Toledo Top 64 Preview: Gold Team

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The annual Toledo Top 64 is back for its 3rd year! It will be played at Lourdes University on Sunday, October 1st, 2023. This Sunday! This event brings some of the best players in the NWO area under one roof for college coaches to come to watch them compete against each other. This article will talk about one of the eight rosters made up of eight players who will be at the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This gold team is constructed of some high-level underclassmen talent who will be out to prove themselves this Sunday. The headliners of this team are two sophomores: [player_tooltip player_id='1705961' first='Nate' last='Miles'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1705954' first='Alan' last='Horton']. Both these players are going to be highly recruited kids once they get a little older. They will be joined by some junior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1943724' first='Karter' last='Koester'] from Toledo Christian and J'Siah Jefferson from Start. They will be joined by a Senior with a lot of experience in [player_tooltip player_id='1421140' first='Caden' last='Kruse']. This team is rounded off with Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1519636' first='Jackson' last='Beasley'] from Port Clinton, Sophomore Bucket Getter from Delphos St. John's [player_tooltip player_id='1827696' first='Cameron' last='Elwer'], and then Junior from Bluffton [player_tooltip player_id='1950596' first='Blake' last='Sommers']. This team is very young with great skills. Everyone on this team can kind of do it all and will have something to prove. Continue to read about these players individually below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1705961"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Miles was one of the few incoming freshmen who played in the event last year and he showed why. The new St. John's Titan has phenomenal size for his age and position. He uses the size to his advantage all the time. He gets to the rim often and is very effective by the way he uses his body and can create and absorb contact. He is a bully once he puts his head down. He is a defensive shooter from beyond the arc with a very smooth quick shot. I have not watched him play in a while, but it seems to me he has gotten a lot more athletic. His body seems to be looking stronger, he looks faster and quicker, and way bouncier. He is adding explosiveness to already great tools, scary.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1705954"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Horton is someone who continues to get better and better. He is a big kid, listed at 6'7, and seems to be getting taller. He has gained some good weight to his body as well making him a strong presence in the pain on both ends. He can finish the ball through traffic with both hands. His IQ and feel around the rim are getting better. He seems to be way more comfortable with the ball and playing the game. He has a good motor. Horton has a smooth jumper that I wished I could see him use more but knowing him, he will add that to his game at some point. Big fan of Alan.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1421140"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Kruse is very similar to [player_tooltip player_id='1705961' first='Nate' last='Miles'] as he is a very big body wing who can play inside and out equally as well. His big body is a huge presence in the paint and transition. He is a hard player to stop once he gets it going. He is a sneakily good athlete as well. He can finish over and through you with both hands. He is also a sharpshooter. He has a smooth stroke and a ton of confidence so he will get it up. He needs little to no space to get his shot up and it will usually go in. He also does the dirty work very well. He gets rebounds and hustles all the time.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1943724"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"The last time I watched Koester play was in AAU with the [program_tooltip program_id='2075761' first='Ohio' last='Buckets'] and I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. This kid has straight up taken his game to the next level. He also knows it too. He plays with so much confidence and a new level of aggressiveness. He has a very high elevation on his jumper which brings him the ability to rise and shoot at any moment. He is good at off-the-dribble and on-the-move shooting. His shot is quick. He has a good midrange pull-up game. He plays his tail off as well.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"J'Siah Jefferson","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Start","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Jefferson just knows how to put the ball in the bucket. That's the name of the game, scoring points, and good luck stopping him from doing that. He has a very good jumper from beyond the arc. If you leave him open it is automatically 3 points. He is a very good downhill attacker when going all the way to the basket. He has some good touch in the lane as well.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1519636"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Beasley is an athletic slasher. He literally slashes through the lane and splits the defense consistently when going to the hoop. He has an effective good euro step. He shows good calmness when attacking. He has a nice touch with either hand as he explodes to the rim. He has a good jumper so don't give him space and leave your hand down.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["1827696"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Elwer is a bucket getter. As a sophomore, he won District 8 Player of the Year, was 1st team all-conference, averaged 22 points a game, and all-state special mention Division 4. Did I mention he did all that as a sophomore? He is only listed at 6'0 but he can score with the best of them. He has a deadeye shot that he can hit from wherever on the court. He also has a great patience and IQ. Even though he scores as much as he does, he almost never forces the issue. He lets the game come to him and creates good looks for himself. This kid is a player that can go!","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["1950596"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"Sommer has great tools for a wing. Listed as 6'4, with good athleticism he plays like you would want a wing too. He is a 3 and D guy. He can defend his tail off and he does that by just outworking the opposition. He has good footwork and quickness that allows him to guard a lot of positions. Then on offense, he is a catch-and-shoot player who can knock it down. He also is really good at finishing when the lane opens up. He is someone who only gets better too.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":8,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65120fd5cb232"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":2212844,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Gold-Team-Roster.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Gold-Team-Roster.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2212844" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->