5 storylines for a busy MLK Day weekend
Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend probably is the most prominent weekend for high school basketball for the remainder of the regular season.
In addition to several important league games, including a CCL showdown Friday with Hartley visiting undefeated Ready, this weekend includes Flyin' to the Hoop at Kettering Fairmont, Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican and two powerhouse girls events in Classic in the City and Classic in the Country at Pickerington Central and Berlin Hiland, respectively.
All are multiday events, lasting through Monday evening.
Here are five storylines to watch this weekend:
1. Ready relies on defense during 11-0 start
Coming off a 20-2 season, their first CCL championship in two decades and a Division III district runner-up finish, Ready has allowed 39.4 points per game and 38 or fewer in six consecutive contests, including a 66-30 win at Washington Court House on Tuesday.
Coach Tony Bisutti called senior guard Luke Ruth, who averages 14 points and six assists, “a lockdown defender” but emphasized that the entire team has bought in on both ends of the court.
“Everybody thinks about playing basketball together as a team on the offensive end, but you have to do the same things on the defensive end,” said Bisutti, whose team also is 3-0 in the CCL. “Our guys have grasped on to our system, and having a lot of veterans helps.
Ruth is one of four returning starters, along with senior forwards Charlie Russell
(15 points per game) and Kaleb Schaffer (13 ppg) and junior guard Josh Paul. Ready's fifth starter is sophomore forward Kayden Schaffer.
2. Ohio powers heading to Flyin’ to the Hoop
All four defending boys state champions, including Pickerington Central in Division I, will participate in the 21st Flyin' to the Hoop.
Twenty Division I commits, including Central's Devin Royal (Ohio State) and Africentric's Dailyn Swain (Xavier), headline the event. Central (9-4) will face Indianapolis Cathedral, the defending Class 4A state champion in Indiana, at 3 p.m. Monday.
The area's other participants, Pickerington
North (11-1) and Africentric (9-3), play in consecutive games Saturday. North will play Dayton Dunbar at 1:15, followed by Africentric against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
Cincinnati Taft, the defending Division III state champion, plays Lyndhurst Brush at 1:15 p.m. Sunday. Akron St. Vincent-st. Mary, which won the title in Division II, faces Atlanta program The Skill Factory at 4:45 p.m. Sunday.
3. Pickerington Central’s Classic in the City features loaded field
Ten area girls teams, plus the defending Division II and Division III state champions in Kettering Alter and Cincinnati Purcell Marian, highlight the 21game Classic in the City, a three-day event that starts Saturday.
Three of the state's top 10 teams per Maxpreps will compete in Cincinnati
Princeton (No. 1), Dublin Coffman (No. 6) and host Pickerington Central (No. 9). Louisville (Kentucky) Sacred Heart Academy is ranked 12th nationally by ESPN, and Purcell Marian is 25th.
Coffman plays Louisville (Kentucky) Mercy Academy at 4:30 p.m. Sunday and closes the event at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Hudson Western Reserve Academy.
Central also plays twice, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Mercy Academy and at 4:30 p.m. Monday against Fort Erie (Ontario) Secondary School.
4. Battle in the 614 returns to Ohio Dominican
Division I powers Columbus South, Gahanna and Olentangy Orange headline the second Battle in the 614, which consists of 19 boys games Saturday through Monday.
Gahanna was last year's Division I regional runner-up and despite replacing all five starters is 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the OCC-OHIO Division entering a firstplace showdown Friday at Pickerington North. Orange and South are 11-1 and 10-2, respectively.
South tips off the Battle in the 614 at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against Wilmington, and Orange plays Toledo Whitmer at 6:30 p.m. Gahanna is in action at 2 p.m. Sunday against Medina.
5. Powers Reynoldsburg, Newark traveling to Classic in the Country
Two area teams, Newark and defending Division I state champion Reynoldsburg, are participating in the 20th Classic in the Country.
Both will play back-to-back Monday, with Newark playing Batavia West Clermont at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Raiders against Wadsworth at 6 in the showcase's penultimate game.