Toledo Top 64 Preview: Light Grey Team
In this article:
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 3 weeks away! This event brings some of the best players in the NWO area…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe annual Toledo Top 64 is back for its 3rd year! It will be played at Lourdes University on Sunday, October 1st, 2023. Less than 3 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.
This light grey team has some interesting pieces but could be the biggest surprise of the event. One thing that is certain about them, they have a lot of players who can shoot the lights out. They have 2 very good guards but in different situations. Incoming freshman guard with a ton of hype out of Lima Senior’s Shawn Foster Shawn Foster 6'0" | PG Lima Sr | 2027 State OH and then an underrated senior guard from Perrysburg, Austin Shultz Austin Shultz 5'10" | CG Perrysburg | 2024 State OH . Then on the wing is another young player with a ton of upside, Genoa’s Ryan Plantz Ryan Plantz 6'6" | SF Genoa | 2026 State OH . They have a pair of good wings with Mack Hieber Mack Hieber 6'6" | SF Patrick Henry | 2026 OH and Kaeden Carruthers Kaeden Carruthers 6'6" | PF Toledo Central Catholic | 2026 State OH . I also love the stock riser who had a big AAU season and plans on continuing it for the Titans, Jayden Jones. A scrapper guard from Sandusky, Kobe Brown Kobe Brown 6'5" | SF Sandusky | 2025 State OH . Along with a late addition to the event, Vincent Ferguson.
Shawn Foster Shawn Foster 6'0" | PG Lima Sr | 2027 State OH
Shawn Foster Shawn Foster 6'0" | PG Lima Sr | 2027 State OH
Foster is the player I am most excited to watch this year at the Toledo Top 64. The incoming freshman already holds a D1 offer from Cincinnati. Foster played for All-Ohio Sumner this grassroots season and is going to play for Coach Q down in Lima this upcoming high school season. Foster seems to have the “it” factor to him. He looks to have extreme confidence in his game. His ability to score the ball is off the charts. He has very simple but effective moves that get him to his spot. He has a great smooth stroke. He has good length making his shot very hard to block. Foster has some good wiry athleticism that allows him to explode to the rim and score in traffic. He has the type of confidence that he will score 30 and won’t act like it’s a big deal because that’s just what he does. October 1st will be the first time I get to watch Foster play live and I can’t wait.
Plantz is ranked as the 10th-best sophomore in the state according to PrepHoops Ohio. This shows that Plantz is the real deal with some high-level upside. He is listed at 6’6 with a freakishly long wingspan. He’s got a good wide frame to show more size will be added. Plantz is an athletic wing that is strong, big, and a good leaper. Plantz is a kid who can truly do it all on both ends. Over the summer when I watched him play with the Ohio Buckets , he was the guy who would guard any and everyone and then offensively be able to do everything. He is a walking mismatch on both ends. If he guards a big, he is quicker than him and uses that to his advantage. Put him on a guard, he uses his length and size to stay in front and contest. Same with the offensive side of the ball. He has a good shot that you can see is getting more and more consistent. Plantz has the potential to be a major-time player by his senior year.
Austin Schultz
Austin Schultz
As I mentioned in the introduction Schultz is a senior from Perrysburg that is a serious sleeper. Szhultz is a right bucket-getting and game-impact. Last year when you would go watch Perrysburg play you’d leave the gym thinking about how much of an impact Szhultz had on the game, I expect the same for this year. He is a smaller guard in height, but he does not let that affect him. He is a dead-eye shooter who gets hot quickly. He has a quick shot that he finds a way to get open and get up. He is incredibly efficient and a consistent scorer throughout the game. He scored 34 last year in a game against Walnut Ridge which led them to the victory. That game was an embodiment of what Schultz can do for your team and what he does in general. He won’t wow you with any size or athleticism but the kid simply gets the job done.
Hieber is a straight sniper. He is what you would want from a modern wing. He has great height and athleticism in his game. He can guard a lot of positions and also play the big on a small ball lineup. He has an unconscious stroke from beyond the arc. If you give him an inch, that’s three points. He has a quick release that is almost uncontestable with his length. He comes off-screen with great speed and footwork that allows him to get great open looks. I expect him to be a player that will catch some college’s attention.
Highlights
Carruthers is someone I believe will be a very nice basketball player. He is a sophomore who has all the tools you’d want. The 6’6 forward has good athleticism that allows him to do things on the court that others can’t. He does a lot of the little things well. He is a great rebounder who attacks the glass. Runs the floor well. His size tends to have him in the paint but he has the modern athleticism to guard a lot of other positions. His fundamental base right now is great and I believe his development at Central Catholic will be very beneficial.
Jayden Jones
Jayden Jones
Jones is coming off a very good AAU season for Hopson Elite . He rose in a ton of rankings and got his name on a lot of radars. He has a great strong body that he knows how to use. Does a great job of creating and using contact to his ability. He is straight to the rim a lot and this is when his body is on full display. He absorbed contact very well when finishing around the rim. He had some great contraction finishing that would lead to and-1s. He would be all over the place on both ends of the floor. Jones has great anticipation on defense causing havoc and turnovers. I expect him to continue to turn his head on October 1st.
Vincent Ferguson
Vincent Ferguson
Ferguson is a late addition to the event, but I believe is someone who is going to make me regret not having him in the first rounds of invites. He has a lot of good tools. He is a 6’1 guard but plays bully ball a bit. A big strong body that simply won’t be denied from getting to his spot when he wants. He has a nice finishing ability. Draws contact very well and will finish through it. He is someone I’m excited to see play as well.
Brown is a lengthy wing who can put the ball in the rim from deep. He has the confidence to shoot it from wherever, whenever. His length allows this to happen. He has a very high release. He has some great footwork as well. When you get him the ball, he is always feet-ready and locked and loaded to shoot. Great rhythm shooter.