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• Just What the Doctor Ordered

  November 23, 2011

  I'm a family man.

  With Thanksgiving creeping closer and closer and the Butler Bulldogs down by 15 points at halftime to the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, I was ready to skip my new duties as an independent blogger and start mentally preparing and fasting for tomorrow.

  But Brad Stevens and Co. had a different outcome in mind.

  Butler gave up 50 points in the first half to head into the Hinkle locker rooms down 50-35. It was essentially the worst half of Butler basketball in a year. Gardner-Webb shot upwards of 70% from the field in the first half, including an absurd eight of 10 from 3-point range.

  That's when Butler basketball reared it's beautiful head.

  The Dawgs came out after halftime and gave up two points in the first eight minutes. Going on a 16-0 run to cut the lead to 52-51 on a 3-point play by Andrew Smith. At that point, it was Butler's game to lose.

  100% of the momentum was in Butler's favor and the upperclass leadership of the team guided this team to the 68-66 victory. With a little help from Stevens.

  In the post-game interview with MyIndyTV, Stevens credited upperclassmen Ronald Nored, Garrett Butcher and Smith with getting this young team under control.

  And after giving up 50 points in the first, the peer leaders of this team had to light a fire and get everyone playing the type of Butler basketball that has led to two straight National Title Game appearances.

  This is exactly the type of game that brings a team together and gets them playing as one unit. And THAT is what the doctor ordered for this young team. One moment that serves as a learning experience for every single person in a Butler uniform. 

  I'm not saying that Butler is going to magically turn into an unstoppable force. There will be plenty of stumbles and bumps in the road during this season. But this is what a young team, looking for an identity, needs.

  One game to build unity, cohesion and a perfect example of how the game needs to be played...and it didn't even have to come during a loss. Huge.

  The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Chrishawn Hopkins, who scored 22 points (6-6 from the line) and had been previously bashed on this blog for dropping off the end of the earth. Hopkins started his first game of the year, took the team's first two shots and scored it's first five points.

  Smith, also called out by yours truly, scored 11 and Stigall scored 14 including 4-9 from 3-point land, including one that was drained from nearby Broad Ripple.

  I was ready to quit on this team tonight.

  It's a good thing the Butler Bulldogs weren't.

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• When Everything Doesn't Go According to Plan

  November 19, 2011

  I know EXACTLY how Butler University's head men's basketball coach Brad Stevens is feeling right now. Okay, not exactly, but I'm in the fieldhouse.

  The day started off well for me. Went to work, got a few things done and got ready to watch my Butler Bulldogs square off against #7 Louisville Cardinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Then came the figurative halftime of my day...

  Much like the Bulldogs, after the break my day never really was the same. I couldn't access ESPN3 to watch the game, I spilled my game-time beverage and had to resort to watching the game log roll by on my iPhone screen.

  This must be how the entire Butler crew is feeling after a disappointing 69-53 loss to the short-handed Cardinals in front of a 9,000-plus Hinkle crowd.

  Even Butler junior Chase Stigall tweeted this morning that the team was "super hyped" for this matchup. What happened?

  In my professional, game-log-browsing analysis. Halftime, that's what happened.

  The Dawgs were never able to really get into a good offensive flow during the first half and were down just 29-28. But the second half consisted of absolutely zero offensive cohesion.

  The first half was really how I was expecting the game to go. Dominated by defense, a slow pace and holding the Cardinals to points in the paint (which Louisville did very well in both halves).

  Unfortunately for the Dawgs, Cardinal sharp-shooter Kyle Kuric picked up the slack of injured leader Peyton Siva, and Chris Smith added to BU's second half woes by scoring all but two of his 15 points in the second frame.

  Sophomore Khyle Marshall paced the Dawgs with 20 points and six boards and the aforementioned Stigall kicked in 11 points...in the first half.

  The two halves appeared to be exact opposites in the eyes of this Butler fan. And I'm wondering if that's what all the Bulldogs feel tonight.

  Essentially Marshall and Stigall were the two starters who showed up M.I.A in the first two games for Butler and thankfully were able to take the lid of the bucket today. But the previous two game's leaders, sophomore Chrishawn Hopkins and junior Andrew Smith went off grid and could have easily kicked in more offense than their respective four points each.

  Going into this year, I assumed this wasn't going to be a strong shooting time like the A.J. Graves, Pete Campbell, Bruce Horan and Brandon Crone teams of yesteryear. But no one could have envisioned the two top shooters in the starting five (Hopkins and Stigall) shooting 33% and 29% through the first three games.

  This team has amazing potential and it may be somewhat similar to the 2008-2009 team that lost to LSU in the first round of the NCAA tournament. There will be bumps in the road, and the wins Butler does pick up will be the hard-fought, 59-57 defensive struggles that coach Stevens loves.

  But after today's loss, all I can think about is "what if".

  What if Smith and Hopkins could have scored in double-digits?

  What if Hopkins' first half heave at the buzzer would have gone in? Putting the Dawgs up two going to the locker room.

  What if Butler still had a guy by the name of Mack in uniform besides unemployed in the stands?

  This may be a season of "what if's" for Bulldog Nation.

  And unless coach Stevens can get this group of "kids with huge upsides" together in a hurry, there's going to be one ugly non-conference record waiting for the Horizon League favorite come conference play.

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