USA TODAY: 'Butler Way' includes sense of urgency
Feb 15, 2007 8:41:34 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Feb 15, 2007 8:41:34 GMT -5
www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2007-02-14-butler-focus_x.htm?csp=25
'Butler Way' includes sense of urgency
By David Woods, USA TODAY
INDIANAPOLIS — Butler's Bulldogs play basketball in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in 1928 and the site for filming the mega-popular Hoosiers. Recent history, though, weighs more heavily upon them.
In 2002, a Butler team regarded as the most talented in school history entered its conference tournament with a 25-4 record, only to lose to No. 8 seed Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round. The Bulldogs were left out of the NCAA tournament, then slept little after learning in the middle of the night that the mother of guard Rob Walls had died. Those in the program don't like to talk about or relive that night.
The Snub, though, is a conversation topic — and motivational source — for the 2007 team. Everyone says the No. 12 Bulldogs (24-3) are sure to be in the NCAA field, but the lesson taught at Butler is nothing is sure.
Butler carried a sense of urgency into 2003 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16. The Bulldogs started 2006-07 with similar resolve. Led by a backcourt of A.J. Graves and Mike Green, they won the NIT Season Tip-off by upsetting Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga.
"They've answered the bell every time," Loyola (Ill.) coach Jim Whitesell said admiringly.
Butler's season has wildly exceeded expectations, considering the Bulldogs were projected to finish sixth in the Horizon League. Now, the Bulldogs are intent on building their at-large résumé, because the league's automatic NCAA berth is so uncertain.
Wright State beat Butler 77-65 last week and is in position to host the league tournament. Butler can enhance its stature in Saturday's game against No. 15 Southern Illinois, part of the made-for-TV "Bracket Buster" lineup.
Joel Cornette, Butler's coordinator of basketball operations and a 6-9 center for the 2002 team, has often told players the story of that season.
"I think they can tell, when I still talk about it, how much it hurts and bothers me. They don't want to have that happen to them," said Cornette, who was also on the Sweet 16 team.
"They want to finish this out the right way because they know they've got a team that can make a lot of noise in March, like we thought we would my junior year."
Time-tested formula
Though the players and coaches have changed over the years, Butler has operated as a continuum.
Todd Lickliter, 51, has deviated little from predecessors Barry Collier and Thad Matta. As coaches, they embraced "the Butler Way," which has evolved to mean sublimating individual agendas for group success. It is a system that features stout defense, few turnovers (Butler leads the nation) and three-point shooting. The Bulldogs have four dunks all season.
Collier revived a program that had declined since the days of Tony Hinkle, a legendary figure who coached from 1926-70. In Collier's final four seasons, Butler made three NCAA tournaments, capped by an overtime first-round loss to eventual runner-up Florida in 2000.
Matta, now at Ohio State, stayed one season and led Butler to its first NCAA victory since 1962. After the snub year came the Sweet 16.
"Those experiences helped us grow as a program," Lickliter said. "So that is probably something we've handled with greater maturity."
The Butler family stays close. Collier, after six years coaching at Nebraska, returned to his alma mater last summer as athletics director.
Except for Brad Stevens, who has been on staff the longest, all the coaches played for Butler.
When Matta left for Xavier, players pushed Butler's administration to promote Lickliter from his assistant's job. He justified the selection by winning 53 games in his first two years, a total surpassed by just two coaches in Division I history.
After enduring 16-14 and 13-15 seasons, he restored Butler to the 20-victory plateau a year ago.
Now the Bulldogs are again playing the RPI game, watching their fortunes rise and fall by the numbers. The Ratings percentage Index, a formula used to help select and seed the NCAA field, has Butler 31st this week.
Lickliter rarely elaborates on rankings, RPI or anything he considers ancillary. His self-deprecating humor is the highlight of news conferences devoid of sound bites. A coach once told him he was the worst athlete to play Division I basketball, a contention he doesn't dispute.
"We're just trying to play good basketball," is his customary sign-off line.
Small-town feel
It is tempting to characterize Butler as a team of student-athletes or a collection of small-town Hoosiers. Yet that is essentially true.
Nine players were honored for having a 3.25 grade-point averages or higher. Moreover, their fiery leader (6-6 forward Brandon Crone), leading scorer (Graves, at 17.4 points a game), top three-point shooter (6-7 junior forward Pete Campbell, at 51.9%) and best defender (former walk-on Drew Streicher) all played for small Indiana high schools.
Campbell was a non-factor early while recovering from a stress fracture in his leg. He has been extraordinary in coming off the bench. Since Jan. 6 he has averaged 14.5 points and shot 58.5% on three-pointers.
Graves usually is at his best when Butler needs him most. He was MVP of the NIT, scored 15 of his 26 points in two overtimes against Kent State in November and 10 of 26 points in an overtime victory at Loyola last month. He leads the NCAA in free throw percentage (96.5%).
Yet it is Green, more than anyone else, who has transformed the Bulldogs. The 6-1 junior point guard from Philadelphia transferred from Towson (Md.) and spent his redshirt season learning a system he was seemingly created to play in. He leads in assists (4.1 a game) and rebounds (5.7 a game) and has a drive-and-dish style complementing teammates. "If I do my job," he said, "we've got a chance to win games big."
Crowds have grown bigger at Hinkle Fieldhouse in a city that can be tepid in its support. Butler lags behind not only the Super Bowl champion Colts and Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis media coverage but also Indiana and Purdue.
Butler, with an enrollment of 4,200, is a college version of Milan, the tiny school that won Indiana's state high school championship in 1954 and inspired Hoosiers. Graves comes as close as anyone to the movie's hero, Jimmy Chitwood, who re-enacted the winning shot by Bobby Plump — a former Butler star.
Still, Butler's recent history with the NCAA selection committee looms large over this team, and in one aspect, that history might prove beneficial. After the 2002 snub, NCAA insiders let Butler know it should not have happened. "I think that team did something for college basketball," Lickliter said. "I think the RPI and the way they evaluate it changed."
Maybe so. The Butler Way is to leave no doubt.
***
David Woods also writes for The Indianapolis Star
'Butler Way' includes sense of urgency
By David Woods, USA TODAY
INDIANAPOLIS — Butler's Bulldogs play basketball in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in 1928 and the site for filming the mega-popular Hoosiers. Recent history, though, weighs more heavily upon them.
In 2002, a Butler team regarded as the most talented in school history entered its conference tournament with a 25-4 record, only to lose to No. 8 seed Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round. The Bulldogs were left out of the NCAA tournament, then slept little after learning in the middle of the night that the mother of guard Rob Walls had died. Those in the program don't like to talk about or relive that night.
The Snub, though, is a conversation topic — and motivational source — for the 2007 team. Everyone says the No. 12 Bulldogs (24-3) are sure to be in the NCAA field, but the lesson taught at Butler is nothing is sure.
Butler carried a sense of urgency into 2003 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16. The Bulldogs started 2006-07 with similar resolve. Led by a backcourt of A.J. Graves and Mike Green, they won the NIT Season Tip-off by upsetting Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga.
"They've answered the bell every time," Loyola (Ill.) coach Jim Whitesell said admiringly.
Butler's season has wildly exceeded expectations, considering the Bulldogs were projected to finish sixth in the Horizon League. Now, the Bulldogs are intent on building their at-large résumé, because the league's automatic NCAA berth is so uncertain.
Wright State beat Butler 77-65 last week and is in position to host the league tournament. Butler can enhance its stature in Saturday's game against No. 15 Southern Illinois, part of the made-for-TV "Bracket Buster" lineup.
Joel Cornette, Butler's coordinator of basketball operations and a 6-9 center for the 2002 team, has often told players the story of that season.
"I think they can tell, when I still talk about it, how much it hurts and bothers me. They don't want to have that happen to them," said Cornette, who was also on the Sweet 16 team.
"They want to finish this out the right way because they know they've got a team that can make a lot of noise in March, like we thought we would my junior year."
Time-tested formula
Though the players and coaches have changed over the years, Butler has operated as a continuum.
Todd Lickliter, 51, has deviated little from predecessors Barry Collier and Thad Matta. As coaches, they embraced "the Butler Way," which has evolved to mean sublimating individual agendas for group success. It is a system that features stout defense, few turnovers (Butler leads the nation) and three-point shooting. The Bulldogs have four dunks all season.
Collier revived a program that had declined since the days of Tony Hinkle, a legendary figure who coached from 1926-70. In Collier's final four seasons, Butler made three NCAA tournaments, capped by an overtime first-round loss to eventual runner-up Florida in 2000.
Matta, now at Ohio State, stayed one season and led Butler to its first NCAA victory since 1962. After the snub year came the Sweet 16.
"Those experiences helped us grow as a program," Lickliter said. "So that is probably something we've handled with greater maturity."
The Butler family stays close. Collier, after six years coaching at Nebraska, returned to his alma mater last summer as athletics director.
Except for Brad Stevens, who has been on staff the longest, all the coaches played for Butler.
When Matta left for Xavier, players pushed Butler's administration to promote Lickliter from his assistant's job. He justified the selection by winning 53 games in his first two years, a total surpassed by just two coaches in Division I history.
After enduring 16-14 and 13-15 seasons, he restored Butler to the 20-victory plateau a year ago.
Now the Bulldogs are again playing the RPI game, watching their fortunes rise and fall by the numbers. The Ratings percentage Index, a formula used to help select and seed the NCAA field, has Butler 31st this week.
Lickliter rarely elaborates on rankings, RPI or anything he considers ancillary. His self-deprecating humor is the highlight of news conferences devoid of sound bites. A coach once told him he was the worst athlete to play Division I basketball, a contention he doesn't dispute.
"We're just trying to play good basketball," is his customary sign-off line.
Small-town feel
It is tempting to characterize Butler as a team of student-athletes or a collection of small-town Hoosiers. Yet that is essentially true.
Nine players were honored for having a 3.25 grade-point averages or higher. Moreover, their fiery leader (6-6 forward Brandon Crone), leading scorer (Graves, at 17.4 points a game), top three-point shooter (6-7 junior forward Pete Campbell, at 51.9%) and best defender (former walk-on Drew Streicher) all played for small Indiana high schools.
Campbell was a non-factor early while recovering from a stress fracture in his leg. He has been extraordinary in coming off the bench. Since Jan. 6 he has averaged 14.5 points and shot 58.5% on three-pointers.
Graves usually is at his best when Butler needs him most. He was MVP of the NIT, scored 15 of his 26 points in two overtimes against Kent State in November and 10 of 26 points in an overtime victory at Loyola last month. He leads the NCAA in free throw percentage (96.5%).
Yet it is Green, more than anyone else, who has transformed the Bulldogs. The 6-1 junior point guard from Philadelphia transferred from Towson (Md.) and spent his redshirt season learning a system he was seemingly created to play in. He leads in assists (4.1 a game) and rebounds (5.7 a game) and has a drive-and-dish style complementing teammates. "If I do my job," he said, "we've got a chance to win games big."
Crowds have grown bigger at Hinkle Fieldhouse in a city that can be tepid in its support. Butler lags behind not only the Super Bowl champion Colts and Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis media coverage but also Indiana and Purdue.
Butler, with an enrollment of 4,200, is a college version of Milan, the tiny school that won Indiana's state high school championship in 1954 and inspired Hoosiers. Graves comes as close as anyone to the movie's hero, Jimmy Chitwood, who re-enacted the winning shot by Bobby Plump — a former Butler star.
Still, Butler's recent history with the NCAA selection committee looms large over this team, and in one aspect, that history might prove beneficial. After the 2002 snub, NCAA insiders let Butler know it should not have happened. "I think that team did something for college basketball," Lickliter said. "I think the RPI and the way they evaluate it changed."
Maybe so. The Butler Way is to leave no doubt.
***
David Woods also writes for The Indianapolis Star