1. Flyin’ ready for take off: The Good Samaritan Flyin’ to the Hoop basketball invitational — the No. 2 prep basketball event in the nation according to MaxPreps — features 20 slam-dunk games in four days at Trent Arena in Kettering. Five of the top 25 teams in the nation and 75 top college recruits will be on display. And how’s this for an opener: No. 23 Thurgood Marshall takes on No. 1 Findlay Prep of Nevada at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Another don’t miss is Huntington Prep’s Andrew Wiggins, the top-ranked recruit in the nation. The 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward has been offered by just about every major program, including Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio State. For the complete schedule, visit flyintothehoop.com.

2. Pool party: It’s one of the biggest pool parties in the nation as more than 120 high school teams from Southwest Ohio, nearly 3,000 swimmers and 150 divers make waves at the Southwest Ohio Classic swimming diving meet. It’s so big the event is held at nine different locations. The big question: Can anyone stop St. Xavier? The boys team has won all 29 titles. Oakwood and Centerville are among the challengers. Another twist that makes the Classic unique is swimmers compete in their normal high school events as well as NCAA and USA Swimming events. Sites, schedules and teams are all available at swimmeet.com.

3. UD goes for La Salle sweep: When it comes to the Atlantic 10 standings, the University of Dayton men’s and women’s basketball teams are flying at different altitudes. The women — who ended the week ranked No. 17 by USA today and No. 22 by AP — are co-leaders in the A-10 at 1-0. They’re 13-1 overall. The men are 0-2 in the A-10 and 10-6 overall. Both take on La Salle on Wednesday. The men hit the road to play the Explorers (11-4, 1-1) while the women host the Explorers (5-11, 1-0) at the University of Dayton Arena.

4. A league of their own: Look who is leading the Horizon League. Wright State — the team picked to finish last in the league — holds sole possesion of first place at 4-0 (13-4 overall). Staying there won’t be easy, though. Wright State travels to second-place Valparaiso (13-5, 3-1) on Saturday, then faces second-place Detroit next week. WSU’s 4-0 league record matches the program’s best start, equalling the 2005-06 team.

5. Buckeyes battle local duo: Fresh off beating one team up north — knocking Michigan from the No. 2 spot in the nation — the Ohio State Buckeyes (13-1, 3-1) travel to East Lansing for a Big 10 battle with Michigan State (13-3, 2-1) on Saturday. Standing in the way of Ohio State is Jefferson grad Adreian Payne and Wayne grad Travis Trice. Payne, who has played in all 16 games including six starts, is averaging 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds for MSU. Trice, who has appeared in 11 games, is averaging 6.1 points for the Spartans.