Location- Somerset Christian School (Cougars Den)

Date- Jan. 9th-13th 

Schedule- 1st Round- Jan. 9th Somerset vs. Burgin (7:30)

Jan. 10th Semi-final- Jan. 10th Danville vs. Danville Christian Academy (7:30) 

Jan. 11th Semi-final- Jan. 11th Somerset Christian vs. Winner of Somerset/Burgin (7:00)

Jan. 13th Finals- (7:30)

The Teams

Danville Christian Academy Warriors (11-4 RPI #2 in 12th Region)- The Warriors are the defending champions, and have started the year off ablaze (outside of a hiccup to 45th district foe Garrard Co) and have really beefed up their schedule with games already against Pulaski Co, Madison Southern 2X, Evangel Christian, Corbin and Oldham Co.  The Warriors are battle tested coming into the tournament, and bring tremendous size and athleticism as a group.  DCA utilizes their length with playing an extended zone, and creates issues for their opponents by mixing up pressures and having a 6”11 big at the rim taking away easy opportunities.  Offensively, the Warriors do the majority of their damage in the paint.  They’re spearheaded by a two-headed guard combo steady-hand 4 year starting SO. PG. Titus Boyd (16 PPG) and ultra-athletic JR. Wing Emmanuel Dut (17 PPG), while SO. 6”11 Center Lual Ayiei anchors the paint with high-flying dunks and Hakeem-like turnaround from the block (10 PPG/10 RPG). DCA also comes with a strong cast of role players who have played in the program for several years.  These kids were at the program when it was on the ground floor, and provide a ton of leadership for their team.  DCA has one remaining game Sat. vs Wayne Co. (at Lincoln Co.) before the tournament starts.   

Outlook- DCA is no doubt the favorite to repeat going into the tournament.  They have all the ingredients to not only win the All A, but the big prize in March.  However, they will have to battle 45th district Rival Danville in the first game (who they just beat on Jan. 5th 66-58).  Will the Warriors be able to duplicate the task next week? 

Danville Admirals (12-4 RPI #3 in 12th Region)- The Admirals come into the tournament off a great start to the season.  Danville is blessed with supreme athleticism that matches the up-tempo and tenacity that Coach Ed Mckinney wants to see his team play with.  Noteworthy wins for Danville include: McCreary Central, Washington Co.and 11th Region Lafayette.  The Admirals extend the floor with pressure M2M defense, and force their opponents into either turnovers or hurried shots.  Danville likes a track meet game, and thrives in the open court attacking the basket.  Collectively, Danville crashes the glass hard and looks for 2nd shot opportunities.  The Admirals have a veteran club that have played in alot of big games over the last few years.  Their offense is sparked by a strong foursome that all average in double figures— Talented JR. Wing Owen Barnes (18 PPG/6 RPG), 4 year starter SR. Wing Jalen Dunn (12 PPG/6 RPG), High-flying SO. G. Demauriah Brown (11 PPG) and steady veteran SR. G. Jarius Bryant (10 PPG).  The balance in Danville’s attack makes them hard to stop.  The question mark is when teams slow the pace, and force the Admirals to make outside shots can they combat?  Danville has another big district game tonight against the talented Golden Lions of Garrard Co.  

Outlook- Danville will be motivated headed into their rematch with DCA in the opening game.  Fans should expect another nip and tuck affair between the two programs.  There is a budding rivalry in Danville between the two as DCA beat Danville in last year’s All-A Finals, while the Admirals returned the favor in the district tournament ending DCA’s storybook season.  DCA won round 1 last night.  Who will win round 2 Tues.?

Somerset Briar Jumpers (8-5 RPI #8 in 12th Region)- Year 2 of a complete rebuild is well underway for the Jumpers.  The Jumpers have been a mixed bag so far this season, but are fully capable of spoiling the party in this tournament.  Somerset relies on its guard play to get things done, and specifically the 3 PT shot.  They’re one of tops in the state behind the arc shooting 37% on 264 Atts. (Almost 8 makes per game).  Defensively, Coach Young and his club prides themselves on playing solid M2M defense and limiting the other team’s best weapons.  Somerset comes in with a respectable 6-3 record within region play, and a narrow defeat against region power/rival Pulaski Co in Dec.  The Jumpers are led by their guards—JR. Sharp Shooter Indred Whitaker (17 PPG/38% from 3), JR. Swiss-Army Knife Wing Ben Godby (17 PPG/7 RPG), JR. PG. Jamison Coomer (9 PPG) and FR. Sniper Aedyn Absher (10 PPG/46% from 3). The Jumpers have played 2 games @ the host site gym during Christmas break, and are fueled by last season’s narrow defeat (52-54 loss to DCA in semis) in the tournament.  Somerset will play on the road in district tonight vs. Casey Co.  

Outlook- Somerset has the extra game opening the tournament Mon. night against Burgin.  If they win, that will set up a rematch game against the host school Somerset Christian.  The Cougars are dangerous in their building.  The Jumpers must stay locked in 1 game at a time to get the opportunity to knock off one of the region’s heavyweights.  Somerset will be prepared if they get there, and should make for an exciting final.

Somerset Christian School Cougars (2-10 RPI #17 in 12th Region)-  The Cougars come into the tournament led by 1st year coach Al Gover (Former Pulaski Co. Coach).  Coach Gover has the Cougars playing extremely hard, and have been very competitive in multiple games this season (Narrow losses to regional teams- Garrard Co, Southwestern, Somerset and Wayne Co.)  The Cougars are led by a powerful duo that pack a scoring punch.  SR. F. Noah Brummett can score on the inside and outside (22 PPG) and slashing JR. Guard Ethan Warren is a great athlete (13 PPG).  SCS is a tough out in their building.  Their crowd and players are super energetic, and exhibit a ton of school pride.  They will be prepared and ready to go for the winner of the opening round game.  SCS travels to McCreary Central tonight for a district game. 

Outlook- Coach Gover is building a culture of toughness and grit in year 1.  The wins have not been there yet, but as stated earlier they have played regional opponents really tough early on in the season.  Home court advantage and familiarity of opponent (Played Somerset on Dec. 29th) should boost the Cougars upset bid.

Burgin (3-9 RPI #19 in 12th Region)-  I will apologize in advance that Burgin is one of the few teams that I have not watched this season in the 12th region.  Burgin comes into the tournament with 1st year coach Todd Claunch leading the charge.  Early games in the season suggest the Bulldogs were very competitive, but unfortunately have tailed off (I’ve heard some rumors of injury issues for the Dogs).  The Bulldogs are led by JR. Jacobe Taylor (11 PPG), SR. Hunter Reed (10 PPG) and SR. Brendan Stanley (9 PPG).  Burgin has two more prep games before the opener Mon. night @ Campbellsvill tonight and home tomorrow vs. Cumberland Co. 

Outlook- Traditionally, Burgin players have shown a tremendous amount of fight and scrappiness in the All A and I would expect them to put their best foot forward against Somerset Mon. night.

 

I had some free time today, so thought I'd go ahead and get this out.  I wanted to do a deep dive into our All-A Teams especially with 3 of them being top 10 in the RPI for our region.  Stats are from KHSAA/Observations are my own from watching these teams this season (and multiple years).  I hope fans flood Somerset next week for what should be a great small school tournament!

Well done. Looks to be a very good tournament.

Haven't been around the All "A" region in several years. When and how are the pairings decided?

15 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Haven't been around the All "A" region in several years. When and how are the pairings decided?

Blind draw.  The girls bracket mirrors the boys.

Will anyone be covering the games by streaming?

33 minutes ago, UnderPar21 said:

Will anyone be covering the games by streaming?

They were on YouTube last year. Will it be the same for this season?

Danville dropped another district game to Garrard Co.  DCA dropped a game against region opponent Wayne Co.  Somerset survived @ Casey Co in a district game.  Any of these 3 IMO can take this tournament! 

Somerset rolls against Burgin tonight in the 1st Round.  Jumpers win 69-35. They were up 47-10 @ Half, and cleared the bench.  DCA/Danville play tomorrow night!  Win # 10 for the Jumpers on the season! 

There will be a new All A champion in the 12th.  Danville leads wire to wire, and punches their ticket to the finals Friday.  (It was 73-60 with 1 min left when I left).  Complete domination by the Ads!

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

There will be a new All A champion in the 12th.  Danville leads wire to wire, and punches their ticket to the finals Friday.  (It was 73-60 with 1 min left when I left).  Complete domination by the Ads!

I remember you said earlier in the year it was going to be DCA vs Somerset in the finals. 

4 minutes ago, Statsdontlie said:

I remember you said earlier in the year it was going to be DCA vs Somerset in the finals. 

Yes, I thought DCA.  Credit Coach McKinney and Danville for their adjustments.  Great pressure defense early, and attack the rim (2 early fouls on Center on good attacks).  Barnes, Bryan Brown were electric and Dunn played a savvy game as PG.  Complete game by the Ads! 

Danville did not pressure til 3rd Q in the seed game last week.  They were fully extended from the tip tonight.  The Warriors only have 1 true ball handler in Boyd, so definitely could be a tactic used moving forward. 

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

Yes, I thought DCA.  Credit Coach McKinney and Danville for their adjustments.  Great pressure defense early, and attack the rim (2 early fouls on Center on good attacks).  Barnes, Bryan Brown were electric and Dunn played a savvy game as PG.  Complete game by the Ads! 

How many points did Owen Barnes have tonight? 

8 hours ago, Statsdontlie said:

How many points did Owen Barnes have tonight? 

I'm not sure, I haven't seen the stats yet.  It felt like a ton!  He was all over the floor last night.

Jumpers cruise into Friday night Final with 80-49 win @ Somerset Christian. It’ll be a girl/boy double header @ SCS between the two old rivals Somerset and Danville!  Should be a fun night of basketball.  Coach Mckinney and Coach Young teams have had some battles over the years.