It's the Kentucky high school basketball equivalent of college football's bowl season. It's time for the the numerous sponsored holiday tournaments.(and classics, festivals, etc...)
But, for 58 years, one tournament has outlasted, and out-classed more times than not, the rest.
The Ashland Invitational Tournament. Or, the name known from Cynthiana to Owensboro and back to Ashland ( and parts beyond, even): The AIT.
The AIT kicked off for the 58th consecutive year this afternoon at Anderson Gymnasium on the campus of Paul G. Blazer. Now, unlike the Boyd County Roundball Classic held out in Summit 2 weeks ago, you won't be seeing the likes of Andrew Wiggins, or prep powerhouses like Arlington(FL) Country Day, but what you will see are squads who are competing like the whole nation was watching.
There was a time when the AIT was THE premier hoops event in the state. You'd be hard pressed to find a tournament in some of the years past no matter where on the map it was held, that featured better talent.
With the growth of prep powerhouses, national tournaments and festivals featuring top 100 talent, and more exotic locales hosting tournaments, as well as various shoe-company endorsed showcases,and some of the luster of the once mighty AIT has maybe went away. Add to that the amount of just local holiday events that have sprung up all over the state, and finding available teams has grown harder.
The days of of teams sitting by, holding off all holiday plans until they get a yes or no from the AIT may be a thing of the past, but that hasn't stopped the tournament from putting together quality fields. Some years, stronger than others, but it's still the AIT, and it's still worth circling on your calendar. For some, it's still a call worth waiting for, and looked forward to.
To kick things off in this edition,Ashland Blazer's eternal rival, Boyd County ,dropped a close one to Newport Central Catholic, 62-60.
Boyd had just gotten finished with another holiday tournament, the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic in Clinton County,KY. The Lions went 2-2 there, with loses to Seneca and Iroquois by a combined margin of 4 points. They defeated host Clinton County 60-57, and defeated Muhlenberg 69-63.
Ashland was set to tip against Sheldon Clark as we began preparing the post. The 'City Kitties' were also in a recent holiday tournament before their own AIT, as they entered the Raceland Derby Classic with an unblemished record. They suffered their first loss on the season to Lawrence County 74-79, after beating Clay County by the tune of 71-67. They also suffered a loss to Boone County in the Classic, in a measure of revenge for the Rebels, 69-71. The Tomcats had traveled to Northern Kentucky and defeated the Rebs 65-63 earlier in the season.
Blazer has had 1 home game thus far, so the AIT tipping off could not have came at a better time for the road-weary T-Cats. It will be a welcome change to play on their floor in front of their home crowd for a change.
Oh, but don't let the fact that Ashland plays host to the AIT fool you. In the 58 years the tournament has taken place, The Tomcats have only took home top honors 13 times.
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