Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 2:02 pm  |  no responses

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Good Samaritan Flyin’ To The Hoop Preview

Lots of high school talent facing off in Dayton, OH this weekend.

by Rodger Bohn / @rodgerbohn

For nine years now, Eric Horstman, Branden Cultice, and Co. have brought one of the truly elite basketball tournaments in the country to Dayton, OH. Competing head-to-head with the legendary HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass, The Good Samartitan Flyin’ To The Hoop has carved out it’s own niche amongst the holiday hoops tournaments. Moving on up in the game to Trent Arena in Kettering, it’s not uncommon to see 4,000 hoopheads packed in the gym at certain points of each day. While many events tend to solely focus their efforts on the top seniors in the country, FTTH often targets the nation’s elite underclassmen to take part in their event. Now don’t get it twisted, top seniors such as Anthony Davis and Brandon Knight have participated in the last few years, playing a game at both FTTH and HoopHall. In fact, Davis put on a show at last year’s FTTH with Coach Calipari in the stands. SLAM’s top player for the class of 2013, Jabari Parker, gave Ohioans a glimpse of his remarkable package of skills last year for Simeon as a sophomore. And in what was the most impressive FTTH performance ever, current Bobcats center Byron Mullens had an NBA 2k-esque 62 points and 21 rebounds back in ’08. With this year marking the 10th anniversary of the tournament, Horstman decided to add an extra day of hoops to the most loaded field that the event has ever offered.

Findlay Prep will be pop things off on day one, bringing co-pilots Anthony Bennett, Brandon Ashley, and the rest of their loaded squad to Dayton before shooting out to the HoopHall. Huntington Prep brings a team loaded with Canadian imports with the draw being SLAM’s top player for the class of 2014, Andrew Wiggins. Dallas will be well represented by Grace Prep, who offers the most versatile big man in the country in Baylor bound Isaiah Austin, who brings the defensive presence of a center along with the offensive game of a power forward. The resurging Indiana Hoosiers will have two commitments playing, 6-8 athletic marvel Hanner Perea and versatile 6-6 swingman Colin Hartman. Youngsters Emmanuel Mudiay and Justin Jackson, both out of Texas, are both considered amongst the top 10 in the class of 2014.  Mix in a number of tough area teams looking to prove themselves against these national powerhouses, and you see why this is such a live event.

Action tips off at 6:30 pm Friday night.  SLAM will be in the building and our friends from CityLeagueHoops will be pumping out all of the video highlights. The schedule is as follows:

Tickets for the 10^th Annual Good Samaritan Flyin’ To The Hoop are available at here or at the door starting at $10 per day. Weekend passes are available starting at $40.