Hiland High School in Berlin hosts Classic in the Country Challenge VI over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

Classic in the Country VI is a three-day basketball feast, featuring 20 games, pitting some of the best teams in the State against each other, as well as a visit from the reigning small school State champion of New Jersey.

The original event was put together six years ago by Hiland girls basketball coach Dave Schlabach and Tom Jenkins, the publisher of the Ohio Girls Basketball Report.

What started as a way of celebrating the memory of former Hiland coach Perry Reese Jr., along with Martin Luther King Jr. and the cultural diversity that the state of Ohio offers, has blossomed into a continued celebration of the above, as well as becoming one of the elite high school basketball showcases in the country.

"I love coming to Classic in the Country.  We've been to a lot of tournaments all over the country, and there is no question that it is the best run event I've ever been to in my life," said Pat Diulus, venerable coach of South Euclid Regina.  "They do such a great job getting colleges to come.  Tom (Jenkins) is so well-known and respected throughout the country, and he does such a great job of getting great teams with great players that the colleges want to come and see.  The good people of the Berlin community do a great job of making everyone feel welcome from the kids on down to the fans.  It portends a great experience.  We're pleased that we continue to get invited and we get to play a couple quality games again this year."

That is what make Classic in the Country Challenge so special, the fact that great teams from urban areas, come to the country to enjoy a whole different way of life for a weekend.

"I've been reading up on Classic in the Country and I can't wait to get there," said Newark, NJ University High School coach Felicia Oliver.  "Coming from an urban environment, it's good for the kids to be able to go there and experience everything.  I wish we were coming tomorrow."

Last year's lineup included 10 of the 16 teams that played in the State Final 4.  All four Division I teams that played for the State championship were at the Classic, along with two teams from Division II, Division III and Division IV.  This year's lineup includes eight teams that competed in Columbus a year ago, along with several other perennial powers.  Three-time defending Division I State champion Mount Notre Dame along with Lakota West and Youngstown Boardman are back in Berlin this year, along with Division II State runner-up Hathaway Brown and River View, which won back-to-back State titles before missing out last season.  Division III State runner-up Garaway and Final Four qualifier Regina, along with the top two teams in Division IV, host Hiland and Columbus Africentric, are all on the schedule this year.

"This is going to be the best line-up ever.  This is by far the best, most highly touted players ever, that will be playing here this year," Schlabach  said.  "There will be more colleges than ever before, because we've got better players than ever before."

Each year Classic in the Country draws hundreds of college coaches from all over the country for this special event.  It is an opportunity for coaches to see boatloads of talent all in one convenient stop.

Coach Angie Johnson of Florida State University said this is the best run event in the country.

"What makes this event great is the tribute they do for Martin Luther King Jr.  It is unlike anything else I've attended," Johnson said.

Jody Wynn of the University of Southern California said. "I couldn't believe it when I pulled up to see a packed parking lot and the coaches section was packed."

It was a worthwhile trip for the Trojans coach, as they have locked in Mount Notre Dame senior star Kendall Hackney to come play in California next year.

Classic in the Country Challenge not only provides a great weekend of basketball, it also provides a boon for the Holmes County community generating more than a million dollars over the weekend for the local economy, according to Holmes County Chamber of Commerce director Shasta Mast.

Tickets for the event are $25 for a three-day pass or $10 for a single day pass.  For more information, turn to the website:  classicinthecountry.org