Nearly 150 volunteers have been lined up and given their assignments.  The 72-page media guides have been printed.  The caterers have been contacted and the Amish-style meals are bound to satisfy plenty of appetites.  The web site, classicinthecountry.org is up and running and already received more than 6,000 hits in December.  The 33 teams that are scheduled to play 20 games over the course of Saturday, Sunday and Monday have made their travel arrangements and booked their rooms.

Now, all that's left is to play basketball and have some fun.

Judging by what Hiland Hawks coach Dave Schlabach and others associated with the inaugural Classic have planned for their guests this weekend, that shouldn't be much of an issue.

"This has been 13-14 months in the planning and it's coming together through the efforts of a lot of different people," Schlabach said.  "We have 150 volunteers and that's really going to allow us to do a lot of neat and different things for everyone involved.  We're going to do a lot of different things that have never been done at an event like this before.

"The community has responded exactly how I thought it would when we want to put on a show like this.  We want to promote Ohio girls basketball and we want everyone to have fun."

While fun will certainly be available in large doses, it will also be mixed with a schedule that features some extremely competitive basketball games between some of the state's premier programs.  Hiland will play two games (Saturday vs. Marion Local; Monday vs. Copley), while area teams from West Holmes (Sunday vs. Dayton Dunbar), Chippewa (Saturday vs. Chesapeake) and Wooster (Monday vs. Toledo Scott) will also be on hand for the Classic's first year.

In Div. I alone, the Classic will feature six of the top 10 teams from this week's first Associated Press poll (Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, Columbus Mifflin, Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame, Wadsworth, Boardman and Mentor).  South Euclid Regina, last year's Div. III champ and Ranked No. 1 this season, will meet Mt. Notre Dame Sunday in one of the classic's high-profile matchups.

The Chippewa Chipps get the honor of kicking off the Classic when they meet Chesapeake at 10 a.m. Saturday.  For Chipps coach Rich Berlin, even the early morning wake-up call doesn't detract from being a part of the Classic's first year.

"Most of my girls haven't played at 10 a.m. since they were freshman," Berlin said with a chuckle. "It is exciting to be invited and it's going to be a showcase for girls basketball and for a lot of good players.

"You're playing teams that you don't get to see often and it can only help you get ready for the tournament.  It's  very similar in that fashion, as far as the preparation, the environment and everything else."

If the environment the Classic will provide is a plus for most coaches, it's an aspect of the showcase that might concern Schlabach the most.  While he certainly doesn't want to detract from his players' experiences, as the host school the Hawks also have to worry about playing two games against two pretty good teams.

Marion Local is ranked No. 3 in the first Div. IV poll, one spot ahead of Hiland, and will be meeting the Hawks for the first time since Hiland's win in the 2000 Div. IV state title game.  Copley features one of  northeast Ohio's top players in 6-foot-1 guard Melanie Small, who is headed to Michigan State next season.

"We've talked to the kids about it and told them that they can't get too involved in the hoopla," Schlabach said.  "This is a real key stretch of games for us, beginning with (Thursday's game against) Garaway.  We play five games in nine days and all of them could be losses.  This weekend is a huge step in the development of our team."

With all the basketball talent on hand -- 17 of the 25 top seniors in the state as rated by Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine will be in attendance -- it's no surprise that college coaches from around the country will descend on Holmes County this weekend.  Schlabach said coaches from UCLA, Duke, Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, Florida State, Syracuse and Ohio State, among others, have called asking direction to Berlin.  Attracting top-flight teams and players year after year is one way that Schlabach feels the Classic can keep growing.

"We're laying the groundwork this season," Schlabach said.  "We want this to be the premier weekend for high school girls basketball in the state, then the region and one day the entire country.  That's our goal."