EQUUS GREVYI

I expect the NCC defense will be a strong point for them this season, including a better pass defense.

This game will be much more competitive than you seem to think.

This was second have of double header at BOKC so there were no JV games. However, in a strange twist, CovCath played Dixie and NCC played Holmes in the JV regional semi finals today. CovCath and NCC both advanced to the finals.

Can you imagine the mess if schools were only permitted to participate in one of the two tournaments. KHSAA would never allow that to happen and I believe penalizes schools that don't participate in the district/regional tournaments.

This year's version of both squads may present a significantly larger talent spread than we have seen in quite some years.

But the underlying statement that you are making is that A teams that tend to "over achieve" should not be permitted to participate in the "All A". Penalizing a team because they tend to achieve beyond what is expected? A similar argument could be made that, because HHS football is so successful and has been dominant in their class, they should no longer be allowed to participate in 4A? I know that they have chosen to play up a class because of travel, competitiveness, etc. but it should be applauded that they achieve at a high level rather than try to exclude them. Holy Cross girls hadn't been to the ALL A state for 9 years and you're saying their inclusion this year wasn't fair? C'mon Man!

How many have a true chance to win the sweet sixteen? Isn't that the case with all tournaments? There were teams at this tournament that would never have another chance to represent their region in a state tournament atmosphere. Whether they win or not, they still travel to Frankfort and represent their region and that's pretty cool. It's not all about the state tournament, it's a big deal to win the All A regional.

All-A is smallest 120 or 125 schools in the state. The football playoffs incorporate 32 teams in each class. I would consider winning the ALL-A tournament an achievement of greater significance than winning a football state championship.

Well you know the Mustangs will try to slow it down and grind and NCC will try to run up and down the floor. The tempo will dictate how close the game is. If played in the 40's Brossart will keep it close. If the Breds get the tempo they want and aproach 70 points, it could get ugly.

Not everybody gets a trophy in the All A Tournament. 1 team in 125 is the Champion of this Statewide Tournament.

Would you agree that the winners of this tournament are the "Statewide All A tournament Champions"? That seems to be very accurate description of what they are. It is a tournament that is statewide contested by schools that meet the tournament's description of an A sized school. In terms of accomplishment, would it seem to be a greater accomplishment to win a football state championship (where you win a tournament against the other 31 teams in your division) or to win the All A where you were the winner of a 125 team field?

LCA?

Decent crowd? Elliott County usually represents pretty well.

Sounds like a fan of a large school that can't compete on their own level, or maybe any level.

Don't think I've ever been accused of that....

What's the crowd like? I expected this game to be very well attended.

And play who? Ryle, Hughes, Winton Woods, Campbell County? The same teams CovCath is beating by 25-35 points to prepare? Or maybe they could play in the Lloyd holiday tournament and beat everyone by 20+ like Holmes is doing to prepare for the regional tournament. I think that NCC is about the 4th smallest school in the All A state tournament this year. Just because they over achieve for a small school, don't think this isn't a big deal for their players. They also get to play more games on a college size floor which may help them adjust to BOKC for the regional tournament. They moved 2 home games to the BOKC as well to get more experience on the floor as well as play a very tough non-conference schedule. I think they're doing what they need to.

There is usually more interest/debate because both schools draw students from the same area. However, competitive games generally spark more interest on this site and this was a 22 point game. Probably not a lot to be said by either side.

NCC has played a schedule that is very comparable as CovCath's this season.

The girls game won't be over by 6:30. This will be a mess.

I agree completely that the tournament has grown to something other than what it was at it's inception. And I can even buy the thought that including the smallest 45% is too inclusive. But even if the state classified basketball, Class "A" would certainly incorporate more than the smallest 40 schools in the state. The football classification is a JOKE! There is no business having 6 classes in a state this size. On a related All "A" note, Augusta just advanced to the state tournament with a victory over Bishop Brossart. Augusta has 59 boys enrolled, so it can be done.

And if Basketball were classified with the same criteria as track and cross country, there would be 94 teams eligible. Again, since track/cross country have both boys and girls teams, that seems more appropriate. That would eliminate Lloyd and St. Henry from 9th region contention. Class A in football is limited to the smallest 32 football teams in the state. So if basketball were classified the same as football, there would be only 32 teams eligible. To your other point, where you argue that NCC, Newport or St. Henry, for that matter, get very little out of playing the smallest 10 - 25 teams in the state, I may agree somewhat. However, those aren't the only teams in the tournament that they will play. I'm sure playing for a state championship means just as much to NCC and Newport as it does to Villa and Dayton.

Since you are "so in the know" then, what classifies a team as an "A" school? I didn't know that there was a classification for basketball. If we are going to use a different sport's classification, how about using track since that could be applied to both boys and girls? NCC, St Henry, Newport, Lloyd and Holy Cross are all "A" Schools for track.

Villa always plays hard so I'm sure they did the same last night against NCC. However, this is a basketball tournament, not football, correct? Also curious about which sport St. Henry competes at the 2A level. The Touchstone "All A Classic" is open to the smallest 125 or so basketball schools in the state. By the most recent 2 year average, Lloyd appears to be the largest school in the 9th region competing in this tournament and they are about the 113th smallest followed by St. Henry at 106, Newport 90th, HC at 89th, NCC 84th, Beechwood at 82nd smallest.

I'd be surprised if any of the NKY high school gyms are short of the 50' width except maybe Heritage.