All “A” week in the 4th
The smallest schools in the Commonwealth are beginning to play in the first rounds of the All “A” Classic regional basketball tournament, and in our 4th Region, play got underway Monday night.
With seven teams involved in the 4th Region competition, quarter final rounds are now necessary, and are played at various sites and all three early match-ups were concluded Monday night.
In girls’ play, Metcalfe County beat Russellville 67-12,  and Cumberland County defeated Todd County 61-40.  In boys’ first round games, Russellville beat Metcalfe County 56-52, Cumberland County defeated Todd County 51-20 and Monroe County bested Foundation Christian 60-15.
Winners of each division earned the right to advance to the “final four” round. Clinton County, which drew the “bye” in our regional brackets, was already positioned for a semi-final game.
Brackets for both the boys’ and girls’ competition have the same match-ups for first round play. Foundation Christian is only competing in the boys’ division this year, giving the Monroe Lady Falcons an automatic placement in the semi-final round.
Clinton County plays the role of host for this year’s 4th Region All “A” Classic games, following that aforementioned quarter round matchup.
The semi-final games will see girls’ action at The Castle on Wednesday night, with Cumberland County facing Monroe County followed by Clinton County going up against Metcalfe County.
In Thursday night’s boys’ semi-action play on Thursday night, Cumberland County will face Monroe County, with Clinton County playing Russellville in the nightcap game.
Both of the championship games will be played Friday night.  The first game each night tips at 6:00 p.m., followed by the nightcap contest.
The All “A” Classic is one of my favorite events for a host of reasons, the biggest being it has done it’s part to squash efforts several years ago of putting high school basketball in Kentucky into a “class”
system, like most other states have done, and like many of the other high school sports in Kentucky.
It gives the small schools a chance to play teams from across the state, most of which wouldn’t have otherwise been on their schedule, in a tournament atmosphere much like the KHSAA Sweet 16 that wraps up each roundball season in March.
More importantly, it showcases the best athletes from our small schools on a single week-long stage, giving college coaches and scouts from across the region the opportunity to watch these athletes that they might not have otherwise had the chance to see.
After beginning as a northern Kentucky invitational small school tournament in 1980, the event began a consistent transformation for the next several years until 1990 when it became a true state-wide tournament, featuring 16 regional champions in the boys’ division.
Girls were added on a sectional winner basis in 1991, then in 1993, full 16 team fields of both girls and boys came together for the first time for a state-wide competition.
Of course the goal of this week’s competition for our seven 4th Region teams is to lay hands on that championship trophy Friday night, and earn the right to be the 4th Region representative in this year’s All “A” Classic State Tournament set for January 24-28.
The All “A” Classic state tournament has had several different sites during its history, including Lexington, Richmond,  and Frankfort.  This year the event is being held in Corbin Arena, Corbin, Kentucky.
Come out to The Castle this week and take in some good high school basketball, and get behind our Lady Dawgs and Bulldogs in the 4th Region All “A” Classic Basketball Tournament.

Scheduling changes
Seems it happens every year, whether it be weather related or other reasons.
Due to a conflict across the dam, the Clinton County double-header games with Russell County have been moved one day, and will now be played on Saturday, January 20.  The opening tip for girls’ action has been pushed back to 5:00 p.m., followed by the boys’ contest.