Day 3 of Flyin to the Hoop is going to be loaded with can’t miss matchups starting right from the first game of the day. Sunday is the day of the event I have been looking forward to the most because we are going to see some real battles and tough matchups in this slate of games. Not only will we see high level prospects but we will also be watching some of the best teams in Ohio battle as well as Prep school vs Ohio matchups.

Game 1 of the day right out of the gate is between St Vincent- St Mary and Fairfield. Both teams have been some of the best in the state the past 5-7 years and have some of the best coaches in the entire state. Coach Dru Joyce will be looking to make the trip down from Akron to leave with a victory led by Senior Big man John Whorton. The Irish are no stranger to the FTTH stage as they are a regular in the event. They have some great guards and even young talent in the sophomore Elijah Chapman who will look to showcase his talents on the big stage for the first time. On the other side we have DJ Wyrick leading the Indians led by senior guard Michael Lewis. The Indians are first in the GMC right now and everyone knows that is a tough task as the GMC is one of the best conferences in the state of Ohio. The big man Gabe Clemmons for Fairfield is going to have his work cut out for him battling all morning with big John Whorton. This matchup is going to be an exciting one to watch to kick off the day. 

Game 2 on Sunday is a matchup between one of the best teams in Division 1 in Ohio in Delaware Hayes vs Western Reserve Academy. Western Reserve even though they are in Ohio they are not a public or private OHSAA school. They play a national level prep schedule and usually have some of the best prospects around attending their school. Western Reserve is headlined by the most stock rising prospect in the whole event in Anthony Thompson. Thompson is a 6’8 forward that can stretch the floor and knock down shots from anywhere!! One of the most pure shooters you will watch at 6’8. He had a huge Summer grassroots season and has continued to rise up the rankings. On the other side we have Landon Vanderwarker at 6’7 who is a handful to stop as well. Landon and Thompson are no stranger to battling as they both play on the Adidas 3SSB circuit during the grassroots season for two of the best teams in the country. This will be a great matchup to watch and see how an OHSAA school that is one of the best in Ohio matches up with Western Reserve who can recruit kids from all around the country.

The 3rd game of the day is a potential Division 1 Ohio state championship matchup between Moeller in Cincinnati and St Ignatius, the defending state champs out of Cleveland. Moeller is coming off a recent GCL loss and will be looking to bounce back and show why they are a top 5 team in the state this season. They are led this year by senior wing Alex Kazanecki. Kazanecki does a great job of getting to his spots on the floor and knocking down shots. If he has a great performance in front of the coaches that will be at FTTH you could see him easily walking away with a few offers. On the other side you have the defending state champs led by Damon Fiery, a 6’10 forward who has an incredible motor and can simply score in many different ways. He will be paired up with one of the best guards in the state Quinn Woidke who is money from deep. This is going to be a big time coaching battle as the teams have very different styles of play. Ignatius would love to score 75+ points every night while Moeller is very content with slowing teams down and winning in the 40’s and 50’s. We could see this matchup again in the State finals this year!

Game 4 of the day in Kettering is a Prep vs Prep matchup between Combine Academy and Bella Vista Prep. This is a matchup between two of the best teams in the whole country. I expect this matchup to have a lot of high flying dunks and incredible skill and athleticism shown by these guys. We will see how Bella Vista does with playing 2 games in two days at the event. They could either come out sluggish if they don’t bring their motor two days in a row or they could be looking to show everyone just why they are a top team in the nation by putting on a performance for the crowd. Either way you are still going to see a lot of high level recruits doing incredible things in this game. Kaden Magwood for Combine is one of the best guards in the country and can absolutely light it up. I would not be surprised if he puts up 35+ on Sunday. On the other side, Paul Osaruyi is going to be the prospect to watch and see how he can try to take over and lead Bella Vista to victory. This one is going to be very exciting and action packed. 

The final game of the day is also a matchup that we could see late in the Ohio playoffs. Centerville is always one of the best teams in Ohio as they are led by one of the best coaches in the state. They have a different look this year as they had some high level seniors who graduated this past year. They are led by a trio of class of 2025 seniors in Eli Greenberg, Ethan Greenberg, and Cohen Ellis. These guys are all next level basketball players and have great chemistry as they have grown up and played together most of their career. On the other side Reynoldsburg is led by Jordan Fisher and Toby Nwokolo who are two Mid Major recruits who can straight score the basketball. This is a great battle to end the night as we get to see these guys go head to head and prove why they should stay in the talks as one of the best in the state and a possible state champion come March.