Sunday, April 03, 2011

When Will The Butler Bulldogs Get Some Respect?

Q. When does a two-time NCAA finalist stop being a Cinderella Team?

A. When they win it all and shut up the TV fools like Charles Barkley.


To his credit he did give them some props, after they beat the real Cinderella Team that the media wanted in the finals for ratings purposes. But before the game and at halftime, Barkley and some of his colleagues just had to keep harping about how VCU would eventually wear Butler down.

It didn't happen.

It hasn't happened in any tourney game in the last two years.

The only game they lost in the last two was the title game against Duke, only by a basket. That's not wearing anyone down and the entire nation watched that last shot from Hayward fly towards that basket, only to be a hair off the mark.

I can understand last year. It was a magical run. And like everyone else, I figured with Hayward leaving for the NBA, it probably wouldn't happen again. I knew the Bulldogs could send some teams home early in heartbreak, shock, and disillusionment. But that would probably be about it.

To their credit, they didn't listen to me. They have been believers in themselves more than anyone else. When they came back against a very good Florida team, I knew they were for real and have the makings of a potential champion. They are proving to the world that were more than just Hayward last year, they are a TEAM. Like one announcer said last night, Butler is good at playing bad. This means they can play badly and still beat you because they never quit, regardless of how they are playing.

Let me tell you (if you are a basketball fan who is not a UConn fan) why you should be for Butler Monday night:

1. They play the game, the way the game should be played.

They have been playing bigger, stronger, teams that are sometimes very physical. These teams have used their sizes and strength to intimidate the smaller Butler team. Basically they have played thugball, but they lost anyway.

Butler is patient and does not give up even when they are down. They pass the ball, spread the court, and do not allow pressure in the back court to get them rattled. If they make a mistake, they forget about it and keep playing on.

2. They put the student back in student athletes.

These guys are smart, all of them. If you meet one and speak to him, you get some damned intelligent conversation about basketball or anything else they are studying. You do not get jive ebonics, or all glory to God speeches.

93% of the current class of Butler freshmen have a 3.0 HS average or above. 50% has a 3.75 or higher.

The focus at this university is clearly on academics, not big money sports. They play in an old fieldhouse that was once the site of the Indiana championship games is years gone by, you may have seen it if you watched the movie Hoosiers. Their enrollment, including grad students, is around 4600.

Most of these guys will truly go pro in something other than basketball.

Forward Matt Howard (son of a postman) has a 3.88 in Financing. Ten of the players on the roster are from the state of Indiana. Shelvin Mack, a junior, is from Lexington Kentucky and may be the only player who has the skills to turn pro. (I bet UK wishes they would have given this kid a closer look, instead of the yo-yos that came and played the required one year, before going into the NBA.)

So unless you are committed to UConn for some reason or are a racist TV analyst, why would you not pull for Butler?

They do this right. They are building a solid program based on scholarship and athletics is a side act.

Brad Stevens gave up a great marketing job at Eli Lilly to pursue his dream of coaching basketball, starting out as a low paying assistant. They gave him a decent raise to stay last year when others were courting him after last year, but it's nothing like Calhoun, Calipari, and others make.

Stevens may eventually jump ship for more money. Who could blame him? If this thing with Tom Crean doesn't work out at IU, we may see Brad being hired as his replacement, down the road. He could make the big time and still stay in Indiana. But if you look at this realistically, he's making it big time right now.

Crean has NC Center Tyler Zeller's brother, Cody, coming in next year. He is also a 7-footer and there will be no excuses to not be competitive. no one expected miracles out of the Hoosiers after Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson decimated the entire program. But if Crean cannot get the job done and improve this performance, maybe Stevens can. I can only imagine what Brad could do with a strong 7-footer on this Butler team right now.

Go Dawgs!!!

12 comments:

Tom said...

I'm pulling for them. I'm a former Indianapolis resident.

LA Sunset said...

Tom, I remember you telling me that once.

I have no ties to the university except many of my pharmacist friends are grads.

Go Dawgs!!!

LA Sunset said...

And I drive by the campus every now and then.

A.C. McCloud said...

I actually heard Barkley give them some props yesterday. He called them a smart team who don't make mental errors.

I'll be rooting for them--I know at least one former Butler student!

Chuck said...

They had my respect last year. There are no Cinderella teams in the National Championship. You get there, you belong there IMHO.

I think this may be a new world order in NCAA basketball. I think high school teams have developed their programs enough that, along with a limit on scholarships, mid-majors are going to start making noise.

There's good basketball in some of these "other" conferences.

LA Sunset said...

AC,

I heard him but that was AFTER he made such a big deal about VCU being the far better team before the game and at halftime. Right after Butler won last weekend, he started with it.

And....he really hasn't been much of a fan throughout the tourney.

Like I said, I wasn't sure about them because they did lose a very good player to the pros last year. Knew they could do damage, but didn't think they had it this year. But after Pit, WI and FL, you cannot deny this is a good team. Barkley never said it until they made fools of him.

In my opinion, Barkley has always been a big mouth, who knows very little. Why they hired him is way beyond me.

LA Sunset said...

Chuck,

Can you imagine what this team would look like if Hayward had stayed on this team one more year. I bet all of these wins would be by 10 or more. Still... they have some real mettle and could win it, if they play like they have been.

Greg said...

Hard not to root for Butler, especially as they knock down big-name schools with no recruiting scruples. Seriously - Jim Calhoun is kind of a ruthless dirtbag when it comes to building his teams. Also, I can't imagine Butler losing the final 2 years in a row. Last year was heartbreaking. So, like everyone outside of Connecticut, I'll be rooting for Butler tonight. Should be fun.

LA Sunset said...

//Also, I can't imagine Butler losing the final 2 years in a row.//

I remember Buffalo losing 4 Super Bowls in a row.

A.C. McCloud said...

LA, wasn't disagreeing with you on Barkley in general, he is a big mouth that seems to know more than he does. I missed most of the Butler game on Saturday and saw him in a preview later.

They are looking fine tonight so far..

A.C. McCloud said...

Dang

LA Sunset said...

Yeah.....great defense on both teams. But UConn hit the shots when they needed to and Butler didn't.

As for Barkley, he was a bit more reasonable to listen to tonight. But he's still a bobo head.