Shine the Light

Prologue
Night 2 of the 2021-22 season takes me to Concordia Academy for their season opener vs Kaleidoscope.  This trip is usually one of my more miserable and dangerous trips due to weather and traffic but I beat both tonight.  I was able to enjoy my first hot dog at a high school game since the pandemic began.  In the words of the real Billy Crystal (not the ref), simply MAHVELOUS.  Even that awful beverage known as Coke couldn't spoil the experience.  Fun blackout and spotlights for both team intros.  Yes the Chicago Bulls thing is played out but since I'm from that era, it never gets old.  

Song of the Day: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Food And Beverage Counter:
Hot Dogs: 1
Coke: 12 oz

Game Time
East Ridge transfer Lorenzo Levy starting at the point for Concordia.  Kaleidoscope going all Jordan Bohannon/Jess Settles/Brad Davison with 3 juniors in the starting lineup who seem like they've been there for a million years.  The Comets hanging around early before AJ Greene heats up for Concordia.  He scores 3 out of 4 buckets for the Beacons as they stretch the lead to 28-14 at the 9:07 mark.  Michael Jude with a pair of 3s for Kaleidoscope to try and keep them close.  Then its bombs away for Concordia and not Kaleidoscope.  Greene keeps his streak going with a pair of bombs in a 4 bucket stretch.  Kaleidscope not guarding the 3 point line or the paint.  The lead explodes to 56-26 at the half.

AJ Kargel sits out the 2nd half for Kaleidoscope with an apparent injury (hand maybe?).  No need to risk him in this one.  The teams trade buckets to start the half.  Then Concordia runs off the next 21 points thanks to a 5 of 7 stretch from deep.  4 straight turnovers for 7 Concordia points in that run too.  68-28 with 13:44 left as the run progresses.  Garbage time from there.  Concordia wins 89-44.

Post Game
Kaleidoscope opens the season 0-1.  Their star PG Michael Jude leads the way with 17 points, 11 in the 1st half.  He made 5 triples.  Mathew Aasen works his way to 14 points inside.  That leaves only 13 points for the rest of the roster.  AJ Kargel scoreless in his limited minutes.  They go home for 2 very winnable games against Lakes International and Chesterton next week.  Then only 1 home game until January 19th.  Defensively whether it was man or their 1-1-3 zone, very little resistance.  Many of the Concordia triples, way too easy.  Swing swing bang.  But I did like their offensive rebounding.  Yes some of that is because of all the 3s they take. But for an undersized team, they get more of those than you expect.

Concordia starts the season 1-0.  They get a week off before hosting United Christian.  Then they go on the road to start league play at New Life.  The Beacons knock down a school record 15 3s from 5 players on the way to the win.  Junior shooter Luc Swanson with 6 of those on his way to 18 points.  AJ Greene with 18 of his game high 23 points in the 1st half.  David Erickson chips in with 12 points.  Soph PG Lorenzo Levy 13 points and a bunch of assists in this one.  I liked what I saw from Levy.  Quick, good passer and shooter plus a good amount of swagger to boot.  Great addition for the Beacons.  It totally changes how they look from last year when AJ Greene was the guy with the ball in his hands most of the time.  Now he's playing in a more natural spot off the ball. 

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. Interesting stat of of the night was 0 FT attempts for Concordia.  They do win the other 3 Four Factors categories though.  The 3 point shooting     15-33 for Concordia compared to 5-24 for Kaleidoscope.  Concordia to largely keep the Comets from generating points in transition too.  25-4 Concordia edge taking advantage of 16 Kaleidoscope turnovers.

https://twitter.com/tchoopsczar/status/1466991336003887106?s=20