2020 Kentucky All “A” Classic - Boys

With Paintsville's win Sunday over Shelby Valley in the 15th Region All "A" Classic, the bracket for the statewide tournament is now complete.

Action begins at EKU's McBrayer Arena on Thursday, January 25th.

The "morning" session runs from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm with the "evening" session continuing from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

First Round

Session One

Owensboro Catholic vs. West Carter

Bishop Brossart vs. Frankfort

Louisville Holy Cross vs. Metcalfe County

Murray vs. University Heights

Session Two

Hazard vs. Louisville Collegiate

Paintsville vs. Harlan

Somerset vs. Gallatin County

Campbellsville vs. St Henry

Which first round game most intrigues you?

Is the top or bottom half of the bracket most loaded?

Who do you consider this year’s favorite/s?

Which team is “hottest” coming into the All “A”?

Do you plan to attend any or all of the games?

Which small school players will shine this week?

Who will you be cheering for?

Members, whether you're a frequent poster or you seldom chime in, please share.

I know I'm going to sound like a "homer", but i really like St. Henry to win it all. With wins over Lexington Catholic and their strong 9th Region play in the All A, they look disciplined, tough and balanced on both offense and defense. This should be a good tune-up for district and regional play next month. Wyatt Veith and Jude Bessler continue to elevate their team.

The winner of St. Henry and Somerset wins the whole thing.

I will be rooting for my Mustangs of Bishop Brossart. They are on a 14 game winning streak coming into the tournament. Good luck boys!

I’m interested in how Hazard performs in the tournament. They’re 14-2 with their only losses a 1 point loss and a 2 point loss in a Las Vegas holiday tournament.

I’ve seen them on TV in the WYMT Mountain Classic and also in some streamed games. They are athletic and have enough guard play and size to compete, and one thing for darn sure, they won’t be out coached. Al Holland has been around a long time at MC Napier, Perry Central and Hazard and has been to the KHSAA Sweet 16 a bunch of times. He’s one of the best.

St. Henry is the favorite to come out of the bottom portion of the bracket in my opinion. Looks to me like the top part of the bracket is much tougher than the bottom but anything can happen in high school basketball. Somerset will want to be careful with Gallatin as they are more than capable of knocking them off. Personally will be pulling for the Mustangs but their road to Sunday will be extremely tough. Would love to see a Brossart St. Henry Championship game on Sunday though! Looking forward to a great tournament!

I’ll be there almost all day Thursday. Plan on getting there around 11:00 to watch some morning session. My Gallatin County Wildcats don’t play until 8:00 so it’s going to be a long day.

As a Brossart fan, I definitely feel fortunate we got placed in the upper half of the bracket, as the bottom half is absolutely loaded. St. Henry, Somerset, and Hazard are all going to be tough outs.

University Heights is always a favorite to win the whole thing. They may be catching Murray at the right time, while UHA is on a hot streak of their own.

I think Hazard will make it to the semifinals out of the bottom bracket to face St Henry.

My brother and I will probably be at some of the games. Richmond is about an hour drive from where we live. We usually try to catch some of the action.

University Heights is always a favorite to win the whole thing. They may be catching Murray at the right time, while UHA is on a hot streak of their own.

UHA is very young this year. I expect Murray to win that game.

I predict a All-NKY Final between Brossart and St. Henry with the CRU taking home the title.

UHA is very young this year. I expect Murray to win that game.

I still think it will be a very close game and the winner could go for the title. Both of these teams are being paid a lot of attention, but have experience being here before.

2020 Participants’ All “A” Classic History

Team by team records - http://www.allaclassic.org/Boys%20Composite%20Records/Boys%20Composite%20Results.pdf

Five schools defended their 2019 All “A” Regional titles this year: Owensboro Catholic, Bishop Brossart, Louisville Holy Cross, University Heights and Campbellsville.

2020 teams with the most tournament appearances:

University Heights - 24

Somerset - 16

Bishop Brossart - 14

Lou. Holy Cross - 13

Hazard -12

Five past champions are represented this year:

University Heights - 9: 1990, ’91, ’96, ’98, ’99, 2002, ’05, ’08, ’19 and finalist in 1994

Harlan - 1994, ‘95

Bishop Brossart - 2007 and finalist in 2004

Hazard - 2004 and finalist in 2008

St. Henry - 2003 and finalist in 1998

These teams also made past All “A” Classic finals appearances:

Somerset - 3: 2001, ’02, ’05

Owensboro Catholic - 2006

Murray - 2016

Paintsville - 1997

Gallatin Co - 1999