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.

Indiana All-Star Flory Bidunga (1) goes in to shoot the ball Saturday, June 8, 2024, during the boys seniors All-Star game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Indiana All-Stars defeated the Kentucky All-Stars.

“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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-stars-thoughts-shout-outs-083145000.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2024-06-10 08:31:45

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