Saturday has a six game lineup at Trent Arena for Day 2 of FTTH. It will be an action packed day of basketball that has a variety of matchups for us to enjoy. We have Ohio vs Ohio matchups as well as Ohio vs Prep School matchups in the slate of games Saturday. 

Game 1 is a matchup between Dayton Dunbar, who is no stranger to Flyin to the Hoop, and the Lebanon Warriors. The day is going to get going really quick for Lebanon as Dunbar usually has an uptempo style of play that really forces you to have a high basketball IQ otherwise you will find yourself turning it over time and time again with their intense defense. Nothing will wake you up faster than getting pressed at 11:30 in the morning on a Saturday. If any team can handle that pressure though it will be Lebanon and the Freshman Jashawn Coffee. Coffee is going to be one of the top rated prospects in the whole country nationally when ESPN drops their 2028 rankings. He is well beyond his years and can handle any pressure that comes his way. What college coaches will love about this young man is his ability to see the floor and make pin point passes anywhere on the floor. What everyone around Coffee does is going to be the key to if Lebanon can pull off the victory on Saturday.

Game 2 of the day is going to be a game that includes one of the top rated prospects in the nation by ESPN in the class of 2026. Marcus Johnson is ranked 22 overall in the nation for the class of 2026 and he will be a handful for Wayne to stop on Saturday. Marcus Johnson had one of the best performances out of anyone last year as he led Garfield Heights to victory and himself an All Tournament Team Award. He looks to continue that this year against Wayne. However, Wayne is one of the best coached teams in all of Southwest Ohio and they are not going to make it easy on Johnson and Garfield Heights. This is going to be a true chess match as both teams have incredible coaches and will be looking ahead at the end goal as they navigate through the game Saturday. 

Game 3 of the day is one of the most anticipated matchups all weekend as Lutheran East takes on Huntington Prep out of West Virginia. Lutheran East has won 3 out of the last 4 state championships in their division and are back just as strong this year. Huntington Prep has probably the top rated prospect in the Nation for the Class of 2028 in Kam Mercer. Kam is a 6’5 guard that will just pick you apart on the floor. He has played up a grade or two in the spring during grassroots season for most of his career so he will be able to handle the physicality of facing older opponents. However, Lutheran East has some of the top prospects in Ohio and a national level prospect in 6’8 TJ Crumble. This is going to be a high flying matchup that we are excited to see on Saturday. 

Game 4 of the day is a matchup between Texas powerhouse Faith Family Academy and Brunswick in Ohio. Brunswick is led by Trey Drexler who is a crafty guard that can straight light it up from anywhere on the floor. He is a guard that makes everyone around him better by drawing the defense and then making the right pass to set them up for high percentage looks. Faith Family Academy is loaded with talent and is going to be tough to defend for Brunswick. Headline for Faith Family is 6’9 Davion Adkins who is a top 30 overall recruit in the class of 2026. He is going to be a handful to stop with his size, athleticism, and ability to score at multiple levels. 

Game 5 on Saturday is a battle between one of the best teams in all of Ohio in Olentangy Orange and Cia Bella Vista out of Arizona. Olentangy is looking to represent Ohio in FTTH led by Senior Devin Brown who is committed to Davidson. On the other side just like most prep schools at the national level Cia Bella Vista is loaded with talent top to bottom. Nobody on the Bella Vista roster is higher ranked by ESPN than Paul Osaruyi who is a 5 star recruit and number 7 overall in the class of 2027. We will see two different styles of play clash in this matchup. A very well coached Olentangy team will look to slow down the run and gun style of Bella Vista in this matchup.

The final game of the night is between Louisville and Alter. Both these Ohio programs come into the season ranked in the top 15 teams in Ohio. Alter is defending state champion and is looking to get on track going down the stretch the second half of the season. They bring back their top recruit RJ Greer who is 6’5 and committed to NC State. Louisville on the other hand is led by a pair of Division 2 commits in Beau Siegfried (Ashland) and Brayden Gross (Walsh). This is going to be a slow paced lower scoring contest as Alter runs a 2-3 zone and looks to slow you down and make you make shots from deep. 

My prediction for each matchup is as follows: 

Game 1– Lebanon pulls off a close one with Jashawn Coffee having a coming out party on the big stage at FTTH. 

Game 2– Garfield Heights takes the win over Wayne. Garfield just has too much fire power in Marcus Johnson and I don’t know if Wayne has enough to match him.

Game 3– I think Lutheran East defends the state of Ohio and gets the big win over a loaded Huntington Prep team.

Game 4– The size and athleticism of Faith Family Academy is going to be too much for Brunswick to handle. I look for an easy win by Faith Family.

Game 5– The game of the day in this matchup is going to be a close one. However, I think that Olentangy comes out and stops the mighty Bella Vista team in an upset victory for the Orange. 

Game 6– This game plays right into the hands of Louisville. It is going to come down to if Siegfried, Gross, and company can knock down shots. I think at the end of the day Alter comes away with a close one.