By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – And so it begins.
After a dozen years of great glory and remarkable success, with the most wins in Indiana and three state championships during that span, Bedford North Lawrence embarked on a new journey on Monday afternoon. Rather appropriately, state-of-the-art video scoreboards were unveiled in BNL Fieldhouse on the same day the next head coach started official practice sessions for the coming season.
Greg Burton was hired as the 12th coach in program history in April, but this was the day when the countdown clock hit “zero” for his real start date. The past six months of summer scrimmages and workouts were a trial run. The true trials have begun.
Almost everything is new – the coach, some of the staff, the lexicon and terminology. What hasn’t changed? The expectations. No other uniform comes with heavier stitching of tradition, no other coaching job comes with more legendary predecessors. That would cause paralyzing panic for most. Burton is ready for the challenge.
“I’m stoked. I cannot wait,” he said prior to blowing the whistle for basketball’s version of Opening Day. “I’ve been counting down the days. I’m excited to get going.
“I know the expectations are there. I’m not stepping into it blind, I get it. I have expectations for myself. As long as the players live up to mine, I’m not worried about anyone else.”
Change was inevitable when Burton took over for Jeff Allen, who stepped down after 10 incredible seasons. The Stars went 226-45 during his tenure, capped by the 2023 Class 4A state title. He coached two Miss Basketball winners. Things were going to look different, feel different, sound different. That’s why the summer sessions were so vital.
“It was extremely important,” Burton said. “Just as much with me getting familiar with them, as vice versa. I know the kids, I’m familiar with the system. I had to dig in and figure out the nuts and bolts of everything.”
While BNL lost Alabama recruit Chloe Spreen (who averaged 20.9 points and finished as the second-leading scorer in school history en route to winning the Miss Basketball honor) and Madisyn Bailey (now at Marian after scoring 11.5 points) from a 20-5 team that won a 13th straight sectional title, Burton will have a nucleus to build around.
Five seniors dominate the roster, including four with varsity experience. They spent the offseason adjusting to a new voice at the helm.
“Getting used to Coach Burton was very hard, but it’s exciting and we’re ready for the season to start,” BNL senior Harryson Hayes said. “We’re ready for the first game to start.”
The other seniors include returning starter Tori Nikirk and reserve Katie Godlevske, plus Trinity Schmeichel and Makaya Jackson. Other returning starters include sophomore Miley Sherrill and junior Trinidy Bailey.
Those veterans will dictate the style and tempo. There’s a lot of guards in the group, not much size.
“We’ll try to play a little faster,” Burton said. “That’s just adapting to the personnel we have. We’re small overall, we have a lot of guards, so we’ll have to defend well and make shots. Pace will be big.
“I thought we got a lot better in the fall. It’s just getting the kids we didn’t have (in other sports) caught up. That will be big, not to have a letdown from the end of the summer. I don’t want to start over. If we can pick up where we left off, I’ll be happy.”
So the terminology will be different, the offense will still feature well-know sets but add more spacing, defenses will look different. There’s a lot to take in. But the other thing that hasn’t changed? BNL is a target, circled in red on everyone’s schedule.
“We’ve had a lot of people contact us, telling us they’re coming for us,” Nikirk said. “But we’re not worried about it. We have a lot of people doubting us, but we’re still BNL basketball and we know what we’re capable of. I feel very confident with our team. We’re ready to go.“
The first milestone will be the annual intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 29, followed by the IHSAA-sanctioned scrimmage against Columbus North on Nov. 5.
“We still want to win,” Jackson said. “We still want to represent BNL the best way we know how.”
The Stars will open the regular season at home against Mooresville on Nov. 8.
