When it comes to January basketball, the biggest event of the month around the state is the All "A" Classic. This year's 9th region All A Classic will be held at Holy Cross and Dayton High School for the opening round games on Monday night, with the rest of the tournament being held at Dayton High School.

 

The 9th Region All A Classic has basically become the "Thoroughbred Invitational."

 

Newport Central Catholic (12-3) has won nine 9th region All A Classic Region Championships since 2000 and last year finally got over the hump, winning the All A State Championship. With what the Thoroughbreds returned this year, they are once again not only the favorite for the region crown, but also the All A state championship.

 

Newcath is led by a D1 front court that features 6'8 Jake Schulte (Upstate South Carolina signee) and 6'7 Drew McDonald. McDonald and Schulte compliment eachother in a way that makes it tough for teams to double either. Schulte uses his length and size to rebound, block shots, and get put backs around the rim, while McDonald has range out to the three point line which gives Schulte a lot of one on one opportunities in the paint.

 

The Breds back-court is led by junior point guard Zack Pangallo and senior guard Tanner Moeves. Both are a threat to reach double digit scoring on any given night. Pangallo has improved his jump shot tremendously since last season which makes his penetration to the rim that much dangerous as he now has more confidence pulling up for a 12-15 footer. His court vision is one of the best in the area.

 

Moeves and younger brother Grant Moeves give the Breds an outside threat, while also giving them two capable slashers to get to the rim and finish through contact. The most underrated aspect of their game is the defense by both. You will often see Coach Dawn use one or both on the opposing team's best player.

 

The X-Factor, however, for the Breds has become 6'6 sophomore Ben Weyer. Weyer is a long, athletic forward with range out to the free throw line, who has also improved his strength and aggressiveness around the rim at both ends of the court.

 

Simply put, if Newcath doesn't win the All A Region crown, it should be considered an upset. The Breds are not only the top team in this event, but also the 9th region as a whole.

 

Their biggest threat comes from Coach Dave Faust's St Henry Crusaders (8-6).

 

St Henry has one of the most underrated front courts in the region in a pair of 6'3 forwards, junior Conner Kunstek and senior Jordan Noble. Kunstek is a big bruising forward that is able to finish through contact down low while playing aggressively on offense with range out to 15 feet, while Noble is more of a "finesse" player with range that has underrated athleticism at both ends that allow him to score in a variety of ways and grab rebounds over bigger players.

 

In the Cru back court is a veteran group in seniors Jake Noble, Nick Rechtin, and Jake Plummer. Plummer and and Rechtin are threats from outside while Noble is more of a do it all type guy. Helping alleviate pressure off the seniors is a talented sophomore in Adam Goetz. Goetz is regularly one of the leading scorers for the Crusaders and can score at all three levels with success.

 

Off the bench, sophomore Paul Wallenhorst gives the Crusaders nice length at 6'3 with versatility to play the 2,3, or 4.

 

After St. Henry, it is Newport who should be considered the dark horse.

 

Newport features 6'1 sophomore Ethan Snapp who is one of the best scoring guards in the region and one of the best for his class in the state. Snapp can score at all three levels but it is his shooting ability and toughness that he is most known for.

 

Complimenting Snapp in the back court are juniors Paul Price and Dom Joseph. Both are physical, big bodies guards that have high motors and get after it on defense.

 

Sophomore Kam Covington comes in averaging 11 ppg, 9 rpg and is a nice front court player for the Wildcats. Covingon plays with aggression at both ends and will be a name to remember over the next couple years as he continues to mature and develop his all around game.

 

Other Wildcats that impact their success are senior Mike Turner and sophomore Ryan Ochoa. Turner and Ochoa come in averaging 7 and 6 ppg, respectively, while Turner is second on the team in rebounds at 6 per game.

 

Here is how the rankings shake out for the 9th region All A:

 

1. Newport Central Catholic

2, St Henry

3. Newport

4. Holy Cross

5. Ludlow

6. Beechwood

7. Bellevue

8. Lloyd Memorial

9. Dayton

10. Villa Madonna

11. Heritage Academy

12. Covington Latin

'

Top Players:

 

Newport Catholic: Zack Pangallo, Tanner Moeves, Grant Moeves, Ben Weyer, Drew McDonald, Jake Schulte

St Henry: Jordan Noble, Conner Kunstek, Adam Goetz, Nick Rechtin, Jake Plummer

Newport: Ethan Snapp, Kam Covington, Paul Price

Holy Cross: Tyler Bezold, Hamilton Scott, Leighton Schrand

Ludlow: Mitchell Cody, Jared Howard

Beechwood: Jacob Huff, Kyle Fieger, Max Shover

Bellevue: Zack Poinsett, Austin Woodyard

Lloyd Memorial: Sergio Gutierrez, Lashunn Townsend, Hayden Moliter

Villa Madonna- Thomas Schutzman

 

Schedule

 

Monday 1/20:

Beechwood at Dayton 6:00

Newport v Cov Latin 7:30 at DAYTON

 

Villa Madonna v St Henry 6:00 at Holy Cross

Bellevue v Newport Catholic 7:30 at Holy Cross

 

Tuesday 1/21 at Dayton:

 

Beechwood/Dayton winner v Heritage 6:00

Newport/Cov Latin winner v Holy Cross 7:30

 

Wednesday 1/22 at Dayon

 

Villa Madonna/St Henry winner v Lloyd Memorial 6:00

Bellevue/Newport Catholic winner v Ludlow 7:30

 

Friday 1/24

All A Semi Finals 6:00

All A Semi Finals 7:30

 

Saturday 1/25

All A Finals

 

Predictions:

 

Upper Bracket:

Beechwood over Dayton / Newport over Cov Latin

Newport over Holy Cross / Beechwood over Heritage

Newport over Beechwood

 

Lower Bracket:

St Henry over Villa / Newcath over Bellevue

St Henry over Lloyd / Newcath over Ludlow

Newcath over St Henry

 

9th Region All A Classic Championship

Newcath 79 Newport 51

Nice write up Walter. Hoping for a different outcome, but it looks correct. Wish a team like Ludlow had a different draw.

Newport got the best possible draw they could when looking at the rankings.

here's the bracket....http://www.allaclassic.org/Boys%20Brackets/9th%20Region%20Boys%20Brackets.pdf

All A starts tonight.

 

Obviously Newcath is the heavy favorite but what are everyone's thoughts on the other games?

There are really only 2 interesting games in this tournament if/when they happen.

1. Newport vs. Holy Cross

2. St.Henry vs. NCC

 

It will take a monumental performance by a team to defeat NCC as they are the clear favorite.

I like your write-up, Walter. You do excellent work. :thumb:

 

Agree that NCC is the favorite and has been for the last 14 years.

 

But I'm not fond of this statement. Just my opinion.

 

"The 9th Region All A Classic has basically become the "Thoroughbred Invitational.""

Can I get conformation on the newcath gametime. I have seen 6:00 7:00 and 7:30...

I have tonight as...at Holy Cross

St.Henry vs Villa 6pm

Bellevue vs. NCC 7:30pm