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Get ready for blast off … it’s Flyin’ time again as ‘Flyin’ to the Hoop’ hits town
TAKE IT FROM ‘THE CHICKSTER’:
IF YOU’RE NOT FLYIN’, YOU’RE DYIN’
===Coming on Monday, Jan. 12, to HIGH SCHOOL HUDDLE: Coaching jobs that are open in the Greater Dayton Area. So, if you’re a coach looking for work, get your resume together.===
Attention all boys high school basketball junkies.
Mark your calendars for Jan. 17-19, 2008.
That’s when you’ll get your fix because it’s Flyin’ to the Hoop time.
With 16 games featuring 24 teams in a three-day span at Kettering’s James S. Trent Arena, the the seventh annual event showcases some of the best high school talent, and teams, in the area, state, region and nation.
Eric Horstman
USA Today listed Flyin’ to the Hoop among 11 “best boys tournaments to watch for 2008-09” — right up there with events in Honolulu, Fort Myers, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“I tell people, ‘We must be doing something right,’ ” tournament director Eric Horstman said. “Teams are coming to Dayton in the middle of January without the beach-front property. They’re coming for the basketball.”
Here’s what you’ll see:
• Two of the nation’s top high school juniors — Jared Sullinger and Jeremy Tyler — going nose to nose, face to face, as they attack the rim.
Jeremy Tyler
Sullinger, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound power forward and top-ranked player in the ESPNU Super 60 Class of 2010, has committed to Ohio State, while Tyler, a 6-9, 240-pound center and ESPNU’s No. 7-ranked junior, has pledged his allegiance to Louisville.
Sullinger will lead the Columbus Northland Vikings against Tyler’s San Diego (Calif.) Cavers on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m. — the marquee matchup on Flyin’ to the Hoop’s six-game, opening-day lineup card.
• Findlay Prep, of Henderson, Nev. — the West Coast’s version of Oak Hill Academy — is the No. 1-ranked team in the nation according to Rivals.com.
Findlay Prep faces Bedford, Ohio, at 4:45 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 17, while Trotwood-Madison meets Montrose Christian of Rockville, Md., in the opening-day finale at 8:15 p.m.
• How good are the Montrose Christian Mustangs?
Head coach Stu Vetter is in his 33rd season at the Rockville, Md., school. His record: 783-98.
Two seniors — 6-8 forward Isaiah Armwood and 6-10 center Mouphtaou Yarou — have signed with Villanova.
“Even though Montrose is used to having the bull’s-eye on its back, it is absolutely going to have its hands full against Trotwood on Saturday night and Centerville on Sunday night,” Horstman said. “And then here comes Findlay Prep. They wanted to play three games — one a day. So we have them going against Bedford, Garfield Heights and Wayne.”
• More than half of the 24-team field hails from Southwest Ohio — Moeller and Lakota East from suburban Cincinnati and 11 squads from the Dayton area.
In addition to Centerville, Wayne and Trotwood, the Miami Valley will be represented by Chaminade Julienne, Dayton Christian, Graham, Alter, Fairmont, Sidney, Springboro and Thurgood Marshall.
“I try to find that perfect mix of great local teams to play other Ohio teams that they never would play if they’re not on maybe the caliber of scale to play a national team,” Horstman said. “I also try to get the big-time local teams that have the great players and pair them up against a national powerhouse.
“We’ve gotten a very good reputation with the national teams. They like coming here because I try to mix it up and have them play against quality teams that give them different looks on offense and defense. They really appreciate that.”
• There’s plenty of Flyin’ hype going around. In an online chat with fans, Paul Biancardi — the national recruiting director for ESPN Scouts Inc. and former head coach at Wright State — hyped the tourney, which features three of the nation’s best teams.
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com, followed by No. 12 Montrose Christian and No. 27 Columbus Northland.
“Flyin’ to the Hoop will be an excellent event and I encourage people in the area to check it out,” Biancardi said.
• Dayton, Ohio, is about to become “Louisville North.”
San Diego (Calif.) High School 6-9 junior Jeremy Tyler has committed to Louisville.
If Cardinals fans want to see him play, now’s the time because it’s the closest he’ll get to the Bluegrass State this season.
“There should be some Louisville fans in the crowd,” Horstman said.
Todd Simon
Michael Peck
• Findlay Prep head coach Michael Peck and assistant Todd Simon are Michigan natives, so they’re aware of Ohio’s talent.
• Horstman on the Graham Falcons: “They’re playing like the world’s on fire. The team I have them against (Ripley, W.Va.) is the exact same kind of team.”
• About 75 college scouts and just as many media — including ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com — are expected at the event.
FLYIN’ QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q: What is Flyin’ to the Hoop?
A: It’s a national high school boys basketball tournament in its seventh year played annually on Martin Luther King Weekend (Jan. 17-19). The event will be at Kettering’s James S. Trent Arena for the second straight year. It was previously held at the Vandalia-Butler High School Student Activity Center.
Q: Who’s responsible for the event?
A: It was created and continues to be maintained by Eric Horstman, owner of Sports Image, Inc., a sports marketing company in Springboro, Ohio.
Q: What is the operating budget?
A: Between $100,000 and $125,000, according to Horstman.
Q: Where does the money come from?
A: Sponsorships and ticket sales.
Q: Where does the money go?
A: It’s used to help pay for out-of-town teams’ travel, lodging and meals. Meals are also provided for local teams.
Daequan Cook
Q: Who are some NBA stars who have played in the event?
A: Portland’s Von Wafer, Memphis’ Rudy Gay, New Jersey’s Josh Boone, Golden State’s Marcus Williams, Denver’s J.R. Smith, Miami’s Daequan Cook and the L.A. Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan.
http://www.daequancook.org/daequan-cook-pictures.php
Q: What will attendance be like?
A: Trent Arena seats 3,650 for basketball. With 24 teams playing 16 games in three days, an estimated 5,000 spectators per day are expected for a three-day total of 15,000.
Q: Has the economy hurt sponsorships?
A: Yes and no. Although sponsorship dollars are down “about 15 percent,” said Horstman, “we are actually up (to 36) in numbers of sponsors.”
A HUGE ECONOMIC BOOST
TO GREATER DAYTON AREA
The struggling Dayton economy is about to get a boost from the Flyin’ to the Hoop tournament on Martin Luther King weekend.
A big, fat $1 million boost.
With an estimated 15,000 spectators walking through the doors of Kettering’s James S. Trent Arena from Saturday through Monday, Jan. 17-19, and at least 200 rooms booked for three nights at the Dayton Marriott alone, “I’d say $1 million is a pretty good estimate,” said Matt L. Wahrhaftig, executive director of the Kettering Education Foundational and Trent Arena’s general manager.
The calculation is based on figures supplied by the Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which uses hotel occupancy numbers along with attendance figures to gauge economic impact.
“Hopefully, with this terrible economy going around, we can pump a little life into Dayton this upcoming weekend,” Horstman said. “There’s going to be a lot of out-of-town people buying gas, renting cars, getting hotel rooms and eating at restaurants.”
IN ERIC HORSTMAN’S WORDS
ABOUT FLYIN’ SPONSORHIPS
“It’s not actually as bad as I thought it would be. We’re probably down about 15 percent. But here’s the good news: Every single sponsor is continuing to do it in some fashion. They just had to lower the amounts or do it in different facets this year. What I mean by that is: To me a sponsor is somebody that gives me money or helps me parlay expenses by giving me goods. Take for instance Time Warner Cable gave us some money for a sponsorship last year and they gave us air time for commercials. This year, they’re giving us almost twice as much commercial time. That’s how we worked it. We are actually up in numbers of sponsors. It’s just down in the monetary donation part of it because of the economy.”
TOURNAMENT SPONSORS
Samaritan North Hospital - CO-PRESENTING SPONSOR
National City Bank - CO-PRESENTING SPONSOR
Sports Image, Inc - Parent Company of the Tourney
Barry Staff, Inc.
Bob Ross Buick
Bounce U
Chipotle
City of Kettering
Alley Cat Design
Allstar Athletic
Aaron’s
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Domino’s
Frickers
Friendly’s
Harrigan’s Tavern
Heidelberg Distributing
Marriott
NeoTan
Nicholas Studios
Pepsi
Pickrel, Schaeffer & Ebeling
Sebaly, Shillito & Dyer
Prep Spotlight Basketball Recruiting
PrepChamps.com
SD Enterprises
Sign-A-Rama - Springboro
Steamin’ Joes
Super Subby’s
The Greene
Time Warner Cable - SW Ohio
Tri-Tech Engineering
U.S. Army
Visual Media Concepts
Waibel Energy Systems
WHIO-TV
ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW
ABOUT FLYIN’ TO THE HOOP
can be found at:
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Boys basketball
Comments
By AG321
January 11, 2009 2:45 PM | Link to this
Flyin to the Hoop is a must see event! The talent that comes to the Trent Arena during this event is unbelieveable. The cost is cheap for the number of games you get to see!If you want to see the best high school basketball talent this country has to offer then the Trent Arena is the place to be on January 17th,18th,19th! I hope to see you there!By Rob
January 13, 2009 8:21 AM | Link to this
Louisville fans would love to see Tyler play in Dayton, but we have a 6pm game with the #1 team in the Country on our home court. Otherwise I would have a SUV load of fans riding up with me.By Gerald L. "Jerry" Jones
January 14, 2009 11:38 PM | Link to this
As a twice retired seventy year old basketball junkie from Kentucky and living in Henderson NV, I’m here to tell you Findlay Prep can beat a number of small colleges across America. For you locals, come out and see a treat. Jerry Jones