By Dean Eversole
MaxPreps.com
If you're looking for basketball talent, Ohio is the place to be this weekend.
Drawing in the talent on the boys side is the Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational, held at Vandalia. Sixteen teams will converge on the Vandalia Butler Student Activity Center for three days (Jan. 13-15) of basketball and a total of sixteen games.
Leading the parade of talent is Oak Hill Academy, Va. No. 2 in the MaxPreps National Rankings, Oak Hill will battle with Trotwood Madison (Dayton) Saturday evening. There is little doubt this is the featured game, and the plethora of Division I talent is sure to draw a crowd.
Oak Hill again features a laundry list of top prospects. Leading that group are Nolan Smith, who will be heading to Duke, point guard Brandon Jennings, a USC recruit, and Alex Legion who is headed to Ann Arbor.
But the talent doesn't end there. Chris Wright of Trotwood is considered one the nation's top forwards and will be staying home next season, joining the Dayton Flyers - a real coup for Brian Gregory and his team. Cincinnati Harmony features Alex Tyus, who escaped the clutches of Thad Matta and Ohio State, heading south to play for Billy Donavan and the Florida Gators. 6-11 Brandon Jennings rounds out the players that are committed. Jennings, from Christian Life Center Academy, Texas, will join the Aggies of Texas A&M.
Howard Tomkins (Oak Hill), Nate Miles (Corner Stone Christian) and Mamadou Diarra (Stoneridge Prep) all are considered five star recruits who have not yet committed.
Vandalia will be flooded with some of the nation's top talent and scouts will be right behind them.
You have to head across state to find the center of the girls' basketball universe. There you will find Berlin, home of the Classic in the Country. It is the girls' version of the Flyin' to Hoop, with one exception; most of the participants are in-state teams.
Thirty teams will play twenty games from Saturday (Jan. 13) to Monday (Jan. 15). In total, there are 13 Division I schools, 12 D-II, four D-III and three D-IV.
Among the top big school programs is Dayton Chaminade Julienne. The Eagles are a perennial state power and this year is no different. Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, North Canton Hoover, Cincinnati Oak Hills and Youngstown Boardman will all be playing in the Classic and each one is considered a state contender in D-I.
From top to bottom, the Classic is filled with some of the state's best teams, featuring a number of talented individual players. There is little doubt as to where college scouts in the Ohio will be spending the weekend, at the Classic.
Last season the Versailles Tigers were considered by many to be one of the top teams in Division III. The problem, they had to play to North College in the Regional Final. This year the Tigers have picked up where they left off. After rolling over Marion Local Tuesday night, Versailles is 7-1 and sitting eighth in the current AP state poll.
It's Always Football Season in Ohio.
On the football side of things, Cincinnati LaSalle's Ben Martin, turned some heads recently. The defensive end delivered another SEC victory over the Big Ten. Martin said thanks, but no thanks to Ohio State and will instead head to Tennessee. He was considered by many the top recruit in the state and is one of the few to have escaped Jim Tressel during his tenure in Columbus.