Top Performances: Cardinal Stritch at Toledo St. Francis

St. Francis defeated Cardinal Stritch, 55-52, to open up the regular season on Wednesday. The game worked as the varsity debut for several intriguing juniors, as both the Cardinals and Knights look to replace several high-level contributors from last season's teams.  A look at how the personnel for each team fared:  Cliron Hornbeak (2021) | 6-9 C | Toledo St. Francis stats: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks Hornbeak, who turned 16-years-old in mid-September, continues to solidify himself as one of Toledo's most intriguing prospects.  The large center played with tremendous activity and confidence. Offensively, he doesn't stick in one spot. Rather, Hornbeak operated the entire floor. He freed up shooters with effective screens and constantly looked to post up. On defense, Hornbeak was seen diving on the floor and changing shots at the rim or from deep.  When he caught the rock, he made simple and efficient moves towards the rim for baby hooks, where his touch was evident. Faced up and made good passes from the elbow. He also finished an and-one in transition via a counter move. Clean stroke at the free throw line.  Feisal Crumby (2021) | 5-11 SG | Toledo St. Francis stats: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists Crumby is a physical, compact guard who affects the game in a number of ways and plays nearly the entire game. As a scorer, Crumby shows body control while slashing through traffic and is able to finish contested layups. Effective shooter. He made plays in transition with smart lead passes, which is where most of his assists came from. Crumby can also defend up because of his strength.  Joey Holifield (2020) | 6-2 PG | Cardinal Stritch stats: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists The Oakland recruit's body language and positive talk to teammates may have been his most impressive contribution. Holifield was seen calming teammates down, pumping them up at halftime, and playing with patience as the point guard.  He was also extremely productive, especially during an 11-point third quarter that kept Stritch afloat. Holifield scored at the rim with footwork and power. From the mid-range, he got to his spots and showed great lift on pull-ups. Jhaiden Wilson (2021) | 5-7 SG | Cardinal Stritch stats: 18 points, 1 assist Wilson tested his range with 3-point bombs in crucial moments. Taking shots others wouldn't dream of, Wilson actually hit six 3-pointers at an efficient clip and kept Stritch in the game. Those shots came whenever St. Francis failed to retreat in transition defense. He also flashed his play-making ability on one assist where he used his shooting threat to freeze the defense before dropping a dime to the block. He's also a game-changer on defense. Wilson is fast enough to body up with ball-handlers and stick with them, also small enough to not be called for fouls.  Dayven Kizer (2021) | 6-1 PG | Toledo St. Francis stats: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists Playing at a comfortable pace and rising to the occasion late, Kizer appears prepared to take on a large role this season. I was impressed with how calm of a pace he played with against pressure. He uses his body well against small guards, freeing up open pull-ups around the free throw line. Kizer also plays with balance.  Carsten Mayes (2021) | 6-7 C | Toledo St. Francis  stats: 4 points, 2 rebounds Mayes is a springy athlete who rebounds the ball actively. He energized the home crowd with a dunk, moments later adding a right hook off the window. Mayes is very quick off the ground. Martin Beredo (2022) | 6-7 PF | Toledo St. Francis stats: 2 rebounds St. Francis started with Hornbeak and Mayes. For long stretches, though, they went to a faster look with Beredo as the center, surrounded by four guards. Beredo can either play four-out or five-out, given his ability to put it on the floor and shoot. Although he didn't connect on any shots, his stroke looked very smooth. He moves swiftly. Good length.  Sebastian McClellan (2020) | 6-2 SG | Toledo St. Francis stats: 15 points Simply put, McClellan knocked down shots. He's an aggressive marksman whose ability to space the floor is pivotal in their offense, which is predicated on shots at the rim.  JV BONUS Romel Hightower (2023) | 6-4 SG | Cardinal Stritch One of the night's best prospects played nearly all of his minutes during the junior varsity game. Although we didn't catch Hightower's entire night, his shooting stroke, ball-handling ability, and physical tools screamed "potential." Very fluid and long. Lot of growth potential. Dynamic when changing directions with his dribble.