Nuthin' But A "T" Thang - Toles Lights Up NYBL Session III (EXCLUSIVE MIX-TAPE RELEASE)

Toles averaged 30.5 ppg, 14 rbs, 4.5 ast, 3bpg, 2 spg 

Jordan Toles is widely regarded as one of the top players in the country on every national ranking board; and there is no shortage of reasons why that claim is made. After averaging 30.5 ppg, 14 rebounds, 4.5 assist, 3bpg, and 2 spg in the NYBL’s Session III for Team Melo, Toles has further cemented his status and validated the hype that has followed him for the past 3 years. 

Perhaps the most amazing thing about him is the way he re-defined himself to expand his game.  In fact, you could argue that Toles 2.0 has as much to do with his legacy as the original version. Sadly there are no modern-day shot charts we can examine to see how Jordan’s game has changed in the past year. But we can look at highlight videos, which, while not as scientific, still show something.

 

First, let look at the recent NYBL Jordan Toles Mix-Tape recently released to the county.

Notice how most (though certainly not all) of the highlights are close to the rim? Jordan is playing the vertical game at a varsity level. He emphasized getting to the basket, getting to the line, drawing and kicking, driving and dishing – making the players around him better and the game easier for those on the court with him.

Over the course of the weekend he took a physical pounding. We watched him catch the ball basket center anywhere from 15 to 20 feet out and the defense consistently forced him left and doubled him. If he was on the left wing, they immediately went to a double team from the top - If he was on the right wing, they went to a slow double team.  Yet each game Toles hurt the oppenants equally from either wing—hell, he could hurt you from the hot-dog stand as he caught fire and stayed on fired all weekend long— while defenses tried to vary looks. Toles could even be seen setting up on the box where he faced doubles from the big guys. 

Jordan’s work and development in the medium game, those eight to 15 foot shots that are missing in basketball today allowed him to be extremely efficient. Not only did he have that tough medium game, but he finished his drives when he went to the hole because of his incredible leaping ability – catching a few Oops in the process.

The skill development item that those with an eyes for the game see and pay attention to:

i.                    Speed dribble with the off-hand (left)

ii.                  Push/Pull game – dribble and retreat, attack

iii.                Pull-Up/Stop and pop game

iv.                Inside hand finishes

v.                  Off leg unique finish ability

vi.                Court vision and reads

vii.              Motor

viii.            Takeover ability

ix.                Help side defense

x.                  Conditioning

The visual evidence, is here.  Toles who like all players; high end or not is far from a finished product but seeing and understanding what he added to his game is a testament to his hard work.  The progression of this young man from a being volume scoring to, in less than a calendar year, a player capable of playing both backcourt positions exclusively only adds to his future value.  

With so many concerned about top players topping out at the middle school level Toles is building his house on a solid foundation becoming a student of the game and developing other aspects through skill development.  These are the investments that will pay great returns at the next level and beyond.  With his athleticism Toles is literally a few inches away with continued emphasis on skill development from being one of those special players who translates to the next level.  Consider what you are watching, class of 2020, 7^th grader with nearly two years to go before he steps on a high school campus.  Anyone who doesn’t have Toles in the conversation for one of the nation’s best isn’t worth listening too.   

It seems that the Baltimore based Melo program has a fully stocked pipeline of talent w/ national profiles at the MS level. This bodes very well for the 2020 group as they embark on a run at the NYBL National Championship this upcoming weekend -  & for the Melo program moving forward; there assets look very bullish & they are expecting big dividends in the futures market in their local region & nationally.