Argos’ Redinger’s performance to last a lifetime
I’ve been blessed to see some incredible individual performances on the basketball court.
I was courtside to see Glenn Robinson’s 49-point performance against Illinois in 1994 in Mackey Arena. Later that year I was in Knoxville to see the Big Dog go off for 44 points against Roy Williams’ Kansas State Jayhawks, a victory that propelled Purdue to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
I saw Troy Lewis score an Indiana high school state finals record 76 points in a state semi-final and final game in 1983, including 42 against Marion in the semi-final. By the way, that was the game Marion’s James Blackmon poured in 52 points and remember, there was no three-pointer back then.
I was a teenager in 1979 when I witnessed the Michigan State-Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament’s Mideast Regional Final in Indianapolis Market Square Arena when Greg Kessler poured in 34 points and some guy named Magic Johnson added 19.
Last Thursday I saw yet another performance I won’t soon forget.
Argos’ Sam Redinger was nothing short of spectacular on Senior Night in a win over visiting Oregon-Davis.
All Redinger did was score a career-high 55 points, the 12th-most points in a single game in IHSAA history.
I knew Redinger was leading the state in scoring at better than 30 a game, but had yet to see her play this season.
And yes, she was as good as advertised and even better.
Redinger didn’t waste any time showing everyone who was the most prolific scorer on the court.
She poured in 19 points in the first quarter and followed that up with 10 points in both the second and third quarters, and finished the game with 16 in the final frame.
Thirty, yes thirty of her points came via three-pointers as she buried 10 of them on 20 tries. She knocked down 9-of-12 free throws, too. Redinger went 8-for-14 from two-point land.
Yes, it was a performance for the ages.
It didn’t come as a surprise that she was named Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week for her efforts.
Redinger welcomes having a bullseye on her back and leading the state in scoring.
“I don’t really worry about being the No. 1 leading scorer in the state,” she said. “We are just trying to win our games.”
“I never dreamt she would put up these kinds of figures this year,” Argos head coach Scott Jennings said. “I thought she would average close to 20 points per game, but she’s just been phenomenal.
“It’s not just been her scoring. She’s finding people on the floor, she’s passing, she’s picked up her rebounding game. She’s doing it all for us right now.”
Last month Redinger topped the 1,000-career point milestone in a 46-44 loss to Bethany Christian thanks to a 31-point performance.
Tonight Redinger’s Argos team starts what it hopes will be a run to the Bi-County Tournament that includes an appearance in the championship game on Saturday.
The Dragons play at Glenn to tip things off and then would get the winner of the Oregon-Davis/Triton game if they are fortunate enough to advance to tomorrow night’s semi-final round.
Redinger would love to capture a Bi-County title her senior year and follow that up by defending Argos’ Class 1A Sectional Championship.
She worked a ton on her game in the off-season and it’s paying off now.
“My teammates look for me all the time,” she said. “They set amazing screens for me.”
Don’t kid yourself, Redinger’s open looks are few and far between.
She has an extremely quick trigger, which makes it exceptionally hard to defend her from the outside. When teams overplay her from the outside, she will use an uncanny head fake and blow by them getting to the rim.
Although it’s been an up-and-down year for Argos as its 8-10 record shows, don’t fool yourself, this is a dangerous team as any team with such a lethal scorer can be.
Redinger told me she hasn’t decided where she will continue her playing career because she is still deciding what to study.
Regardless, she’s a must-see player. After all, players that score the basketball with such ease and in droves just don’t come around very often.
Special thanks to Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester for being one of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’S loyal sponsors. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.com/
You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on his posts on Twitter @Maxsports983 and on Facebook (http://facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net.
