If high school sports are supposed to be for the benefit of young people and not adults, then a class system is the only fair way for all young people. I've coached at big schools and small schools. The only way for a small school to compete is to recruit. The KHSAA makes it so that if small schools want to compete they must stretch the rules to do so. All you have to do is look back a few years as to the rise of Lexington Catholic Sports. They were a doormat until Danny Haney and Father Bueter decided that sports would be good for the growth of the school. They did everything within the rules and now are hard to beat.

Adults that are for one system are simply selfish and don't have young peoples interests in their ideas.

At one time, University Heights' "feeder system" was called the planet Earth.

 

Count me among those that think private schools should be grouped with the largest schools or put into a classification of their own.

With UVH the recruiting was proven and the KHSAA banned the importing of foreign students. Don't use this isolated incident to group all private schols.

Your history lesson may be accurate, but the point was that if we had classifications as some have proposed many historical match-ups would have never taken place.

 

The fact is that only Ashland is remembered as the state champs that year. Not a class A and B champions.

This justifys the reason for having classes. So Carr Creek, no matter how good they, aren't remembered as state champs that year according to your thinking. What a shame.

With UVH the recruiting was proven and the KHSAA banned the importing of foreign students. Don't use this isolated incident to group all private schols.

 

As far as I'm concerned, all private schools "recruit" all their students, in some form or fashion, including UHA. That gives them a source from which to draw players that public schools don't have. Therefore, unfair advantage for private schools.

I ahve to disagree with you. If it ain't broke ... don't fix it. I don't think it's broke. The A schools have their OWN state tourney, so no reason to complain.

But that's just me.

 

:thumb:

Its all paper anyway. A record book is paper, money is paper, and the only thing that matters is the 12 that won the class A, the 12 that won the class AA, and so on. When I played I never looked at the bigger classes and thought that they were better than us and smaller vice versa. We were champions and that is all that mattered.

I sincerely hope you visit the Dairy displays at Rupp this week, so you get some cheese for your whine. It's simply the best format anywhere at this level.

Not whining. Just stating an opinion.

I think going to a class system is a great ideaand one that should have already taken place. Small schools plain and simple have such longs odds that is is near impossible and not worth the one time in 20 or 30 years that a little non private can muster a title. Its broke for the little guys and should be fixed

As far as I'm concerned, all private schools "recruit" all their students, in some form or fashion, including UHA. That gives them a source from which to draw players that public schools don't have. Therefore, unfair advantage for private schools.

Very open-minded opinion. I am sure you live by the axiom "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts".

Very open-minded opinion.".

 

Thank you.

 

If you had seen the "recruitment" done by the private schools in the western end of the state that I have, you'd probably feel the same way.

Never! The Sweety 16 is what makes the Kentucky High School tournament more exciting and more unpredicatble than any other state tournament across this nation. People come all over just to watch the action. The Region system in place is great and I see no reason to change.

 

Reasons not to class.

 

1.) The Sweet 16 is so profitbale.

2.) Makes for more exciting basketball.

3.) Gives room for cinderellas and underdogs to win. Class system is too predictable and upsets really are not upsets if teams are in the same class.

4.) Keeps us from having repeat champions. In most states the same schools win or compete for their classes if not every year, close to it.

5.) Stays with tradition, something forgotten in this day and age of sports. Everyone is always wanting change.

6.) Actually makes the Regional tournaments mean something and keeps them more competitive.

7.) Narrows number of teams who make it, really making playing at Rupp more prestigious.

 

 

I could go on, but I think I have proved my point.

 

If you point is that we need the small schools in the sweet 16 so, as a larger school it will be an easier journey, then yes you made your point.

 

Example: It was a known fact that if was going to be harder to win the 11th region this year (and the seventh) than it was to win the sweet 16.

 

You made 7 points and guess what #1 and #5 are the only true statements.

Absolutely Not!

 

Kentucky High School Basketball is what it is because of this format. If we would have had classes the great legendary battles like the Carr Creek vs. Ashland games would not still be talked about 70 years later or teams like Paintsville winning it all. Keep it the way it is.

 

I think over the course of time talent migrates. The mountains have had years when it was extremely competitive on the state scene, even with some of the small schools. The larger schools in the more populated areas are having a run right now. I congratulate their hardwork, but we shouldn't use it as an excuse to change the greatest show in high school sports.

 

Good point. The small schools should love the chance to see one of their kind win it every 3 generations. With the number of small schools in the state you could expect your school to win the sweet 16 about every 800 years of so.

While we are voting let's have all the best players from every team in the state play for one Mr. Basketball. If we are going to vote for a state champion let's do the opposite for Mr. Basketball. A one game loser goes home tourney. They can play at Rupp and we can play many more games in one day. Then we could crown one TRUE best player in the state. What do you think?

 

 

Now you are talking. You are giving the western part of the state(or all other small schools) a chance to compete one on one, that is a much better chance than 2000 against 300. For the 1A or 2A schools we will take that bet every day compared to what it is today!!!

How about the girls last 7 state champions being from a private school?? I would venture to say that the girls side is more lopsided on the public/private side and the boys is completely lopsided on the public/urban (as some other bgp poster already pointed out). great talent is hard to come by and even tougher when lured to the big schools for better jobs for parents and more talent around them, Scott Co. That is a prime example of a large market for job (ie Toyota) and a large school, large resource base, and ultimately a large talent pool. Where are they? Rupp, imagine that. Imagine that the smallest school in the 11th region did not make it to the tournament? hmmm??

 

 

Girls basketball is fairly new to this state against the boys side of the coin. To see so many small private schools win the girls side, then if they dont the big schools are the runners up. How can a 2A girls team ever, ever have a chance. Even if you have a great team and get out of the region by beaten two 4 A schools and two 3 A schools, then you get to state and have to face both private and 4A schools what are the chances for any small public team to win 9 games against that competition???

 

Does any one else have a logical answer (2 games district, 3 games regiong, 4 games state)? Or should there be another option for these kids?

Girls basketball is fairly new to this state against the boys side of the coin. To see so many small private schools win the girls side, then if they dont the big schools are the runners up. How can a 2A girls team ever, ever have a chance. Even if you have a great team and get out of the region by beaten two 4 A schools and two 3 A schools, then you get to state and have to face both private and 4A schools what are the chances for any small public team to win 9 games against that competition???

 

Does any one else have a logical answer (2 games district, 3 games regiong, 4 games state)? Or should there be another option for these kids?

 

The option many are choosing is to not play. Numbers are down in a lot of smaller programs. Granted, some schools never had 30 kids out for basketball, but I've seen scorebooks this year with only 8-10 kids listed, and some of those are middle schoolers.