Toledo Top 64: Head Turners

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 Toledo Top 64 took place this past Sunday at Lourdes University. This event was run by Anthony Garcia and myself. It brought some of the top 64 prospects in the NWO area together to compete against each other in an invite-only showcase. It had over 50 college scouts in attendance and multiple media members. I will put out four articles about this event. My third for the 2023 Toledo Top 64 are the players who turned heads on Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1827695"],"_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":"[caption id=u0022attachment_2224933u0022 align=u0022alignleftu0022 width=u0022210u0022]u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Race-Kowalcyzk.pngu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-2224933u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Race-Kowalcyzk.png?w=210u0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022210u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003e Photo: u003ca href=u0022https://www.instagram.com/jgp.images/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eJGP Imagesu003c/au003e[/caption]rnrnKowalczyk has made a huge step forward in his game and it showed in AAU and he just put a warning shot out to everyone in Toledo this past Sunday. He is even more confident and aggressive. His midrange pull-up game was one full display and was going down consistently. One thing I loved to see was he has added a back to the basket game. He was getting the ball in the mid-post and with a kid on his back and getting buckets. His fadeaway shot is almost unblockable with his length. He keeps getting more athletic. He had multiple drop-step/one-step vertical dunks. He is attacking the rim much stronger. Watch out for Kowalczyk to have a breakout sophomore season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1421138"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":2224935,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"[caption id=u0022attachment_2224934u0022 align=u0022alignrightu0022 width=u0022213u0022]u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Casey-Lentz.pngu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-2224934u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Casey-Lentz.png?w=213u0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022213u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003e Photo: u003ca href=u0022https://www.instagram.com/jgp.images/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eJGP Imagesu003c/au003e[/caption]rnrnLantz was a Sunday add to the event and he made the most out of his opportunity. I already knew he was going to be someone who would impress once I knew he would be coming. He took me by surprise with his athleticism. He is a long guard with trampolines for feet. He has multiple powerful dunks in the half-court and fast break. He was causing a lot of trouble for other teams on the defensive end. He was getting a lot of steals and creating them to speed up. He played with a high motor all day as well. Lentz is a scholarship-level kid.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["2204926"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":2224571,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"[caption id=u0022attachment_2224937u0022 align=u0022alignleftu0022 width=u0022215u0022]u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Elijah-McLeod.pngu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-2224937u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Elijah-McLeod.png?w=215u0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022215u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003e Photo: u003ca href=u0022https://www.instagram.com/jgp.images/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eJGP Imagesu003c/au003e[/caption]rnrnMcLeod is someone who gave Toledo a warning that he will be a key piece for an already stacked Whitmer squad. This was a lot of people in the Toledo area's first time watching him play and he was impressive. He is a guard with a good-sized body and showed a good ability to absorb and create contact. He has a really good jumper, especially off the dribble. He had a lot of good one-dribble all-ups in the midrange. He has a simple but effective game. Expect his recruitment to pick up this year.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":2224948,"_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2225037' first='Jayden' last='Jones']","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"St. John's Jesuit","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='2075517' first='Hopson' last='Elite']","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"[caption id=u0022attachment_2224941u0022 align=u0022alignrightu0022 width=u0022200u0022]u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Jayden-Jones.jpgu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-2224941u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Jayden-Jones.jpg?w=200u0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022200u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003e Photo: Landon Hurley u003ca href=u0022https://www.instagram.com/blitz__productions/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eBlitz Productionu003c/au003e[/caption]rnrnJones had a good AAU season for [program_tooltip program_id='2075517' first='Hopson' last='Elite'] and showed he will be an impact player for the Titans this year. Jones was always a player who passed the eye test. Really good strong build for a guard who is fast, very coordinated, and explosive. During the AAU season what he showed on Sunday is he is gaining some nice guard skills. He showed a good ability to read and manipulate ball screens as the ball handler. He was aggressive and attacked the rim all day. His strength and athleticism allowed him to score the ball effectively at the rim. He showed a nice jumper and hit the deep ball consistently. He is someone who has taken his game to a new level and I am excited to see how it translates to the high school game.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1950588"],"_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":"[caption id=u0022attachment_2224951u0022 align=u0022alignleftu0022 width=u0022223u0022]u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Beckett-Bertke.pngu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-2224951u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Beckett-Bertke.png?w=223u0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022223u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003e Photo: u003ca href=u0022https://www.instagram.com/jgp.images/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eJGP Imagesu003c/au003e[/caption]rnrnI had a handful of people come up to me and say they liked Bertke's game. The sophomore guard from Lima Shawnee has gotten better. A big part of his game is it looks like he has hit a growth spurt. I last saw him in AAU and it looks like he has gotten taller since then. This has opened a lot of the game up for him. He was already a knockdown shooter but he now just needs less space to get it off. He showed more comfortability in his one-dribble pull-up game as well. He is still just as quick, so getting to the rim is something he is now very confident in doing. His defensive effort is still high but with his gained length and height he is now more effective.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-651c8ef9dddb1"} /-->