especially in the fourth quarter. Once Rogers established a late third quarter lead, he assured they’d never give it back. He used his size advantage to turn the corner and float high-percentage shots inside eight feet. Showed elusive, skilled footwork around the basket on finishes.
Payton Moyer (2019), 6’0” G, St. John’s
Moyer scored nearly half of St. John’s points with 16 to himself. Many of his buckets came from beyond the arch, a clear strength for the high-academic recruit. His confidence with the ball and aggressiveness as a shooter was needed for an SJJ team that plays several inexperienced young guys. Although it wasn’t his best shooting night off the dribble, Moyer used the pump fake to create wide-open looks on one-dribble pull-ups.
Moyer’s hustle and quickness as a defender was also impressive. He drew a charge in the first half and came up with a chase-down steal against a streaking ball-handler.
Dimitri Mitsopoulos, 5’10” PG, St. John’s
Mitsopoulos, who was recently named First Team All State as a wide receiver, nearly powered a late comeback for the Titans. He’s phenomenally scrappy as a on-ball defender and always gets the primary ball-handler assignment. His speed is an asset in passing lanes and on the drive. Although he didn’t quite finish super well tonight, he definitely puts pressure on the defense as a slasher.