Toledo Top 64 Preview: Light Blue 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. Less than 2 weeks away! 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 light blue team is one of the most interesting and exciting teams in this entire event. They have some good prospects and good guard play. The top two prospects for this team are on the wing and forward positions with Lima Senior's wing [player_tooltip player_id='1475110' first='Jekel' last='Cotton'] and Marion Local's forward [player_tooltip player_id='1432036' first='Austin' last='Niekamp']. They are complemented by two good guards who both can play the point, [player_tooltip player_id='1605229' first='Jameson' last='Heck'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1941945' first='Cade' last='Brenner']. They will have two more wings joining them who play very similarly in [player_tooltip player_id='1943731' first='Jordan' last='Ferguson'] and Jay Walton. This team is capped off by two smaller but ultra-skilled guards; [player_tooltip player_id='2347406' first='Noah' last='Simpson'] and Ki'jyere McAlister.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1475110"],"_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":"Cotton has been a prospect on the rise and gaining offers heading into this high school season. The junior guard has 6 D1 offers including Toledo, Central Arkansas, Kent State, and more. Cotton is a very tall and long wing who has a very smooth game. He is skilled and fluid. He has a great jumper from beyond the arc. He needs little to no space to get his shot off because of his height and length. He is automatic when he is in rhythm. He has a good sense of when he should attack and just shoot it. He gets to the rim well. His athleticism continues to get better and better which is just going to take his game to the next level.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1432036"],"_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":"Niekamp is one of my favorite players in this event. I am excited to watch him play. He is everything you want in a modern big. He is listed at 6'8 with wide shoulders and long arms. He moves extremely well. He has some long strides that allow him to outrun most other bigs. He is a very good rebounder. Niekamp has a great presence around the rim as well because he blocks or alters almost every shot. As a forward, he can do all that you are looking for. Then something that is a very underrated part of his game is his shooting ability. This kid can flat-outshoot it. He is perfect for a pick-n-pop. It's a very smooth jumper that will never get blocked. His catch and shooting is something that I love about his game. He is someone that will leave a lot of people in the gym impressed.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1605229"],"_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":"Heck is a player who is going into his third year of starting varsity for St. Francis as a point guard. That is not an easy task, but he has handled it better than most anyone else would as he has been their best player for those years. He is a smaller guard, but it does not show how he plays. He has a great understanding of coring for his size. His ability to use his pivot foot to create space for his shot is the best I've seen as a scout for PrepHoops. He is super patient when attacking to score. Heck does a great job of acrobatic finishes. He has a good jumper but doesn't rely on it. Heck is a great leader too. Communicates a ton, plays with high energy, and gives 100% every play. He impressed me last year at this event, and I expect the same this year.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1941945"],"_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":"Brenner is a guard who does the simple things exceptionally well. He won't make any mistakes and you can trust him with the ball. He makes some plays that impress but nothing too flashy. He has a great handle on the ball and pace to his game. He always makes the right play and keeps the ball moving. He is a kid who wants to have the ball controlling your team. Brenner has a great shot from beyond the arc. He is an efficient finisher around the rim. He will be someone coaches will like.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1943731"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Ferguson is a nice prospect who has been picking up some D3 attention recently. The 6'3 wing from Fostoria plays with a high motor and is a good athlete. He is a great player in his role. He never does too much or force. He is a star in his role. He gets rebounds and defends his tail off. He will be someone who will do all the little things for your team.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"Jay Walton","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Lima Senior","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Walton is a typical Lima Senior player. He is an athletic wing who plays with a high motor and makes his presence felt on the defensive end. He is a 6'4 wing with good length. He is a nice athlete who can apply a ton of defensive pressure. He has some good quickness and strength that allows him to get to the rim a ton. Walton is a nice wing and will bring great defensive energy.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2347406' first='Noah' last='Simpson']","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"Lima Senior","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_6_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Simpson is a shorter point guard but that is not something that will stop Simpson. He has already figured out how to score the ball for his height. He is good at finishing around the rim. He has a nice jump shot that is nothing but net when he is open. He plays the game the right way. He has a very high IQ for the game. He will be someone who will only get better the more his high school career goes on.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["1943270"],"_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":"McAlister is a hooper. He plays very well with contact for a 6'1 guard. He is a slash-first player who has great body control in the air. He finishes through traffic very well. He does a really good job of creating contact with the defense and adjusting to get to a good angle to finish. He is also a very good defender. He applies great pressure on the offensive player creating steals. He has a knack for getting loose balls. McAlister is also a sneaky good blocker.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":8,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-650daea1a8f4a"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":2209501,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Light-Blue-Roster.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Light-Blue-Roster.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2209501" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->