Holiday Prep Classic field to be drawn today

The 16-team field for the 27th Annual Dothan Eagle/Dothan Progress Holiday Prep Basketball Classic sponsored by the Cochran Firm has been set for some time.

Today, the paths for the participating teams to the championship will be determined.

Coaches from the 16 teams will convene at noon in Ozark today for the annual tournament draw at the Ozark Civic Center.

Pairings from the blind draw will be posted on www.dothaneagle.com Wednesday afternoon and will also be published in Thursday’s Dothan Eagle.

This year’s event starts with eight games on Saturday, Dec. 26.

The opening game will start at 11 a.m. and the last game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. One ticket is good for the entire day of basketball. People will be able to get stamped as they come in so they can come and go as they please during the day.

“We decided to hold the entire first round on the day after Christmas to take full advantage of playing games on a Saturday,” tournament director and Dothan Eagle sports editor Jon Johnson said. “This will give every fan and team a chance to watch the entire tournament field compete in what we hope will be one of the biggest days of high school basketball ever staged in the Wiregrass.”

The tournament quarterfinals are Monday, Dec. 28, followed by the semifinals on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

The championship and consolation games are set for Wednesday, Dec. 30.

The last two years, the tournament champion has gone on to win state titles. Bullock County won the Prep Classic and a state crown in 2007 and Barbour County matched the feat last year.

This year’s tournament field includes two defending state champions and two Final Four teams. Also, three teams that reached the regional tournament last year are in the mix.

Barbour County won Alabama’s Class 2A state title last winter, and Whitefield Academy of Atlanta won Georgia’s Class 1A state championship last season.

Andalusia and Holiday Prep Classic newcomer Pensacola (Fla.) are the Final Four teams from a year ago.

Enterprise, Brantley and Pike County, meanwhile, earned regional tournament appearances last year.

The rest of the field is Bullock County, Butler County Magnet School (formerly Georgiana), Carroll, Charles Henderson, Elba, Randolph-Clay (Ga.), Robertsdale and Straughn.

The top four teams from last year’s tournament are back: champion Barbour County, runner-up Eufaula and third and fourth place teams Enterprise and Robertsdale.

In addition, the last three tournament champions are in the field as 2006 champion Enterprise joins ’07 champ Bullock County and last year’s champ Barbour County.

Three teams are making Holiday Prep Classic debuts this year — Pensacola, Straughn and Butler County Magnet School — and two others are making a reappearance.

Brantley is competing for the second time. The Bulldogs were in the 1994 tournament, going 1-1.

Whitefield Academy is playing in the tournament for the third time. It also played in 2002 and 2004, going 4-2.

The other 11 teams played in last year’s event.

Daily ticket prices for the tournament are $10 for adults, $5 for children (18-under) and for military with proper ID.