By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – After sitting high above the basketball court for a year, Kurt Godlevske decided the best seat in the house is also the hottest. Now he’s back on the Bedford North Lawrence sideline, switching aisles to take over a program with rich – but aging – tradition.
Godlevske, who guided the BNL girls for seven seasons and won a state championship, was hired as the new boys coach on Thursday, earning approval by a 5-0 vote (with two absent members) from the North Lawrence Community Schools board. He succeeds Jeff Hein, who unexpectedly resigned just five weeks ago and forced a quick search-and-hire process as the program was leaderless during a critical offseason period.
Fortunately, BNL found its next man – the 10th head coach in the school’s 49-year history – already in the fold as an assistant principal in the system. In addition to his quality work with the Lady Stars, Godlevske toiled for eight seasons as the head coach of the Butler women’s program.
He will follow in the footsteps of Bob Masterson, Mike Sorrell, Dan Bush, Mark Mathews, Mark Ryan, Damon Bailey, Jamie Hudson, Matt Seifers and Hein (who have recorded 746 wins between them) with the Stars. That includes 18 sectional titles, seven regionals, three semistates and the historic 1990 state championship. However, BNL’s last sectional crown came in 2001, and that’s Godlevske’s top priority as he takes the helm.
“It’s been a long time,” Godlevske said. “I grew up with Coach Bush and believed in what he was doing. The biggest challenge is getting back to those values, those intangibles that made the program successful. There’s a certain way and certain style you have to play for us to win. And we have to re-establish the feeder program. The interest level has to grow. We have to grow the numbers and re-invigorate the interest.“
Winning solves a lot of issues, and Godlevske knows how to do that. BNL’s girls program was languishing, with three consecutive losing seasons, when he took over in 2006. He made an immediate impact, posting an impressive 120-41 record that culminated with the undefeated state champions in 2013.
Godlevske left to become an assistant coach with Butler. After one year, he was promoted to head coach. Following some early struggles, his Bulldogs went 23-10 during the 2018-19 campaign, and he was named Big East Coach of the Year. But after the virus epidemic, Butler dropped hard, going only 4-44 during the last two years of his tenure. He went 91-144 overall in eight years.
“When I was let go at Butler, I thought that would be it,” Godlevske said. “I would enjoy watching my kids play. And I certainly did, traveling around the state and watching them, having that experience. But when it got to December and January, I started missing having my own team. That’s why I’m excited to be back. I feel like I have more to give, a lot more to give to the boys basketball program.”
He takes over a team that’s coming off a quality season. BNL went 16-7 and won a share of the Hoosier Hills Conference crown, the first since 2011. But the Stars also graduated six seniors (three starters, including leading scorers Colten Leach and Colton Staggs) and will return only two players (Noah Godlevske averaged 10.8 points, and Trace Rynders contributed 4.4) with measurable varsity experience.
The future looks promising with additions from the junior varsity, but that group scored only 41 total varsity points a year ago. So there’s some necessary retooling, and Godlevske will add the dynamic of coaching his son.
“He’s very easy to coach, sees things very similar to me,” Godlevske said. “The challenge will be what my expectations for him are compared to the rest of the team. My goal is for him to have the experience I would want for him, if I was not the coach.
“I like the group feeding into the program. I got to watch Patric Matson play, and his game has grown. Logan Miracle is working, and he needs to spend time in the gym. Quincy (Pickett) is a player much like my son, and Maddox Ray brings some tangibles, Isaiah Sasser brings some positives. So we have some pieces we can put together, play their roles to the best of their abilities, and we have the opportunity to do some good things.”
Godlevske will rely on his experiences – positive and negative – in his coaching past.
“Having good quality kids around you is so important, having a great relationship with them is so important,” he said. “I learned how important communication is on a continuous basis. Make sure they know what I think is important, make sure they are believing in that.”
That process will start immediately. One reason for the quick hire was the timing. The month of June is a crucial period for offseason work, with scrimmage games and camps, and the Stars have already missed half that time frame. There’s ground to make up but still time to do so.
“This summer will be so important,” Godlevske said. “We missed some, so it will be important to get some games and understand what it takes to win.”
BNL will open official practice sessions for the 2023-24 season on Nov. 6.
KURT GODLEVSKE FILE
BNL girls basketball
Year Record
2006-07 13-8
2007-08 16-6
2008-09 11-10
2009-10 13-8
2010-11 16-6
2011-12 23-3 (sectional title)
2012-13 28-0 (state champion)
Butler University women’s basketball
Year Record
2014-15 14-16
2015-16 10-21
2016-17 6-25
2017-18 15-17
2018-19 23-10
2019-20 19-11
2020-21 3-17
2021-22 1-27
BNL boys basketball history
Coach Record Years
Bob Masterson 24-24 (1974-76)
Mike Sorrell 86-33 (1976-1981)
Dan Bush 226-70 (1981-1993)
Mark Mathews 62-11 (1993-1996)
Mark Ryan 126-72 (1997-2005)
Damon Bailey 23-19 (2005-2007)
Jamie Hudson 107-96 (2008-2016)
Matt Seifers 36-35 (2017-19)
Jeff Hein 56-40 (2020-23)
Totals 746-400 (1974-2023)
