The name is a marketing attention-getter that also is the minimum 3-point distance in Europe.
“It does raise eyebrows,” said head coach Ryan Schmidt following Saturday’s 87-83 setback to Bowman Academy in the Flyin’ to the Hoop opener at Trent Arena. “We’re doing something right.”
22ft. has 24 students, all basketball players. Most of its varsity is composed of U.S. and Canadian players. Its JV team is made up of players from Holland.
22ft. Academy also has anchors in Holland, France and South Africa. A location at Jackson, Ky., is now used for training only.
“The goal long-term is to have four-five locations throughout the U.S.,” Schmidt said. “We’ll have a varsity and a ‘B’ team and try to build it up to one of the top teams.”
The minimum high school 3-point distance in the U.S. is 19 feet, nine inches. It’s 20-9 in the NCAA, 22-1.75 in the WNBA and 23-9 in the NBA.
Better late than never: It's a recruiting tossup if the summer AAU season is more valuable than the regular season.
Carlas Jackson, an emerging 6-3 shooting guard at Roger Bacon, missed all last July — go-to time for AAU tournaments — while a torn meniscus in his knee healed.
Instead of cementing certain offers, his recruitment radar was turned off.
“Unfortunately, out of sight, out of mind,” said Bacon coach Brian Neal after Jackson went for 19 points and nailed 5 of 7 treys in an 83-51 blowout of Columbus Africentric.
“He’ll be a guy who signs somewhere, but it’s not going to be until late. It happens every year.”
Events like Flyin’ are key for college recruiting. Unlike a single regular-season game, it’s a chance to see dozens of potential signees in one place, in a brief time period.
“I feel like this is important for me to showcase my talents because I didn’t get to show in the summer,” Jackson said. “I can compete with anybody, anywhere. I’m real confident in what I can do.”
Bad break: Lakota East junior center Alex White had his nose adjusted after smacking Alan Vest of Chaminade Julienne in the Thunderhawks' 57-37 blowout win.
“Out of nowhere here comes this dude and hits my head,” said White, who had both nostrils of his broken beak stuffed with cotton rolls afterward. “It is what it is. It’s just part of the game.”
Can't beat that: By 1 p.m. on Saturday Flyin' was a rare sellout, going through 5,000 reserved tickets.
Capacity seating is about 4,000. The crowd fluctuates throughout the 12 hours of play, which accounts for the larger-than-capacity spectator total.
He said it: "As long as the end result is a win, then it doesn't matter the equation." — Walnut Ridge coach Jason Bates following a 59-49 defeat of Summit Country Day.
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