Tournament Schedule

 

All Games at Kentucky Country Day

 

Wednesday, Jan. 22

(4) Whitefield Academy vs. (5) Walden, 4:30 pm; (3) St. Francis vs. (6) Brown, 8:00 pm

 

Friday, Jan. 24

(1) Kentucky Country Day vs. Whitefield/Walden winner, 6:00 pm; (2) Louisville Collegiate vs. St. Francis/Brown winner, 8 pm

 

Saturday, Jan. 25

Championship, 8 pm

 

 

Ranking the Teams

 

1) Kentucky Country Day

The Bearcats enter the All A Classic with a record of 11-6, the best among all six participants; it’s a record that includes an impressive LIT upset of Butler, two tournament wins (the KCD Holiday Classic and the North American Stainless Christmas Tournament at Carroll County) and a victory over one other participant, the No. 4 seed, Whitefield Academy. What makes this year’s Bearcats team so difficult to beat in a tournament like this is their ability to spread the scoring around among their three top players: guards Zach Lyles and Malyiek McCray and sophomore forward Colin Ferguson. KCD will benefit greatly in this tournament and in the rest of the season from the ability of all three (or any one) of these players to take over a game.

 

2) Collegiate

The two-time reigning Seventh Region All A Tournament winners, the Titans are still in the throes of a rebuilding effort following the graduation of go-to player Andrew Steggeman. That rebuilding process has been greatly helped by the play of senior forward Bryce Overstreet, whose impressive play has led to Collegiate’s 6-6 record and wins over fellow tournament participants Whitefield Academy, St. Francis and Brown. They also have some experience playing in a tournament with other smaller local schools: the Titans won the Beth Haven Holiday Classic back in December.

 

3) St. Francis

The Wyverns boast not only one of the coolest team nicknames in the entire commonwealth, but an 8-6 record under first-year head coach Tony Williams. They’ll open the tournament against the Brown School, a team they’ve already beaten once in this young season.

 

4) Whitefield Academy

Whitefield plays its district games in the Sixth region, this being one of the instances where the All A alignment differs from the KHSAA’s own district alignment. They enter the tournament with a 7-7 record in a record that really tested the team. Their best efforts unfortunately seem to come in valiant losing efforts, falling by just six to Collegiate, ten to KCD and (I had to check it twice) a two-point home loss to Bullitt East.

 

5) Brown

The Bears enter the 2014 All A Classic with just a 4-11 record but one of those wins is over fellow participant Walden, giving them the nod over the Wolverines for five-spot in our ranking. Brown lost to its first round opponent, St. Francis, by nearly 30 back in December, but just a few days later, played to within one point of tournament No. 2 seed Collegiate.

 

6) Walden

After not participating in last year’s tournament, The Walden School returns to the All A Classic. Success has been rare for the Wolverines, playing for quite probably the smallest KHSAA school in Louisville. They enter the tournament with a 5-10 record, looking for their first win over a Seventh Region team.

 

 

Predictions

 

Opening Round

Whitefield Academy over Walden

St. Francis over Brown

The Wolverines and Bears simply do not have enough to steal wins in this year’s tournament; they will be greatly overmatched. The experience gained from playing the top A-level teams multiple times however, can only help as they build toward the future.

 

Semifinals

Kentucky Country Day over Whitefield Academy

As mentioned above, KCD’s three top players enable them to spread the ball around and really wreak havoc on lesser opponents. If KCD had just one great player, that would be one thing, but KCD has talent to spare and it will carry them into the championship.

 

Collegiate over St. Francis

When these two played back in December, the Titans won by 12; more of the same should be expected. That said, the Wyverns have already experienced a great deal of improvement over recent seasons under first-year head coach and former University of Louisville standout Tony Williams. If the Wyverns can somehow find a way to deny Bryce Overstreet a path to taking over the game, this one could be close… easier said than done.

 

Championship

Kentucky Country Day over Collegiate

KCD will knock off the king off the mountain and take his All A crown. The Bearcats simply have too many weapons for Collegiate to hold them all down. It remains to be seen if KCD has enough talent to compete on a statewide level, but they’ll be the ones getting the opportunity to see if they’ve got what it takes down at EKU.

Per Jason Frakes, the Seventh Region All "A" championship scheduled for tonight has been moved to Sunday.

 

The No. 1 seed Kentucky Country Day will host the No. 2 seed Collegiate at 4 p.m.