Flyin' to the Hoop: Day 3 standouts and storylines

Kettering, Ohio – Day 3 of the 20th annual Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational brought a standing room only crowd and a lot of exciting highlights. On3s Jamie Shaw was inside Trent Arena for the day of games, and here are the storylines you need to know about.

Coach watch: Virginia Tech, Dayton, Michigan, Seton Hall, Wisconsin, Indiana, Miami (OH), Radford, Wright State, Southern Indiana, Eastern Kentucky, etc.

Smooth buckets

A pair of mid-major signees stole the show with their effortless and crafty scoring prowess on Sunday. Huber Heights (OH) Wayne High guard Lawrent Rice, who is committed to Murray State, finished with 33 points.

The 6-foot-1 guard has a smooth handle with great balance and an understanding of his kill spots on the floor. He has touch with range, but he also has a creative scoring package inside the arc. Rice’s 33 points are a Flyin’ to the Hoop event high to this point.

Kent State signee Lance Hayes brought an equally smooth scoring approach to the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational. The 6-foot-3 guard used his shooting to get to his two-dribble pull-up. He has touch, and he has confidence when scoring the ball. Hayes finished with 32 for Akron (OH) St. Vincent-St. Mary’s. He was 14-of-23 from the field.

Clutch shooting

Centerville (OH) High junior Jonathan Powell is a noted scorer, so when he started off slow, you knew it was just a matter of time. However, down the stretch, when his team needed a bucket against nationally recognized Los Angeles (CA) So Cal Prep, Powell delivered.

He finished the game with a game-high 22 points. The 6-foot-5 2024 On3 Consensus four-star was 5-of-7 from the field in the second half and 3-of-5 from three. Powell has a quick trigger and understands moving off the ball to get open. This was a big game for him, in front of a sold-out crowd, with countless coaches in the stands

Playing at a high level

There has always been a lot of intrigue with the 6-foot-5 Garwey Dual. Now things seem to all be coming together for the Los Angeles (CA) So Cal Academy point guard. The most intriguing piece of his game is that he is able to consistently touch the paint.

With his positional size and length, Dual has a crafty handle with a combination of hesitation dribbles that get him past the first line of defense. There is a growing confidence in the 2023 On3 150 four-star prospect’s game. He is a high-upside, on the ball defender, and the jump shot is starting to become a weapon. Dual is committed to Providence, but he has not signed.

An Ace in the hole

Cleveland (OH) Saint Ignatius knocked off MaxPreps top ten ranked Huntington (WV) Huntington Prep on Sunday. They executed confidently as a team. However, the catalyst behind the upset was 6-foot-1 junior Ace Buckner.

Buckner is the son of former Clemson great and NBA-er Greg Buckner. Ace knocked down timely shots with poise. He showcased range, and he also showed the ability to touch the paint. In this setting, Buckner looked more like a combo guard; however, as he changes settings, he has flashes of floor vision to run a team. Buckner is also a good on the ball defender with quick hands and feet. There is some strength he needs to add, but his ability to make plays is obvious.