By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Scrimmages are basketball’s version of a civil war, pitting teammate against teammate. Or in Bedford North Lawrence’s case, even brother against brother. It’s too bad this brief preseason workout lasted only two quarters, because a real head-to-head family battle would have been extremely interesting and entertaining.
That’s a fray for another day. This workout was about getting a glimpse for the real clashes to come, when the Stars unite for the 2024-25 campaign. While it’s difficult to look smooth and concise when there are no secrets among friends, BNL showed signs of strength and promise on Monday night.
The Stars divided along the normal lines for the first quarter, with the varsity posting a 15-11 edge. In the second, with the varsity split equally for the utmost in competition, the White unit topped the Red by a 9-4 count.
For BNL coach Kurt Godlevske, starting his second year with this program, this extended practice was a chance to see progress – both for the team as a whole and its individual components – in a simulated game setting. Overall, he was satisfied, especially when comparing this session to last year’s debut.
“We’re light years ahead,” he said. “We actually looked like we’re playing basketball.
“I wanted to see the kids have carry over from practice into a game-like situation. We saw there’s an excitement to play – in fact they got a little carried away at times, played out of position defensively and gambled a little too much. I like that we executed some of our stuff, for this early in the season, and got a good look at that.”
The best moments, in terms of mild surprises, came in the opening quarter. Dax Short and Gibson Crane both scored twice for the varsity, while second-generation freshman Easton Moore popped two treys for the second unit. The varsity gave up three treys to fall behind, then scored eight consecutive points.
In the second period, Patric Matson made his expected impact, busting a wing trey, collecting a tough rebound basket, and turning a turnover breakaway into two free throws (although a teammate’s exuberance to grab the rim and negate Matson’s and-one bucket was unfortunate). Logan Miracle added a smart spin move in the lane for the other White basket. BNL is going to need some interior force.
“Gibson gave us some really good minutes,” Godlevske said. “He looked good down low. Logan did some really nice things. So having somebody in the post, to relieve some of that perimeter pressure, can be a huge thing for us.”
Of course, there’s still plenty to work on. BNL gave up too many open treys to the JV in the opening quarter. And there’s always room for executional improvement.
“We have to get better at positioning, work on some different actions that we haven’t gotten enough reps with in practice,” Godlevske said. “And we need to be patient, screen people and take our time.”
BNL will face Austin in the IHSAA sanctioned scrimmage, the final dress rehearsal, on Thursday night.
Varsity 15, Junior Varsity 11
Varsity – Dax Short 4, Isaiah Sasser 2, Quincy Pickett 3, Gibson Crane 4, Tyler Stigall 2
Junior Varsity – Easton Moore 6, Jace Nicholson 3, Ben Conner 2
White 9, Red 4
White – Patric Matson 7, Logan Miracle 2
Red – Isaiah Sasser 2, Quincy Pickett 2
