Flyin’ To The Hoop Preview

The biggest basketball event in Ohio returns after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Flyin To The Hoop is a four-day event with 19 games in total at Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio. In this article, I’ll be previewing the event with marquee players to watch and storylines to follow.

Friday

ISA Vs Link (MO) The first game of the event features ISA with top 25 prospects from Ohio like Mike Sharavjamts Mike Sharavjamts 6'8" | PF ISA | 2022 State #179 Nation OH and Jared Frey Jared Frey 6'5" | SG ISA | 2022 State OH on their squad. Sharavjamts is committed to play for Dayton so this will allow Flyer fans an easy way to watch him in person before he enrolls at Dayton. On Link, they’ve been one of the top teams in the nation with a balanced roster that really gets after it defensively. Jordan Walsh (Arkansas) Felix Okpara (Ohio State) Julian Phillips (LSU) are some of the star-studded athletes that Link boats.

Huntington Prep (WV) Vs Flyght Academy: A late scratch by Dream City (AZ) allows Dayton based prep school Flyght Academy to be added to the schedule and allow a lot of players to get a game on the big stage in the town they played high school basketball in. Former Thurgood Marshall and Dayton Dunbar stars Anthony McComb and Chanze Amerson are some of the names Dayton area basketball fans will recognize. Huntington Prep is led by Maki Johnson, Trentyn Flowers and Cruz Davis. Unfortunately, with Dream City dropping out, Shawn Phillips will not be making a homecoming game.

Saturday

Bellbrook Vs Tri-Village (Girls) Day two of the event features the annual girls game featuring two of the top small schools from around the Dayton area.

Africentric Vs Oakwood: The first Ohio Vs Ohio match-up of the event features All Ohio Red teammates Dailyn Swain Dailyn Swain 6'7" | SF Africentric | 2023 State #50 Nation OH against Will Maxwell Will Maxwell 6'5" | SF Oakwood | 2023 State #215 Nation OH . Oakwood has been a surprise this season, only dropping one game to Alter thus far. Africentric is fresh off impressive victories over Dublin Coffman and Eastmoor.

Shaker Vs ISA: This was supposed to be Dream City’s second game of the event, but now ISA will get a second game this weekend. This battle between northeast Ohio powers puts Danny Young Jr Danny Young Jr 6'2" | CG Shaker Heights | 2022 State OH , Kellon Smith Kellon Smith 6'1" | CG Shaker Heights | 2023 State OH and company against the prep school playing the second game of a back-to-back.

Wheeler (GA) Vs Saint Ignatius: Wheeler is another Georgia powerhouse making the trip to Ohio to play in this historic event. Milton was a blast to watch in 2020, now Wheeler brings five-star Isaiah Collier with a lot of size around him. Wheeler has already played marquee teams like Montverde, Duncanville and McEachern. For Ignatius, they started slow with losses to Indy Cathedral and Walsh Jesuit, but a blowout against Lutheran East and a 3-1 showing out on the West coast show that they are rolling at the right time. Calvin Little Calvin Little 6'2" | PG Saint Ignatius | 2024 State OH is one of the top Sophomores in the state and could really establish himself on the scene with a big performance here.

Pickerington North Vs Huber Heights Wayne: Another Ohio Vs Ohio battle with a lot of talented guards in this game. Wayne is led by star Lawrent Rice Lawrent Rice 6'4" | PG Wayne | 2023 State #119 Nation OH who is complimented by Juan Cranford Jr Juan Cranford Jr 6'3" | CG Wayne | 2024 OH , RJ Mukes RJ Mukes 5'10" | PG Wayne | 2023 State OH and Aamil Wagner. Wayne has played a lot of talented teams close including Centerville and Fairfield. For Pickerington North, they’ve been very impressive this season with a lot of marquee wins over teams like STVM, Upper Arlington and Hilliard Davidson. Arness Lawson is one of the top freshman in the state and should gain a lot of publicity playing on a stage like this. Alongside Lawson is a three headed guard senior trio featuring Jerry Saunders Jerry Saunders 6'0" | SG Pickerington North | 2022 State OH , Corey Hudson Corey Hudson 6'1" | PG Pickerington North | 2022 State OH and Dior Conners Dior Conners 6'2" | PG Pickerington North | 2022 State OH .

Link (MO) Vs Huntington Prep (WV) Each of these teams play on the first night and have lots of high major talent featured earlier in the article. In terms of pure high major talent, this game is either number one or two for the entire weekend.

Sunday

Botkins Vs Tri-Village: A battle of Division IV powers should bring a big crowd on Sunday morning. Botkins is led by the Pleiman brothers who are looking to lead the Trojans to back-to-back state titles. On the Tri-Village side, they went unbeaten in the 2020-21 regular season and returned their core pieces. The Patriots beefed up their schedule and have taken two losses but should be battle tested by the time they enter postseason play. Layne Sarver Layne Sarver 6'6" | SF Tri-Village | 2022 State OH is the star for Tri-Village but he’s surrounded by a lot of size and experience.

Dunbar Vs Buchtel: Dayton city league power Dunbar is getting hot with a huge win over Woodward last weekend. Dunbar is led by Antaune Allen Antaune Allen 6'2" | CG Dunbar | 2023 State OH and Bj Hatcher and some senior talent. Buchtel might’ve lost Chris Livingston to transfer but have not backed down to anybody this season. Juniors Khoi Thurmon Khoi Thurmon 6'1" | PG Buchtel | 2023 State OH and Amire Robinson Amire Robinson 6'4" | SF Buchtel | 2023 State OH continue to improve their stock but Sophomores Zevin Gadson Zevin Gadson 6'2" | SG Buchtel | 2024 State OH and Braylin Wells Braylin Wells 6'7" | C Buchtel | 2024 State OH each have a lot of potential. This game should be up and down with a lot of highlights.

Garfield Heights Vs Pickerington Central: Garfield Heights is looking to upset a Pick Central squad that’s fresh off a road victory over Gahanna. The Bulldogs are led by guards Tommie Benn Tommie Benn 5'11" | PG Garfield Heights | 2023 OH and Jyles Brandon with size from Tavian Tatum Tavian Tatum 6'5" | PF Garfield Heights | 2022 State OH , Joseph James Joseph James 6'7" | C Garfield Heights | 2022 State OH and Tarrell Jewell Tarrell Jewell 6'5" | PF Garfield Heights | 2022 State OH . Pickerington Central is led by Devin Royal Devin Royal 6'6" | PF Pickerington Central | 2023 State #103 Nation OH who saw his recruitment explode this summer from high major programs. Royal is surrounded by a lot of nice pieces with the biggest names including Ohio State Football commit Sonny Styles Sonny Styles 6'4" | SF Pickerington Central | 2023 OH and Gavin Headings Gavin Headings 6'8" | PF Pickerington Central | 2023 State OH .

STVM Vs Fairfield: This is a sleeper pick for best game of the entire weekend. STVM will come to Dayton focused after big wins against Gahanna and Walsh Jesuit recently. Sencire Harris Sencire Harris 6'5" | PG St. Vincent-St. Mary | 2022 State #79 Nation OH is trying to make his case for Mr. Basketball and a win against one of Cincy’s best teams would go a long way for him. Fairfield might be a team those from NEO don’t know much about because of their lack of top end star talent. Wright State signee Logan Woods Logan Woods 6'4" | SG Fairfield | 2022 State OH is the only Division I commit on the team right now, but Deshawne Crim Deshawne Crim 6'0" | PG Fairfield | 2023 State OH just picked up a Division I offer, and seniors Kollin Tolbert Kollin Tolbert 6'1" | CG Fairfield | 2022 State OH and Owen Bronston Owen Bronston 6'4" | SF Fairfield | 2022 State OH are both underrated.

Brush Vs Gahanna: This game is interesting because both teams have front lines that look like college lineups. Gahanna boasts Javan Simmons Javan Simmons 6'7" | C Gahanna | 2022 State OH and Josh Whiteside while Brush counters with Antwone Woolfolk Antwone Woolfolk 6'8" | C Brush | 2022 State OH and Tyler Williams Tyler Williams 6'8" | C Brush | 2023 State OH . It’ll be interesting if Gahanna can win the guard battle with Sean Jones Sean Jones 5'10" | PG Gahanna | 2022 State #102 Nation OH and Eljae Deas Eljae Deas 6'1" | CG Gahanna | 2022 State OH , or will Brush wings Elmore James Elmore James 6'4" | SG Brush | 2022 State OH and Marlon Barnes Marlon Barnes 6'5" | SF Brush | 2023 State #226 Nation OH control the pace. This game features a ton of talent and shows two of the best public schools Ohio has to offer.

Centerville Vs Southern California Academy (CA) The biggest game of the weekend, number one ranked Centerville brings Gabe Cupps Gabe Cupps 6'1" | PG Centerville | 2023 State #110 Nation OH , Tom House Tom House 6'5" | SF Centerville | 2022 State OH , Rich Rolf Rich Rolf 6'6" | PF Centerville | 2022 State OH and company a short drive to conference rival Fairmont for a battle with one of the most talented teams in the country. So Cal Academy recently added five-star Dior Johnson to their already talented squad with five more Division I commits including Jaxson Kohler (Michigan State) and Oziyah Sellers (USC). This is a GREAT opportunity for Centerville to prove that they are capable of playing on a national stage and for an Ohio program to get a huge victory over a national powerhouse.

Monday

Trotwood-Madison Vs Pace Academy (GA) Trotwood brings their sophomore trio of Timothy Carpenter Timothy Carpenter 6'4" | PF Trotwood-Madison | 2024 State OH , Will Yates Will Yates 6'2" | SG Trotwood-Madison | 2024 State OH and Delmarr Blanton to play once again in Flyin To The Hoop. This season they’ll play Georgia powerhouse Pace Academy. Pace is led by Josh Reed, a University of Cincinatti commit. Bearcat fans might want to take the trip north to catch him in action.

Massillon Jackson Vs Southern California Academy (CA) A short turnaround for the talented Southern California Academy brings them a battle with Federal League power Massillon Jackson. The Polar Bears just got a huge win over conference rival Uniontown Green, led by seniors Kevin James Kevin James 6'4" | SG Massillon Jackson | 2022 State OH , Benjamin Sullivan Benjamin Sullivan 6'2" | PG Massillon Jackson | 2022 State OH and Jj Vaughn and Junior Owen Woolbert Owen Woolbert 6'7" | C Massillon Jackson | 2023 State OH , the Polar Bears are one of the more talented teams from Northeast Ohio and will be looking to make a return trip to Dayton for the final four this March.

Taft Vs Combine Academy (NC) Taft took a tough loss to conference rival Woodward, but Rayvon Griffith Rayvon Griffith 6'6" | SF Taft | 2023 State #78 Nation OH , Mekhi Elmore Mekhi Elmore 5'11" | PG Taft | 2022 State OH and Eian Elmer Eian Elmer 6'6" | PF Taft | 2023 State OH have plenty of talent to keep up with an uber athlete Combine Academy squad. Jayden Epps (Illinois) Patrick Wessler (Virginia Tech) and Mj Collins (Virginia) are three of the most talented players for fans to watch for Combine Academy.

West Carrollton Vs Omnia Academy (Finland) West Carrollton, led by Junior Sam Walker Sam Walker 6'6" | PF West Carrollton | 2023 State OH will battle with a team from Finland in what should be an interesting battle. Omnia Academy is led by Gezim Barjari and Veikka Kaivisto in scoring and will have size to present match-up issues with the Pirates.

Woodward @ Kettering Fairmont: The host Firebirds have been one of the surprise stories of the season, only dropping one game to the top team in the state. Seniors Anthony Johnson Anthony Johnson 5'11" | PG Fairmont | 2022 State OH and Dasan Doucet Dasan Doucet 6'4" | SF Fairmont | 2022 State OH are a tough duo to stop and their role players have stepped up this season. They’ll battle with a Woodward squad playing with a lot of confidence after beating rival Taft last night. Paul McMillan IV Paul McMillan IV 6'2" | PG Woodward | 2022 State #229 Nation OH leads the Bulldogs, but he’s surrounded by some young pieces like Ru Mills and Kanye Moreland Kanye Moreland 5'11" | CG Cincinnati Woodward | 2023 State OH in the backcourt. This final game of the event should be very fun and hopefully packed with Fairmont fans showing support for their great start to the season.