By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – As a child, thanks to his father’s Hoosier background, Jason Jones was introduced to Indiana high school basketball when the IHSAA Final Four videos (for VCR, no doubt) arrived in the mail for viewing pleasure. He watched Eric Montross, Damon Bailey, Glenn Robinson and other heroes of the one-class championship era from long distance, able to fast forward through commercials.
Fast forward 30-plus years. Now he’s live in the midst of the Hysteria, guiding one of the storied programs in Southern Indiana, following a legend and future Hall of Famer. Welcome to the Hoosier Hills Conference.
Jones will lead New Albany into action against Bedford North Lawrence on Friday night, as the Bulldogs celebrate Senior Night and wrap up the league portion of the regular season. Seymour and Jeffersonville have already clinched the only available shares of the conference title, but the Stars can adjust the pecking order of the upcoming Class 4A sectional with a road win.
Both teams are coming off setbacks against quality opponents, needing to start a late surge into the postseason. BNL (13-6) suffering a 71-49 loss at 2A No.2 Brownstown, then rebounded to beat Evansville North 60-43 on Saturday, while the Bulldogs (14-5) fell 64-47 to 2A No.5 Providence. Time for a quick turnaround.
That was the Jones theme when he arrived, when New Albany finally ended a coaching saga that stretched longer than expected. When Jim Shannon stepped down after 25 seasons with the program, he was originally replaced by former Huntington North coach Craig Teagle – who lasted less than two months before abruptly resigning (citing a family emergency) to move back north. He’s now coaching at Bluffton.
In unexpected scramble mode, New Albany found a gem in the rubble. Jones (who previously coached in Kansas, Colorado, Florida and Georgia) took over on July 31. Shifting into overdrive for the transition and adjustment, the Bulldogs are now on pace for one of their best seasons since the Romeo Langford era.
“Looking back, it was such a whirlwind,” Jones said. “We just tried to come in and lay as fast a foundation as we could, build relationships and get them to buy into what we wanted to do. The biggest thing with this group was they were hungry for something different. We showed them what we envisioned and how we wanted to play, and I think this is how kids like to play. Play fast, press and run. So it was an easy sell.”
Auctioneers struggle to talk as fast as New Albany plays. The Bulldogs are 10th in the state in scoring at 70 points per game. They’ve been over 85 five times. They have five scorers averaging double figures. BNL better have oxygen masks for the high-altitude offense.
“They don’t take their time offensively at all,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “They’re coming downhill at you, very aggressive, and they shoot it well enough that you have to respect their perimeter game. There will be a lot of possessions in the game if you get caught up in it.”
New Albany lacks size but not shooters. The top scorers include 6-4 junior forward Chris Lampkins and a handful of guards (Jordan Treat, T.J. Washington, Tre’Von Redd and Rylan Schrink). All of them can do damage.
“You have to have guys put the ball in the basket, no matter what you’re running,” Jones said. “That’s been big. We have guys that can shoot, guys that can create their own shot. When we share the ball and work together, it’s worked out well for us.”
BNL certainly does not lack firepower. Junior wing Patric Matson averages 19.4 points, and he’s shooting 55 percent from the floor. Senior guard Noah Godlevske adds 14.8 as another long-range threat.
“They’re really solid,” Jones said. “They have guys that can handle it and put the ball in the basket. They run really good stuff and make you guard a lot of actions. They’ll pose some problems for us.”
BNL’s issue will be dictating pace. New Albany (which gives up 63.8 points per game) wants to force the issue. The Stars would prefer less chaos and more control.
“We have to take care of the basketball,” Godlevske said. “We’ll take any easy basket we can get, but we have to get the ball across half court. We don’t want to rush shots. I’m more concerned about us defensively. Hopefully that’s the part that will slow the game down.”
BNL at NEW ALBANY
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: BNL 13-6 (3-2 in HHC); New Albany 14-5 (3-2 in HHC)
Sagarin ratings: BNL 77.03; New Albany 80.22
Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Stars clinched a share of the HHC title with a 43-37 victory over the Bulldogs. Colten Leach had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Colton Staggs added 11 points for BNL. Josten Carter had 8 points for New Albany.
Previous game story: Champs! Stars conquer New Albany
Game notes: New Albany is 10th in the state in scoring at 70 points per game. New coach Jason Jones took over on July 31 after Craig Teagle resigned less than two months after replacing veteran coach Jim Shannon.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Patric Matson 6-3 Jr.
F – Kline Woodward 6-3 Sr.
G – Noah Godlevske 5-11 Sr.
G – Trace Rynders 5-11 Sr.
G – Maddox Ray 5-11 Sr.
New Albany Bulldogs
F – Chris Lampkins 6-4 Jr.
G – Rylan Schrink 6-1 Sr.
G – Ben Seigel 6-1 Sr.
G – Tre’von Redd 5-8 Sr.
G – Landen Kirk 5-8 Sr.
