Ohio State Tournament: Mike’s Friday 2026 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ohio State Tournament got underway on Friday night and teams got the opportunity to start their weekend off with some intense competition at Fieldhouse USA in Columbus, Ohio. In this article I'll break down the 2026 standouts I caught on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1950587"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683a68013e4a8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I was really impressed with Barbour's tenacity and defensive energy for nova village who had a tight first half before pulling away with a comfortable victory. Barbour got multiple offensive rebounds that led to buckets and did a nice job finishing with his right hand at the rim. His steals allowed his team to get runouts in transition and Barbour either scored or was fouled in the open floor. One of the better defenders and athletes in central Ohio, Barbour is a gritty wing who helped spark his team's energy on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2433317"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683a6acee0249"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A microwave scorer from the guard position, few players in northeast Ohio can get hot as quickly as Loy can. While Nova Village did a nice job of running Loy off the 3-point line, I was impressed with his mid-range shot-making with some contested buckets thanks to his soft touch. Against full court pressure defensively, Loy was decisive and got all the way to the rim multiple times for easy layups. Look for Loy to potentially be a breakout senior in northeast Ohio this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2809558"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683a6acee0290"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the more physically advanced players in southeast Ohio, Bell has the frame and positional size to play at the college level. Combine that with a pair of 3-pointers and an assist out of the post and Bell was productive for Ohio Express on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2209610"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683a6acee02d1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In what might've been the tightest game of the night, JH95 managed to hold off WestSide Elite in a thrilling game. Wilkinson was providing scoring in bunches as he was extremely comfortable working in the mid-range area of the court. In the closing minutes of the game Wilkinson hit a pull-up 3-pointer with a defender in his face and had a lefty and-1 layup to extend his team's lead. Wilkinson has the ability to be one of the top guards in the Columbus City League next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2833864"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683a6acee030e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The tallest player I saw on Friday, it was no surprise that Arick was making his presence felt in the paint on both ends of the floor. Defensively, Arick blocked a handful of shots at the rim and while he didn't always come up with the defensive rebound himself, he did a nice job of tipping it to one of his teammates to secure the basketball. Offensively Arick showed flashes as a rim runner and playing in the dunker spot with some easy catch and finishes and a nice layup off a BLOB. While his team fell just short after a flurry of 3-pointers by [player_tooltip player_id='2834023' first='Gavin' last='Ferguson'], Arick was one of the most intriguing prospects I saw on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->