By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The energy, the crackle of electricity, the pulse of anticipation, was measurable, adding an aura in the dimly-lit auxiliary gymnasium as Bedford North Lawrence started official practice sessions for the 2024-25 campaign.
Coming off a 13-9 season, with multiple seniors back, the Stars know what they have, and that’s the source of the power surge and exciting expectations surrounding this program. Winning seasons are still the norm, postseason success is now the overdue goal. They have big-time goals.
That’s the big picture. The day-to-day snapshot is different. Even after a successful offseason, BNL has work to finish, graduation gaps to fill, challenges ahead. Opening Day, which creates its own buzz, was just the beginning of the process. In two weeks, the regular season will start.
The Stars have an advantage. Kurt Godlevske is starting his second year in charge, so there’s no more uncomfortable adjustment period, no more unknowns. His quiet confidence in this team speaks volumes.
“I feel really close to this group, so it’s fun to be in there working with them,” Godlevske said. “They’re as into it as any group I’ve ever seen. We have kids who have been there and done that now. It makes things so much easier, when they’ve gone through the process. We have to teach less. We think we can do some really good things. Our expectations for ourselves are much higher.”
Every season differs from the last. BNL lost its entire backcourt (a perimeter sniper in Noah Godlevske and two tough-minded defenders in Maddox Ray and Trace Rynders) from a year ago, so that’s where the spotlight will shine first. The Stars return an outstanding scorer in Patric Matson (20.1 points per game) and muscle in the post in Logan Miracle (6.0), so those are the building blocks.
Those holes should be filled by Quincy Pickett (4.8), Isaiah Sasser (2.6) and Dax Short (2.3). They will stepping up from reserve roles to more prominent positions. Since there’s not a prototype “guard” from the BNL mold of the past among them, there will be some changes in style and performance.
“We’ve had a few changes defensively, that would help us and fit our personnel, so we need to continue to fine-tune that,” Godlevske said. “We made a few changes offensively. Every year, you need to develop your identity. We need to play quite a bit, leading into the scrimmages, to get our rhythm back and timing back.
“Everybody knows how talented Patric is, how well Quincy can shoot the ball. Logan has to be really consistent and stable. The X factors will be Sasser and Dax. Those two have to have quality minutes. We’re still sorting through our first people off the bench, what will be our best rotation. We have some sophomores that we need to take hard looks at for minutes. And there are juniors that need some minutes to get experience and contribute.”
BNL’s 13-win season from last year included an eight-game winning streak but concluded with three straight losses, including two one-possession heartbreakers against New Albany. The last one ended the sectional run. There’s motivation in that aftermath. The lessons were absorbed.
“We have to learn to finish games,” Sasser said. “In the sectional, we just couldn’t finish it, put our foot down like we needed do. This year we have the capability. We need to improve on defense, making sure we make the right decisions, work on the little things. Then we can start worrying about the bigger picture.“
“We learned how to share the ball,” Pickett said. “Just go out there and have fun every day.”
Big picture – win a sectional for the first time since 2001. Today’s small picture – prepare for the intrasquad scrimmage, set for Nov. 18, and the IHSAA-sanctioned workout against Austin (which has replaced Martinsville on the original schedule) on Nov. 21. The Stars will not lose sight of the overall objective.
“I have high expectations for this year,” Matson said. “I feel like we can go pretty far. We have the experience.”
BNL will open the campaign at home against Bloomington North on Nov. 26.
