The Perry Reese Jr. Community Center becomes a hotbed of activity this weekend as Hiland High School plays host to another three-day hoops fast, a smorgasbord of girls basketball, featuring some of the best girls players in the state of Ohio, as well as a handful of young ladies from New Jersey.

The University High School Phoenix of Newark, NJ, are the reigning small school champions of the Garden State.  They will play twice at the Classic, including a highly-anticipated clash with the reigning three-time Division I State champions of Ohio, the Cougars of Mount Notre Dame.  Both the Cougars and Phoenix are ranked among the top 10 teams nationwide, and are sure to put on quite a show in Berlin.

Classic in the Country Challenge is 20 games in three days, featuring a pair of games by the hosting Lady Hawks, as well as visits from neighboring schools such as Garaway, West Holmes, and River View.  New Philadelphia and old friend, Ron Ross come in for a clash, as well as teams from the Toledo area,  Northeast Ohio, Southeastern Ohio and the Cincinnati and Dayton areas.

The largest collection of college coaches and some of the best matchups the Classic has ever had are all sure to be part of the weekend of fun and basketball.

Classic in the Country started as a concept to celebrate the life and career of former Hiland basketball coach Perry Reese Jr., in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday weekend.  But it has blossomed into something truly spectacular, beyond the dreams of promoter Tom Jenkins and Hiland coach Dave Schlabach, two of the founding fathers of the event.

It brings together rural and urban, private and public and is an expression of diversity at its finest, showing that sports know no color.

A three-day pass is $25 or a single-day ducat is $10.  For more information visit classicinthecountry.org.

I have taken in all 20 games at the five previous Classics and am looking forward to another exciting weekend of girls basketball at its best.  The first-game tips off at 10 am Saturday and goes through Monday evening's finale when the Lady Hawks take on Twinsburg and their 6-4 freshman phenom.