(1-2-24) One of the top Martin Luther King Holiday Day Basketball Tournaments in the US is set to start a week from Friday on January 12th. Flyin’ to the Hoops started as the Premier Health Flyin’ to the High School Basketball Invitational. The inaugural year for the event was 2003. The event is currently ranked as the #2 Basketball Showcase for high school basketball nationwide paccording to CBS Sports / MaxPreps.

During the four days of the event there will be 19 games with 33 teams competing. Teams competing from North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana. 7 of the 19 games will feature Ohio match-ups.

Area teams —Lima Sr. will play Pickerington Central on Sunday afternoon at 4:45pm.

A game of interest for Ohio fans will be when Richmond Heights takes on Westminster Academy (Fl) on Monday of the tournament. Richmond Heights has basketball fans in Ohio chattering for several years after sweeping OHSAA D IV titles that past several seasons. D IV is the smallest division in Ohio.

Richmond Heights asked the Chagrin Valley Conference to compete in basketball as an independent this season. 

The Spartans are ranked nationally and recently competed in the City of the Palms Christmas Tournament. They like the Dayton area that is where the Ohio boys state basketball tournaments have recently been held.

Did you know…

Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) member schools are allowed to play opponents who are not a member of any NFHS sanctioned state athletic association.

Combine Academy is an International Boarding School and Professional Sports Performance Center located in Lincolnton, a suburb of Charlotte, NC. They are scheduled to play Canyon Academy (AZ) on Friday the 12th.