All A Classic: Thursday Morning Standouts

The Kentucky All A Classic brought the top small school team from each of the 16 regions to Owensboro Sportscenter for a tournament to champ the best small school in Kentucky. In this article I'll break down the eight standouts from the morning session of the opening round games.    I was impressed with Kirk's passing ability, getting assists on Lyon County's first two buckets and finishing with a game-high six assists. Kirk is a quick guard who can attack downhill if he beats his defender off the dribble and had multiple and-1 layups once he got a head of steam going to the rim. Finishing well in the paint, Kirk went 8/9 from two-point range on Thursday. With his athleticism, improved passing and defense, Kirk impacts the game in a variety of ways, we'll be looking for him to improve as either a ball handler or 3-point shooter as a senior to take his game to the next level.     Coffman messed around and finished 2 points and 1 rebound shy of a 20-20 game, something almost unheard of at the high school level. Coffman could faceup as a mismatch wing forward who can attack off the dribble while also crashing hard on the offensive glass. Even stretching the defense out and knocking down a 3-pointer, Coffman was impressive as an inside-out offensive force. A name to know in Kentucky's 2027 class.     Pineville ran Bishop Brossart out the gym and it was Thompson who had his fingerprints all over the victory. Starting the game with multiple steals using his quick hands, Thompson tied a game-high with three. His passing ability also stands out with the ability to hit no-look passes to teammates that have the defense clueless on where the ball is going to go. No surprise that Thompson ended the game with a triple-double when you watched it as his impact was obvious in scoring, rebounding and passing. 19 points on just 12 shots from the floor, Thompson took smart shots and had soft touch on mid-range and floater shots. One of the best point guards in Kentucky's 2025 class, I think Pineville has a chance to make a deep playoff run in March as well.     Making the transfer to nearby Pineville, Beck is fitting in well with his new teammates and had a double-double performance in the victory. An impressive athlete, Beck has the speed and vertical leaping ability to be a terror in transition with his long wingspan to finish at the rim. In the half court, Beck was mostly used as a screener and cutter, trying to make himself available under the basket. Impressive to see a guy hit the ground running midseason for a team with expectations as high as Pineville has this season.     Home court advantage was huge for Owensboro Catholic as they had by far the biggest fan section of the morning session. They exploded in cheers when Beickman went up for a slam dunk off two feet and postered a defender for an and-1. An elite shooter, Beickman can get hot in a hurry from the outside and despite going 1/5 from 3-point range, Beickman did make some tough mid-range shots off the bounce. I also liked how Beickman attacked the rim and looked for contact, drawing a game-high five fouls. We'll see if the home crowd can push Owensboro Catholic to the championship this weekend.     Beechwood has an experienced team with their top 4 scorers all able to shoot the ball from 3-point range at a high level. That's a good recipe for success at the high school level and McCormack connected on three triples on Thursday afternoon. His highlight of the day came on a snatch back dribble that dropped his defender and led to a pull up 3-pointer to give his team a huge boost of momentum. I liked McCormack's size, shooting ability and defensive actively, finishing with a game-high 4 steals. An under the radar name to know in Kentucky's 2026 class.     Coffman led his team in points, rebounds and assists as he was the engine behind Sayre's comfortable victory to open up their weekend in Owensboro. I thought Coffman attacked the rim with aggression and was tough to stay in front of on the perimeter. With multiple and-1 layups, Holy Cross tried to stop Coffman at the rim but they were no match for him. After one of the and-1 layups Coffman missed the free throw but his teammate got the offensive rebound and gave Coffman an open 3-point look which he knocked down for a five point possession. That sequence defined a 26 point, 14 rebound and 6 assist performance from Coffman.     One of the best freshman athletes I've seen in my time covering high school basketball, it's immediate when you watch Jackson how different he moves at his size and age. A big time rim protector, Jackson had 3 blocks and altered many more shots in the paint. His highlight of the game came on a putback slam dunk in the third quarter with a defender caught in the poster. As the game went on Jackson seemed more comfortable with scoring from the mid-range area with a 18 foot pull-up jumper and an up and under floater just before the third quarter buzzer. Besides improving his skill, I believe Jackson's most important quality will be continuing to play hard on both ends of the court. I thought he had some bright moments of hustle during the 30 minutes he was on the court, getting few breaks on the bench. One of the top prospects in Kentucky's 2028 class, Jackson has tremendous long-term upside.

The Kentucky All A Classic brought the top small school team from each of the 16 regions to Owensboro Sportscenter for a tournament to champ the best small school in Kentucky. In this article I'll break down the eight standouts from the morning session of the opening round games.