Ohio Valley Hoops Classic: Friday Top Performers

The Ohio Valley Hoops Classic provided five games in Mason, Ohio and there was some exciting action with some of the top teams from the Cincinnati area, as well as some out of area teams. In this article, we'll break down the top performers from Friday's action.    In the opening game of the day, Badin got a win over Loveland in what was a competitive game. I ended up being a big fan of Badin with a core group of seniors who play unselfish basketball together. Lowe was arguably their most talented player as the Ohio Northern baseball commit has good positional size, made some impressive passes across the court and knocked down open shots. A wing guard who looks like an athlete, Lowe had a couple steals that led to scores in transition and overall impacted the game in a handful of ways. I know he's committed to play baseball at Ohio Northern but based on what I saw on Friday, he is talented enough to potentially play basketball for the Polar Bears.     One of my favorite players in greater Cincinnati to watch, Martin plays his heart out every time he steps on the court. Since I last watched him, Martin has put on some weight and is even tougher to stop at the rim. Combine that strength with craftiness while attacking the rim and soft touch and you get an incredibly efficient paint scorer for a 6'1 guard. Martin creates such a high percentage of Loveland's offense as he's usually either scoring or assisting their buckets. You won't find many tougher high school guards and Martin should be at the top of small college recruiting boards as well as on the radar of scholarship programs.     Another year where Lakota East is led by a stud point guard. From Nate Johnson to Trey Perry to now Bowman, the Thunderhawks have always had ELITE point guard play under Clint Adkins. Bowman is one of the most skilled players in the state for his grade as his poise on the ball in unbelievable. Excellent with both hands, Bowman had multiple tough finishes and skip passes with his left hand on Friday afternoon. Knocking down clutch shots when the ball gets swung to him as well, Bowman is one of the most productive 2028 guards in the state right now. Making a strong argument for a rankings bump before our next update in either December or January, Bowman is playing at an extremely high level right now.     Taft made a statement with a victory over defending Division IV champ Maysville as the Senators used their high-pressure defense to turn over the Panthers while also not letting them get comfortable looks from beyond the 3-point arc. Hinton is a strong guard who kind of does a bit of everything for his team. Starting the game with the first nine points for his team, Hinton knocked down a 3-pointer, had a scoop layup and a mid-range pull-up to open the contest. Add in a handful of offensive rebounds and extra passes to shooters and Hinton checked a lot of boxes. A flat out winner at the high school level, Hinton has been impactful at all three of the CMAC schools he has played for and this final ride with Taft could end in a similar spot to where Hinton ended last season, at UD Arena in the state title game. Long ways to go till we get to that point and plenty of talented teams in the Senators way but this win proves that Taft can hang with anybody in Division IV.     Mount Vernon Fortville came to Ohio and ran roughshod through their opponents on Friday evening. An absolutely dominant performance that included a running clock for a majority of the second half, Mount Vernon looked like a team on a mission. Vise is their tallest prospect and he screams upside with his length, shot blocking ability and skill with the ball in his hands. His body still needs a lot of time until he's ready to play at the college level but it's important to always be patient with bigs and based on the touch he showed at the rim, the ball handling ability and left-handed finishes, I think Vise is going to be a very good player in due time. That sort of skill gives me faith that maybe he can play the 4 in college if he improves his foot speed. Definitely worth a spot in the top 25 of the Indiana rankings, Vise could be a player you look back on in five years and be amazed at how far he has came if he continues to put in the work.     Fairfield has a new look team after graduating a strong senior class from last season and missing star DeMaceo Bronston with an injury. That has allowed Hamilton transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2532143' first='Kaiden' last='Jones'] to step in and become a leader on a team that lacks experience right now. Jones plays with incredible energy on both ends of the court, blocking shots, rebounding and hustling for loose balls. Jones knocked down a corner 3-pointer on the first possession of the game, a key swing skill in his development. Add in a couple times where he scored off cuts or sitting in the dunker spot and a left-handed drive and finish and Jones showed some nice flashes on Friday's nightcap. Still has plenty of time to polish his game and continue improving at various skills offensively and he's at a perfect place to do so as Fairfield has developed numerous impact college players under Dj Wyrick.

The Ohio Valley Hoops Classic provided five games in Mason, Ohio and there was some exciting action with some of the top teams from the Cincinnati area, as well as some out of area teams. In this article, we'll break down the top performers from Friday's action.