[PHSFAN]

Remainder of the girls Sweet 16 and next weeks boys Sweet 16 has been cancelled.

Hate this for the kids that earned the right to play on the biggest stage of high school basketball. [IMDB][/IMDB]

[Poseidon]

A day that will be remembered and will be marked in History. Prayers for everyone.

https://twitter.com/kyhighs/status/12381...66624?s=21

[Spud6]

It was inevitable that it would come to this.

[Blue_Bird96]

It was inevitable that it would come to this.

True. Hate it so much for the kids though. All the hard work they’ve put into getting there. Take Martin for example. A community that has waited for 37 yrs to get back there. I believe everyone understands but still a VERY tough deal.

[Westside]

What JuicedMtnGoat said.

[Granny Bear]

…...NOOOOOOOO!!!

:Sad04::Sad04::Sad04::Sad04::Sad04::Sad04:

[MayfieldCardinal]

All Spring Sports are doomed this year. I predict football will be the next sport played and that is not till fall

[JokersWild24]

Is there any indication that it may be made up at some point?

[justthefacts]

And the coaches who put in the work and preparation to get there.

[Jarons]

True. Hate it so much for the kids though. All the hard work they’ve put into getting there. Take Martin for example. A community that has waited for 37 yrs to get back there. I believe everyone understands but still a VERY tough deal.

Or Ashland going for an unbeaten season.

[Jarons]

All Spring Sports are doomed this year. I predict football will be the next sport played and that is not till fall

North Carolina has already suspended all spring sports until April 6, and postponed basketball state championships scheduled for this weekend.

[JokersWild24]

I learned of the news here but looking at Twitter and other places, it seems that 'cancelled' is misleading. It looks like postponed would be more fitting.

[jayky]

Not an Ashland fan feel bad for those kid's an chance of going undefeated. They had a great season

[16BBall Fan]

Ashland I believe is the first team to go undefeated since possibly 1948 Brewers who were 36-0.

[BlackcatAlum]

It's just the right thing to do right now. Hate that it's happening, especially this time of year for sports, but to ensure the health of all those who may not survive the virus is why the country is being so proactive. We don't want to end up in the same shape as Italy right now. That's why it's so important to be proactive.

Proud of the leaders in Kentucky who are making the right decisions for the health and safety of the Commonwealth.

Hate it for the kids, but hopefully this passes and we can play these games at Rupp soon.

[spoonbill]

That’s correct. Before that I believe was Ashland in 1928

[Pulp Fiction]

No school, no community and no fan base deserved to get to watch their team play in Rupp Arena more than Martin County.

Before Sheldon Clark's trip to the Sweet 16 in 1983, the last time a team from Martin County got to play in the Sweet 16 was in 1954.... and that team brought home a big golden trophy.

[SportsFan67]

I agree I really hate it for Martin county. Even though they beat us out in the semis. I think they have a very classy coaching staff that works hard. And a lot of talent and size to go along with that. I really thought they had a good shot to win a game down there and I really hope they don’t cancel all of this. I really hope it is just postponed a few weeks and then they still get the chance to play. But I also think it is the right decision. You can’t be too safe when it comes to something like this and I hope everyone stays safe these next few weeks and hopefully this will start to move behind us and we can go forward like normal.

[clipperw]

I've never been to the state tournament, yet I do follow high school basketball and try to make it to the 15th Region Tournament each year. I was so happy to see Martin County win it, seeing the fan support was awesome and it was such a happy moment. I understand taking precautions but I do hope they are able to play the tournament at a later date.

[scrappy coco]

Mark Maynard formerly of ADI news paper says Ashland should go ahead and raise banner, undefeated state champs. 33-0

[WinkWinkler]

Realistically it will not happen. The athletes are barred from all school events until at least April 6, 2020. That is just the initial downtime. The virus has not even hit the United States in full yet. That would mean they would have to try to get some practices in a short period of time. Testing will begin in May. They cannot interfere with that. With the NCAA canceling, I just don’t see it happening.

[WinkWinkler]

Officially cancelled as of today.

[Highwayman82]

Officially cancelled as of today.

No. Just had to say it was cancelled do people get money back from tickmaster. Khsaa said on Twitter. Also said the still plan to make it up.

[zaga_fan]

^ correct
RT @khsaaevents: RT @KHSAA: No change in official status of boys and girls state basketball events! Remain postponed. Events had to be “canceled” through Ticketmaster to permit refunds. When a final determination is made, schools will be first to know.…

[JokersWild24]

Realistically it will not happen. The athletes are barred from all school events until at least April 6, 2020. That is just the initial downtime. The virus has not even hit the United States in full yet. That would mean they would have to try to get some practices in a short period of time. Testing will begin in May. They cannot interfere with that. With the NCAA canceling, I just don’t see it happening.

High school basketball is nothing like college basketball in terms of the point in the season that teams were at when play halted, the amount of spending that schools have to do (especially the burden that this puts on smaller schools), and the logistics involved with cross-country travel, securing venues, and managing television and broadcast rights.

Rupp Arena also isn't so booked with large events that makes finding dates difficult, and even if that were the case, there are other sites that could probably be arranged.

I'd rather see sloppy play in a condensed June tournament that teams went into with little prep time than nothing at all. The former at least gives those who earned it the chance to play in Rupp and compete for a state championship.

I'd even go as far as to say that, for most kids on teams that aren't likely to win it all (i.e., Knox Central, Hazard, West Jessamine, Martin County, George Rogers Clark, and to a lesser extent maybe Ashland Blazer and Scott County), that it's the experience of playing in Rupp and getting to play that one game that matters, even if the semis or quarters were then played at the Yum! Center, Memorial Coliseum, Freedom Hall, NKU, EKU, WKU, Frankfort, etc.

At the same time, I'd also say that the majority of the teams actually capable of winning it (i.e., especially your Male, Collins, Fern Creek, Elizabethtown, Warren Central, Madisonville-North Hopkins, and possibly even McCracken County) probably inversely care about the experience of playing in Rupp and would mostly be fine with it being held in Louisville if that's what getting their shot meant. I'd go as far as to say that many of those teams would actually prefer that it was held in Louisville annually.

[WinkWinkler]

It is over. Not going to happen. Give up your hope. No activities until at least June.

[JokersWild24]

It is over. Not going to happen. Give up your hope. No activities until at least June.

Ok. Assuming cancellation, what happens to the KHSAA's budget? What's the fallout, which parties are most affected, and where does it end?

[zaga_fan]

Ok. Assuming cancellation, what happens to the KHSAA's budget? What's the fallout, which parties are most affected, and where does it end?

They may have to stop fighting court battles to keep kids from playing sports.

[JokersWild24]

They may have to stop fighting court battles to keep kids from playing sports.

Hahaha... good answer.

There'll have to be major cuts and/or subsidies without a Sweet 16. Even if played, it likely still won't cover what they were expecting to make, so the question may be better posed as how deep the cuts are going to go.

Not playing it looks like a possibility, but I think people underestimate the impact that this would have in the short-term, especially when you factor in things like Title IX.

One thing I'd like to note: Kentucky seems to be more proactive than Texas in terms of quarantines, etc., and basketball is obviously a much bigger deal to Kentuckians. Yesterday, Texas announced that they had postponed but will play their State Tournament. For perspective, that's 6 classes where the semifinals and finals of each is played in the Alamodome (which has about 3x the capacity of Rupp & would be much tougher to book given all the events that they host).

[HCS]

They may have to stop fighting court battles to keep kids from playing sports.

I think it's interesting that some criticize the KHSAA for not doing enough to stop transfers and some criticize the KHSAA for doing too much to stop transfers.