Big Winners of Flyin to the Hoop; what Celebrities were there? Wayne stays unbeaten

Here's the recap, highlights and stars of last MLK weekend as the Top National HS Tourney Flyin' To The Hoop went down in the Miami Valley:

Flyin' to the Hoop Headlines:

(1) Wayne defeats IMG,  continue its torrid winning streak as "Father vs Son" game goes down; Trice Family Steals scene with Kenny Smith  

   When it was posted that Wayne would play IMG, Coach Travis Trice knew this would be a special one. His son D'Mitrik, who had led his Wayne team to their 1st ever State hoops title, would be on the court.
  Only this time, dad would be trying to stop his son from defeating his Warriors squad.
  The Warriors did prevail, but it was the theatrics of the Trices and the Jet which provided the entertainment...

Such as:
   Mrs. Trice clownin wit former NBA Champion and TNT analyst Kenny "The Jet" Smith;
  The duel within the duel as the Trice family as  talk ensued in between plays between father and son.

Kenny Smith, Archie Miller, Mrs Trice enjoying the game
 (Courtesy of Image Jock) 

   While Trice admitted he was happy with the win, he wasn't as thrilled with having to stop his son, and Kenny Smith's son as well, en route to the win.

   The Warriors dominated - again- on the big stage as they cruised past IMG.

 Super Soph  L'Christian "Blue" Smith led Wayne with 15.
 D'Mitrik Trice had 2 points and 3 assists  and Smith had 8 as the Warriors stymied IMG offensively.


(2) Top recruit Josh Jackson shines but loses; then gets redemption with GW shot

One of the prized recruits in the country brought his talent here and ended with a bang as Jackson dropped 32 in the first game, then came back in the next game and hit a game winning three-point shot.
    Jackson, 6'6, plays for Prolific prep out of California & is widely considered the top unsigned recruit in the country, with Kansas & Michigan St at the top of his short list.

    After a couple of games, you could see why as the Super-talented Jackson dominated and was the most coveted player in the country.

     Other moments, it seemed he pressed a little, but when you're a top recruit, you will press those buttons sometime.
Overall, 47 points and a Game Winning buzzer beater to finish?
Not too bad for a #1 recruit.


(3) Rising star Seth Towns dominates

It seems that Mr. Towns is taking the snub from McDonald's All-America game quite seriously as he came in and poured a tournament high 40 points and 10 rebounds as Northland earned a victory.            The versatile 6'8 Towns was utterly unstoppable, and showed why Harvard will be getting not only a top-notch future NBA player but a unbelievably smart student.
    Ohio State seemingly let the Columbus native get away, after not really pursuing him to the degree that they should have.
   Towns hasn't taken it personal from most accounts, but his play shows otherwise, and has been running through competition like few others have this season.
 No doubt he's a McDonald's All-American, whether he got the nod or not.
He's that good.




 (4) Trotwood smacks Fairmont on opening night

 Trotwood continued to play winning basketball as they dumped on Fairmont in the flying to the hoop opener opening night.
 Trotwood had just beat Dunbar, and although they started slow, they shut the door on Fairmont by the 3rd quarter.  The more confidence they get, the more they will be a force to be reckoned with.
   Patten led the Rams with 29.



(5) Lima Sr. defeats Thurgood, 

Lima Sr. continued it's winning ways in Dayton as they defeated Thurgood 83-66.
   Michigan recruit Xavier Simpson (20) & Marquavious Wilson (19) led the #2 ranked Spartans to the win.

   Darnell Hoskins Jr. dropped almost half of his teams points (31), but it was not enough as the Spartans played another tough, dominant  performance which has kept them undefeated (10-0) put them right in the talk for a D-1 State Championship.



(6) Northridge drubs Yellow Springs

 Northridge routed Yellow Springs, and send a message to anybody who believe that they were a one-year wonder.
Yellow Springs never had a chance, and Northridge was led by Malik Akbar who had 31.

Nick Ward slams it down vs Dunbar

(7) Dunbar rally falls short,  loses late

The Wolverines came out slow, and fell to Gahanna Lincoln by a score of 67 - 62.  Gahanna was able to get out to a double-digit lead by halftime. Dunbar cut the lead to under 5 in the 4th, but Gahanna's big man Nick Ward (Mich St commit) was able to diffuse the rally - he dominated inside all night, and the Wolverines had no match for him.  was the Wolverines had no match. Terrance Landers Jr. led the Wolverines with 23.


"The Jet", "Izzo" & "Huggy Bear" invade Flyin'


 when you have names such as "The Jet, Izzo, and Huggy Bear coming through your event?

You know you doing good.

   Kenny Smith (TNT analyst), coach Tom Izzo of Michigan State, Archie Miller of UD, and Bob Huggins of West Virginia were just a few of the A-List name celebrity sports figures on hand at Flyin to the Hoop.
 At one point Izzo barked at Flyin' director Eric Horstman,
"How is this event not on TV?"....
meaning why hasn't ESPN picked it up yet?

Usually when a guy the stature of Tom Izzo is saying something like that, look for something to happen in the near future.
Just a testament to how far Flyin' has come.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith praises Dayton Hoops

   And in the words of Kenny Smith, "Shoutout to the Dayton area & Flyin' to the Hoop" is all we need.

Hey we been preaching it for decades. Now the whole country is seeing it for themselves.

Dayton is "The Hotbed for Hoops".

Plain and simple.

And by the way, all 42 teams who participated have said they wanted to come back - already.

Wayne captures first ever State Championship; Dunbar falls in final seconds; C-J loses in semis

With three teams up in Columbus battling for High School State Hoop supremacy, here's the results of all three teams and how they fared.

Wayne Train seizes first ever state title, defeats Westerville South

When speaking with Wayne coach Travis Trice before the trip, he seemed at peace with what his team had accomplished.

But he knew he had the team to win it all.

And they did just that with a 65-57 win over Westerville South as they sprinted out early, controlled the game and hit timely free throws late to grab the biggest win in the school history in front of over 10,600 people.

D'Mitrik Trice led the Warriors with 19 as four Warriors hit double figures. Xeryius Williams, Trey Landers, and Robert Caldwell all balled out as Wayne came out much different than in the classic Semifinal game vs Lakewood St Edward.
In the semifinals Wayne was tested to the max.

Lakewood came out firing, grabbed a early lead, and set the tone. Wayne responded in second half, pushed it to OT, then dominated Overtime to get to the final.
Remember, St. Edward was the team who beat the Wayne Train to win the OHSAA D-1 football championship, so the extra motivation was there.
This time the Warriors would get the job done.

Coach Trice felt like the players believed in each other, was prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually & the "play for the one to the left and right of you" mentality is what helped the Warriors win its first ever State Championship.

And with what the Warriors have coming back?

Could be a couple more "Wayne Train" stops in the Schottenstein Center in the near future.

All Aboard the Wayne Championship Train.
Salute the champs.



Dunbar loses in final seconds to Defiance in Semis

The Wolverines had a golden opportunity to get to the State Championship, but couldn't take advantage of a lead and a couple of missed chances cost Dunbar as they lost 46-45.

Defiance came out stong early and established the tone, but Dunbar quickly reversed those fortunes and grabbed the lead late in the first quarter.
The Wolverines were ahead for most part of the second quarter and although the game was tight, Dunbar seemed to have a slight edge, as Ohio State bound Amos "A.J." Harris led the team at half with 10 points & Terrance Landers had 6.

In the 2nd half Dunbar grabbed a lead and held it for most of the half until the final moments. Dunbar was ahead 44-39 midway through the 4th quarter and it looked as if they would pull away.
But Defiance kept battling, and eventually tied it up in the last minute. Terrance Landers was fouled and made 1 of the 2 free throws, which left the door open for Defiance.
Defiance then was fouled after missing two shots and grabbing two offensive rebounds.
They hit both free throws to take the final lead. Dunbar came down and tried to get a shot up, but was unable to get one off as Defiance stole the ball underneath and was fouled with 3 seconds.

They would miss the front end of 1 & 1 but Harris half court desperation heave was short, and Defiance was on to their first ever State Finals.
Dunbar was outscored 9-4 in the 4th quarter, which sealed their fate.
A.J. Harris led the Wolverines with 19, & was the only player in double figures.
Harris did say that "he loves playing in the Schottenstein Center" & that he feels that Dunbar "should get back to State" next year.

After the game, Head Coach Peter Pullen was very dissapointed with the outcome, but was proud of his team and knows they will be back.

Note: Defiance did go on to win State, in OT.


C-J falls in fourth, loses to Lima Central Catholic

C-J fell behind early and although they came back strong late, fell to Lima Central Catholic 55-50 in the D-3 OHSAA Semifinals.
Lima jumped out early, and the Eagles responded. Central Catholic held a lead at half which ballooned to 15 before a 15-2 run by the Eagles cut it to 3, 45-42.
The Eagles would get it to 2, but Catholic knocked down some key free throws to send the Eagles home.
Coach Staley felt like his boys played hard, but Jus didn't execute quite well enough against a top notch opponent.
This was the Eagles 7th trip to the State.