Ohio’s top 2023 performers from Flyin To The Hoop

<p>Flyin To The Hoop brought out some of Ohio’s top talent to Kettering, Ohio for a four-day event over MLK weekend. We’ve already discussed some of the top role players and all-tournament team, this article will focus on the 2023 prospects that stood out.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="922599" first="Will" last="Maxwell"], 6’4 SF Dayton Oakwood 2023: Maxwell did a great job of finishing around the basket for Oakwood in their battle with Africentric. Maxwell was finishing below the rim but still showing off his vertical athleticism and improved strength to take contact and still finish around the basket. Watching Maxwell with Oakwood is much different than when he’s with All Ohio Red and I’d encourage college coaches to watch him in both settings when deciding whether to offer the talented wing guard.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="922604" first="Kellon" last="Smith"], 6’1 CG Shaker Heights 2023: Smith has had a breakout Junior season and is making a lot more outside shots compared to the first couple times that I watched him. Smith plays well alongside [player_tooltip player_id="921758" first="Danny" last="Young Jr"] and the pair helped Shaker knock down 10 3-pointers as a team. Expect Smith to see his recruitment heat up this summer when smaller colleges take a focus on the 2023 class.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1163453" first="MJ" last="Boyce"], 6’1 SG Buchtel 2023: We already mentioned his teammate [player_tooltip player_id="1203906" first="Christian" last="Harmon"] as a member of the all-tournament team, but Boyce earns a spot as a top 2023 performer from Ohio. Boyce plays his role well and scores a lot of buckets off drives made by [player_tooltip player_id="867954" first="Khoi" last="Thurmon"] and [player_tooltip player_id="867950" first="Amire" last="Robinson"]. While he isn’t the most talented prospect on Buchtel, Boyce doesn’t try and do too much and is a crucial piece to their puzzle this season. I think scholarship programs will start to offer Boyce this summer.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1368785" first="Jyles" last="Brandon"], 6’1 SG Garfield Heights 2023: Brandon’s stock has been improving this season and the addition of Sonny Johnson Jr helps make his life a lot easier. Brandon is a score first guard who has some moments on the defensive end as well. The recent highlight video made after his game against rival Shaker Heights gives a great one-minute capsule on the type of impact plays Brandon makes.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"], 6’6 PF Pickerington Central 2023: Royal continues his superb Junior season with a handful of dunks and layups against the Garfield Heights zone defense. Royal put up a quiet 27 points on 7/13 shooting and 13/14 from the free-throw line. It’s impressive because I honestly don’t think this was one of Royal’s better games this season and was still putting up dominant numbers. Regardless, it was clear to the college coaches in attendance that Royal has improved athletically a great deal since last winter.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867936" first="Rayvon" last="Griffith"], 6’5 SF Cincinnati Taft 2023: Griffith was engaged and making shots for Taft in their tight loss to Flyght Prep at the final day of the event. When Griffith is knocking down shots, there’s few players that appear as dominant as him in the entire state. Griffith had a couple high level moves with the ball in his hands, creating for himself and bringing his team back in the game. I’ll be very interested to see how Griffith fares against [player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"], another one of the top 2023 prospects in the state this weekend.</p>