Butler Starting Fresh

INDIANAPOLIS–For two years running, Butler has been the darling of the NCAA tournament. Pretty much viewed as the Little Engine That Could, the Bulldogs made college basketball purists swoon and unaligned fans rush out to jewelry stores to buy engagement rings because they had fallen in love with the little school a few miles west of downtown Indianapolis.

But apparently there is a statute of limitations on being embraced as Cinderella. Not even Butler’s most fanatical followers, never mind fairweather friends who might have kept the receipt and returned the baubles after the Bulldogs lost to Connecticut in the 2011 championship game, are pretending that things are the same around storied Hinkle Fieldhouse.

That is the difference between teams like Butler, which plays in the Horizon League, and teams like Duke of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Butler and its similar cohorts rebuild while Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and other members of college basketball’s aristocracy reload. It wasn’t so long ago that Boy Wonder coach Brad Stevens was considered the second coming of John Wooden. Now his Bulldogs are not even favorites to win their league title, nevermind make a third straight run to the Final Four.

Two years ago when Butler upset team after team in the NCAA tournament to reach the championship game in its home town, the campus being a mere six miles from Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis was in a delirium. With the Bulldogs the last team still standing from the area (out-lasting Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Valparaiso, Indiana State and Evansville) every Hoosier was a Butler Believer. It was a sweet and astounding thing to watch the adoption process. The campus store was over-run. The demand for Butler T-shirts, sweatshirts and other souvenirs became something on the order of a $2 million business.

Hoops fans just could not get over the fact that the Butler guys were regular guys and right up until the day before their Final Four games actually went to class. The last time anyone got so much attention for cracking a textbook it was probably Albert Einstein. The Bulldogs represented a fresh face on the national scene, an aberration from the general rule that had teams from mid-major conferences making a first- or second-round splash only to flame out. Well, Butler’s fire never subsided and their players became household names on the big stage.

The Bulldogs rode the wave as long as they could as the reluctant collegiate version of “Hoosiers,” the real-life, next-level kin of the high schoolers in the movie based on Milan, Indiana’s remarkable 1954 Indiana high school championship. It came down to the last seconds and the last shot against Duke, with forward Gordy Hayward’s long shot rimming out to prevent a storybook ending.

People pretty much treated Butler as if the team had won the crown, anyway. The Bulldogs were VIP invitees to the Indianapolis 500. They were guests who took a lap around the same scene-of-their-achievement stadium for the Indianapolis Colts’ home opener. Hayward became an NBA lottery pick and left school early for millions of dollars offered by the Utah Jazz. And Stevens was mentioned as a candidate for every major college coaching job opening. Instead, he signed a new 12-year deal to remain at Butler.

At the first home game in the fall of 2010, the school unveiled a Finalist banner hanging from the rafters commemorating the 33-5 season and it was a lovefest all over again at Hinkle. Many would have bet that this was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

To the amazement of all, it was not. A year later the Bulldogs did it all over again, riding the broad shoulders of Matt Howard (now playing professionally in Greece) and guard Shelvin Mack (who left school early and was drafted by the Washington Wizards).  It came harder the second time around. As late as early February, the Bulldogs were inconsistent frequent losers and were stuck several notches below first place in the Horizon League. Then they erupted, did magical things all over again and woke up in early April in the championship game once more. This time it wasn’t as close, but hey, two years in a row felt like lightning striking twice.

Now Butler is no longer under radar and this year they could use a little natural camouflage. Except for Ronald Nored, the point guard, no one else is still on the roster who played significant minutes for both of the Final Four runs. There are six freshmen and a couple of sophomores, meaning that Stevens finally has an entire team that looks younger than him.

Last week at Hinkle, they held an instant-replay ceremony to raise another banner to the sky. Fans provided a standing ovation. Radio replays of the finest celebratory moments from the NCAA tournament were played over a loudspeaker. Some got chills from reliving that special time.

But as in every sport, the next season rolls around and there are always new opponents who want to knock you off and steal a little thunder. This year might be a better measurement of just how good a coach Stevens is with a young, inexperienced team he must mold. At Butler they will have fun watching the squad develop. The glow of recent winters past will not fade easily, but not every season can be the best year of your life.