Toledo Summer League: Guard/Wings (June 19-20)
Today, we’re recapping the top performances and prospects from this week’s action in the Toledo summer league. During the past two afternoons at Toledo Woodward and Toledo Scott, we’ve seen talent ranging from small college to Division I-bound athletes.
Earlier, we started our recaps by naming the top five prospects, now we’ll analyze each position.
Tyrik Barbine (2018), 6’1”, Toledo Start
Barbine is a strong athlete who uses his large frame against the small guards who are stuck defending him. Particularly, Barbine finishes on a physical spin move going towards the rim, which buried opponents on the baseline. There’s questions as to whether or not Barbine is one-dimensional as a scorer, but he did knock down a couple corner threes for Start.
Dominique Booth (2018), 6’1”, Toledo Waite
Booth will be the third banana for Waite this season, as Carl Banks and Keyshawn Leach will lead the offensive charge. However, teams will be forced to truly respect Booth is he continues playing up to the level he showed on Monday. Booth found baskets by hustling towards the rim on the fast-break and for offensive rebound opportunities. He’s physical and tough enough to finish through contact at the rim. He also seems reliable as an energy guy on the defensive end who will create turnovers with effort plays.
Josh Boyer (2018), 6’, Anthony Wayne
Boyer is a fundamentally sound player who showed flashes of excellence in the mid-range. Often, Boyer came off of a pin-screen action and caught it on the elbow. From that position, Boyer tends to make the right basketball play, as he’s a threat to pass, dribble, or shoot, equally effectively. The incoming-senior is also a scrappy guy, who battled for loose balls underneath the basket.
AJ Johnson (2018), 6’2”, Maumee Valley
Our impressions on Johnson’s Tuesday night performance are based solely on the defensive end. While Johnson isn’t a reliable playmaker with the ball, he causes panic when he’s defending. Johnson has long enough arms to frustrate larger and more athletic guys as they try to attack him off the bounce. Johnson can cause a turnover and push to one of his ball-handler immediately, which creates easy baskets for the Hawks. Johnson is also a plus-rebounder from the guard spot.
Isaiah Lewis (2019), 5’11”, Detroit Wayne Memorial
Ryan Nunn (2019), 5’11”, Findlay
Kyle Ray (2020), 5’11”, Anthony Wayne
Simply put. Ray shoots the ball from deep very well. Ray surveys the arch intelligently, and once he catches the rock, it comes out of his hands very quickly. The quick-release is smooth and the ball has an ideal arch towards the rim. Ray is also a smart passer who often creates passing lanes after his pump-fake from three.
While Ray has more of a 2-guard skillset currently, we could easily foresee him progressing into a nice point guard prospect in a few years. He’s quick enough and has the ball-handling ability to make the transition. However, currently, his shooting ability trumps everything else he brings to the table.
Charles Robinson III (2018), 6’3”, Toledo Woodward
Despite not having his best day on Tuesday at Scott, Robinson remains one of the top couple prospects in the Toledo City League next season. Robinson seemed to have the intent of getting his teammates going last night, as he was passive in the half-court offense. However, in transition, Robinson threw down dunks and finished over top of leaping defenders.
Defensively, Robinson performed well against post players. He’s playing out of position defensively, but is excelling because of his quick leaps, anticipation, toughness, and long arms.
Bryce Root (2018), 6’3”, Freemont Ross
Terence Williams (2018), 6’2”, Detroit Wayne Memorial
In Wayne Memorial’s second game, against Maumee Valley, Williams was a revelation! He was able to knife through defenders on his way to the rim, as he exploded from one spot to the other. Williams uses his quickness and strength to create shot opportunities at the basket. Williams can also shoot the ball from deep. But again, the defense had no answer Williams’ athletic driving ability, and he took advantage throughout the entire contest.