Five Best: Toledo Central Catholic at Toledo St. John’s

<p>St. John's is back on the right track. Starting the season 5-6 was unfamiliar territory for Toledo's perennial Division I power. But, with the insertion of transfer Caleb Smith, the Titans have found a spark. </p> <p>Gaining the junior wing scorer for the second half of the season has resulted in two conference wins over teams who came into their contest with a superior record — Findlay and, now, Central Catholic. </p> <p>The Titans won 56-42 Tuesday. But we'll focus on how exactly Smith affects the game, along with examining the other top performers. </p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/caleb-smith/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caleb Smith</a> (2020), 6'4" W, St. John's</strong></h4> <h4><strong><em>stats</em><em>: 17 points, 5 rebounds</em></strong></h4> <p>SJJ runs offense for long periods of time, challenging the defense to remain disciplined for up to 45 seconds at a time. Now with Smith, though, they have another guy who can create his own shot outside of the motion sets. What's more, Smith looks to score every time he touches the ball and puts immense pressure on the defense. </p> <p>At the same time, Smith had good shot selection, he just looks to see what he has consistently. Grab and go wing scorer with good speed. Impressive scoring touch at the rim and puts up floaters at unexpected times. </p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/payton-moyer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Payton Moyer</a> (2019), 6'0" G, St. John's </strong></h4> <h4><strong><em>stats: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists</em></strong></h4> <p>The unsigned prospect continued his tremendous senior campaign Tuesday. Moyer is fully equipped with flawless mechanics to become a shooting specialist at the next level. He is also a solid team defender who knows where to be and takes charges. His strength is underrated and he used it to move Central players out of the paint on box outs. Moyer controlled pace at times by getting out in transition off the defensive glass. </p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/cameron-awls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cameron Awls</a> (2020), 5'11" G, Central Catholic</strong></h4> <h4><strong><em>stats: 17 points</em></strong></h4> <p>With a low stance, quick feet, and strong hands, Awls' biggest impact was on the ball defensively. He makes speedy ball-handlers turn multiple times on a given possession. Awls also picked pockets with a couple wrap-around steals. Away from the ball, Awls showed the ability to shadow a shooter in Moyer — an opponent who stays active all game. </p> <p>Awls was also the team's leading scorer. He did it mostly on the dribble drive, where he attacks the chest of his man before jump stopping. Combined creativity and patience on the block to score over larger defenders. Very good ball-handler, too. </p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/aj-jump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AJ Jump</a> (2022), 6'4" F, St. John's </strong></h4> <h4><strong><em>stats: 7 points, 3 rebounds</em></strong></h4> <p>Jump remains one of the most intriguing freshman forwards we've seen this season. Showed good scoring touch on a fading post move in the first quarter. Added a 3-pointer and is becoming a more than capable outside shooter. Jump rebounds pretty well and does a good job of denying post entries. Communicates well on screens. </p> <h4><strong>Fred Overton (2020), 5'11" G, Central Catholic</strong></h4> <h4><strong><em>stats: 15 points</em></strong></h4> <p>Overton is the only other player who contributed in the scoring column in a significant way. He's a spark plug scorer for the Irish as their sixth man. Shot the ball very well from the floor and the free throw line. Overton can also create some offense off the dribble. </p>