Indiana All-Stars thoughts and shout-outs: Don’t mess with Flory, others who impressed

Flory was Flory. The girls swept for the first time in eight years and the Indiana All-Stars won three of four games (girls and boys combined) over Kentucky. Thoughts and observations from the week:

Don’t mess with Flory

I’m not here to criticize officials. I’m pro-referee (for the most part). But Flory Bidunga’s technical foul on Friday night in Lexington was so unnecessary, I don’t even know how else to put it. It also backed a somewhat limited Indiana All-Stars team into a corner it couldn’t fight out of, as a one-point game turned into a 21-point Kentucky blowout.

“You don’t like to complain about the refs, but you get the feeling you kind of got hosed,” said Noblesville guard Aaron Fine. “So, it was just about coming back with a completely different mindset.”

‘We took it personal.’ No technical difficulty this time as All-Stars beat Kentucky

It didn’t help in the moment that Mr. Basketball, Kokomo’s 6-9 Bidunga, was sitting on the bench, watching as the Indiana All-Stars lost 103-82 in Kentucky. But 10 minutes of stewing certainly helped him get motivated for Saturday’s rematch. How many dunks did he have? I lost track around seven. And while his 31-point, 17-rebound performance may not have approached George McGinnis’ standards for an Indiana All-Stars game (the Indianapolis Washington legend had 53 points and 30 rebounds, both single-game records, in the 1969 game in Louisville), the Kansas recruit certainly made his point in Indiana’s 92-89 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

As Bidunga said: “We took it personal.” It didn’t add up to a blowout win, though with a 19-point lead at halftime it looked to be going in that direction.

“We didn’t want him catching it deep,” said Kentucky All-Stars coach Jeff Morrow (Louisville Iroquois). “In the first half, he really got us pinned down there. If he catches it that close to the rim, you are in trouble. You can’t really double because Indiana has such good shooters so strategies you might be able to use for you high school team, you don’t have. They pretty much had three guys on the floor, maybe four guys on the floor, who could really shoot the ball.”

I thought Morrow had an interesting comment about watching Bidunga in person after watching video of him playing in high school at Kokomo.

“I watched several of his high school games and I thought he looked better in these two games than he did a few months ago. Obviously, he’s got a bright future. All of these guys on both sides have a bright future. But I think his better days are ahead of him. I know he’s had some really good days, but I think he’ll continue to grow and get better.”

I agree on that last point. Bidunga works his butt off, which bodes well for his college career at Kansas and potentially beyond. But as someone who covers high school basketball, it was a ton of fun to watch Bidunga’s progression as a player and a person who embraced Kokomo. He will definitely be missed as a presence in Indiana high school basketball next season.

On the future, attendance of Indiana All-Stars

I know it’s just social media and probably outliers in the grand scheme of things, but the comments like “I remember when this game used to matter” and “Where are the fans?” … I’m just sort of over it, I’ll admit.

We can’t go back in the time machine to 19-whatever. We’re not going to fill the arena for the Indiana-Kentucky All-Stars game. Saturday’s attendance of 5,445 did represent a bump from last year (and remember the 2021 and ’22 games were played at Southport due to construction at Gainbridge Fieldhouse). This was the biggest crowd since the pandemic cancelled the 2020 games.

Indiana All-Stars director Mike Broughton said the support financially for the game is the best it has been since the pandemic and next year looks promising considering the talent in the class (and probably partly depending on where Braylon Mullins and Trent Sisley commit for college). Remember, the 2018 game with Romeo Langford attracted 8,266 fans. I think we could see something similar to that next year, or at least another number in the positive direction.

On the Kentucky side, there is obviously work to be done. The game moved to Lexington Catholic after three years in Owensboro. My thought is that the game on the Kentucky side needs to be in Louisville or Lexington, where you might get a better walk-up crowd and more Indiana fans likely to make the trip across the border.

I did talk to Kentucky All-Stars executive director Scott Chalk a little bit on Saturday. I know they are a little bit limited on the venues where they can play, but I don’t sense there is any intention to pull the plug on their end. If anything, the Kentucky boys winning the game on Friday probably helped the rivalry and infused some emotion into the event. That’s a good thing for the health of the series.

I know people talk about potentially moving the game to April, which would probably help the Kentucky side in some ways. It would also be closer to the end of the high school basketball season, which would be a benefit for seniors who are still working out and getting ready for college but in some cases, especially on the girls’ side with the season ending earlier, have not played a real game in about four months. But you also could not lock down a date in April at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, so you would have to play it elsewhere on the Indiana side. There are also scheduling issues in April like prom, spring sports and college visits.

Nothing is perfect, including the state of this series. But if you are sitting on your butt complaining, “I remember when this game used to mean something,” and still like high school basketball, come to the games and support the kids who are on the team. Plus, that’s one less empty seat you have to complain about.

What being an Indiana All-Star means

I’m always interested to catch up and talk to kids after the games about what it means to them after Indiana All-Stars week is complete. Here are a few answers:

>> K.J. Windham of Ben Davis: “I know this for sure — it’s not an all-star game. You’re trying to win. Everyone is really good, so every practice is going to be really competitive. You have to put in extra work and be on top of everything that you do. You are going to play different roles and play for a coach you’ve never played for before. And you have to adjust and be good at what you do if you want to be on the court.”

>> Aaron Fine of Noblesville: “I didn’t know (the week) was so hectic. It felt like we were always doing something. But I was so thankful I was able to do this. It’s been a dream of mine forever. Just the other side of it — I was always so happy to see the All-Stars. They were my heroes so just being able to interact with kids who want to hopefully be one day Indiana All-Stars and being able to help the next generation just meant a lot to me.”

>> Trey Buchanan of Westfield: “I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to experience some of this stuff. There are a lot of great players in Indiana and a lot of them don’t get to experience this. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and getting to play with these great players and getting to surround myself with the best competition in Indiana for a whole week. It definitely made me better, was a good experience for my career and was a fun time.”

>> Indiana coach John Peckinpaugh (Kokomo): “It’s such a great honor to be part of this. Every kid growing up in Indiana who plays high school basketball dreams to be a part of this and get to experience it. This week was special to me and something I’d dreamed about my whole life and getting to work with these guys all week has been a joy. Definitely something I won’t forget.”

>> Kentucky Mr. Basketball Travis Perry: “It was a good experience. You are around a lot of good people and a lot of players on the team who have the same mindset. You are playing against players who have the same mindset and interacting with a lot of great players and people throughout — that’s the main thing. I was just trying to do the little things to prepare for the next level because these guys are really good basketball players and it’s not often you get a chance to compete with those guys. You just try to take advantage of that and have fun while doing it.”

>> Kentucky’s Max Green: “Obviously this is a top-notch facility and driving up here, it’s just cool coming in the tunnel and walking in here like an NBA player. That’s all of our goals to do that one day. Indiana has an amazing squad and obviously top-tier fans, so it was a blessing to be a part of it.”

I see you …

A few shoutouts to players I watched this week:

>> Juliann Woodard, Jennings County: The 6-foot Michigan State recruit went for 23 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 90-79 win in Lexington and was named the game MVP after finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five steals in a 66-64 win over Kentucky on Saturday. Woodard was impressive in all areas, including on-court leadership.

>> Jack Benter, Brownstown Central: A cool moment at the of the first half for the Purdue commit on the running 3-pointer. Benter is absolutely lethal from the 3-point line and such a smooth passer. Dude knows how to play. Benter went for 16 points, six rebounds and three assists at Kentucky and 16 points, four rebounds and four assists at home.

>> Jordyn Poole, Fort Wayne Snider: So quick. It’s a shame she did not play in the home game. The Purdue recruit was hit in the side of the face late in Friday’s game and was unable to participate Saturday. Poole had 19 points and six assists in the win at Kentucky.

>> K.J. Windham, Ben Davis: The Northwestern recruit scored 25 points in the two games and showed he could facilitate, too. Windham had 15 assists in three games, including the game vs. the Junior All-Stars. I’ll miss covering Windham, an easy person to interview and generally thoughtful guy.

>> Chloe Spreen, Bedford North Lawrence: After a frustrating night on Friday in Lexington (Miss Basketball played 15 minutes and fouled out), the Alabama commit came back and helped the All-Stars to their first sweep in eight years with a 66-64 victory on Saturday. She played well down the stretch and finished with a team-high 16 points and five boards.

>> Lauren Walsh, Penn: Walsh did not do much in the game at Kentucky (three points in 5 minutes) but came back with a late 3-pointer and finished with 12 points in 21 minutes to help Indiana seal the win at home. Walsh made the All-Stars only 3-pointer (1-for-17).

>> Shaelyn Steele, Russell (Kentucky): The point guard headed to Penn State was a problem for Indiana. Steele had 25 points, six assists and four steals in Lexington and 15 points and eight rebounds on Saturday (though she had nine turnovers). Good player.

>> Keenan Garner, Fishers: The IU Indianapolis recruit did not shoot the ball great but filled the stat sheet in all three games. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at Kentucky. Always plays hard and does a lot of things to help a team win.

>> Trent Sisley, Heritage Hills: The 6-7 Sisley was outstanding in the Junior All-Stars game at Kokomo, going for 16 of his 18 points in the first half on 4-for-5 shooting from 3.

Trent Sisley is one of Indiana’s best. And state’s top schools set to battle it out for him.

>> Max Green, Oldham County (Kentucky): Holy moly. The 6-6 Holy Cross commit torched the All-Stars in Lexington with 36 points on 14-for-16 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3. He predictably slowed down on Saturday, but not much. Green still had 25 points and kept Kentucky in the game late. Will be interesting to see what he does at Holy Cross.

>> Quel’Ron House, Louisville Seneca (Kentucky): Indiana had trouble guarding the lightning quick Jacksonville State recruit. After scoring 16 points on Friday, House had 24 points, four assists and four rebounds on Saturday.

>> Evan Haywood, Brebeuf Jesuit: The Butler commit was 6-for-15 from the 3-point line in the three games during the week. He shoots it too well not to be a player at the next level.

>> Micah Davis, Franklin: I could see the Eastern Kentucky commit having a big-time college career. He finds ways to get to the basket and is a tough finisher. His best scoring game was an 11-point output on Saturday.

>> Braylon Mullins, Greenfield-Central: Mullins’ recruitment has taken off to another level. He had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Junior All-Stars at Kokomo.

>> Flory Bidunga, Kokomo: His 31-point game on Saturday tied him for 25^th all-time in the history of a series that dates to 1940. Also scoring 31 for Indiana: Shawn Kemp in 1988 and Jason Gardner in 1999.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana All-Stars: Flory Bidunga shines, game’s future, attendance