This will be a tournament with a lot of heart.

The Coal Grove Hornets will host the Dr. Richard E. Paulus Heart of Champions Tournament Friday and Saturday in a mixture of basketball and recognition to one of the nation’s best heart surgeons.

For Hornets coach Randy Ward, Dr. Paulus was the obvious choice for the community to recognize.

“Dr. Paulus is one of our leading citizens,” said Ward. “The administration wanted to honor Dr. Paulus for his work as one of our nation’s leading physicians in the Cardiology field of medicine.”

The tournament schedule will have Raceland, Ky., facing Menifee County, Ky., in the first game at 6 p.m. followed by Boyd County, Ky., and host Coal Grove.

Ward said the tournament will be good for the fans and the dedication to Paulus is good for everyone’s heart.

“We are thrilled to have this annual basketball tournament where Coal Grove High School can honor Dr. Paulus for his dedication to our area’s health,” said Ward.

Paulus has practiced medicine at King’s Daughters Medical Center since the early 1990s, helping to kick start its heart and vascular program.

Ward said Paulus’ dedication to the patients of this region has helped thousands of families overcome and manage heart disease, and his leadership led to the establishment of the Heart and Vascular Center.

The heart program began in KDMC but has since moved into the new state-of-the-art facility that was first opened in 2006 and namedinhis honor.

First as a program in KDMC’s main building, then as a new, state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2006 and was named in honor of him for his dedication to heart health.