Flyin’ To The Hoop: Friday + Saturday Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest high school basketball event in Ohio returns once again to Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio. Flyin' To The Hoop is back for another season and in this article we'll preview the Friday and Saturday contests.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Richmond Heights Vs Dynamic Prep (TX) Friday 6:30 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three time defending state champions in Ohio went to the City of Palms last year and faced some stiff out of region competition during that event. This time they'll have somewhat of a home court advantage, staying in the state of Ohio against a Texas based powerhouse. Jaden Toombs is the headliner for Dynamic Prep and he will have a big size advantage on whoever squares off with him in the paint. Richmond Heights will likely need to turn Dynamic Prep over and Ohio State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1432015' first='Dorian' last='Jones'] will be huge as an athlete who can match-up with the depth of Dynamic Prep. This should be a highly anticipated game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prolific Prep (CA) Vs Az Compass Prep (AZ) Friday 8:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>330 prospects Darryn Peterson and Nikola Bundalo return to Ohio as Prolific Prep has one of the top teams in the country led by a pair of northeast Ohio products. This will be a very interesting homecoming for the duo as they are two of the top prospects in the 2025 class and some of the best players we've seen come out of the Akron/Canton area in the past decade. They'll face off with an AZ Compass Prep team led by Miikka Muurinen, one of the top forwards in the 2026 class. The battle between Muurinen and Bundalo will be maybe the best individual match-up of the entire weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lebanon Vs Dayton Dunbar Saturday 11:30 A.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dayton Dunbar is familiar with Flyin' To The Hoop, victorious in their last two trips to the event after beating Walnut Ridge last season. They'll face off with a Lebanon squad that is led by freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2194986' first='Jashawn' last='Coffey']. One of the top 2028 prospects in Ohio, this will be the first big stage Coffey will play on at the high school level and could be an introduction to the rest of the state with a big performance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Garfield Heights Vs Huber Heights Wayne 1:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huber Heights Wayne played a grinder of a game with Lutheran West last season at Flyin' To The Hoop and the Wayne train will once again be met with one of northeast Ohio's most talented teams. Garfield Heights is led by Ohio State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1705948' first='Marcus' last='Johnson'] and a handful of talented young pieces in the 2027 and 2028 class. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2047484' first='Nasir' last='Hines'] has also gotten some interest heading into this season as a senior transfer to the Bulldogs. Johnson went off for 40 points in an overtime win last season at Flyin' To The Hoop, what will he have for an encore performance?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lutheran East Vs Huntington Prep (WV) 3:00 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huntington Prep has a talented roster led by Kameron Mercer, one of the top 2028 prospects in the country and from the Cincinnati area. He'll be joined by Cedric Taylor and CamRon McDaniels, two Division I targets on the wing for Huntington Prep. Lutheran East is an extremely young team with returning transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1705939' first='Tj' last='Crumble'] back for the Falcons. He'll bring his state championship experience alongside [player_tooltip player_id='2144496' first='Chris' last='Hill'] and a talented 2027 class for the Falcons. Rising freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2461889' first='Dylan' last='Zeigler'] is one of the top 2028 prospects in Ohio and a name to know across the state. Lutheran East could be a different team in January than they are in November with all their youth. This projects as an extremely fun game to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brunswick Vs Faith Family Academy (TX) 4:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brunswick is one of the top scoring teams in northeast Ohio and they are led by 2026 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1708688' first='Trey' last='Drexler'] and a handful of shooters across their roster. They'll need to be sharp from the 3-point line as they face off with a Faith Family Academy team led by Davion Adkins, a 2026 prospect who stood out last year at Flyin' To The Hoop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Olentangy Orange Vs CIA Bella Vista (CA) 6:30 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olentangy Orange is my top team in Division I from my preseason rankings. They've been a consistent challenger in central Ohio and will face off against a talented CIA Bella Vista squad. The Pioneers are led by [player_tooltip player_id='1480848' first='Devin' last='Brown'] but their depth and chemistry is what stands out the most. Dylan Joy is the main contributor that graduated from last years team and I expect the Pioneers to hit the ground running once their football athletes hit full stride. They'll be met with a bunch of size as CIA Bella Vista has top forward prospects Paul Osaruyi (2027) and Jaion Pitt (2025) in their frontcourt. If Olentangy Orange cannot keep them off the glass, they'll struggle to get stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Louisville Vs Kettering Alter 8:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kettering Alter returns to Flyin' To The Hoop after they suffered a heartbreaking loss last season after fighting back from a 20+ point deficit Vs Westminster Academy 72-71. Leading scorer from that game Gavin Leen is graduated but [player_tooltip player_id='1432016' first='Rj' last='Greer'] (19 points) and [player_tooltip player_id='2028558' first='Brady' last='Conner'] (11 points, 9 assists) both return with the Knights to Trent Arena. This time they'll face off with an OHSAA squad that has seen a massive program turnaround over the past few seasons. The Leopards are led by GMAC commits [player_tooltip player_id='1540136' first='Beau' last='Siegfried'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1540137' first='Brayden' last='Gross']. They also have utility 2025 players like [player_tooltip player_id='2308137' first='Ashton' last='Marshall'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1618925' first='Avery' last='Andrejcik'], who have played a ton of basketball together and are ready for one last playoff push together.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->