On The Horizon: 2009-10 Butler Bulldog Basketball Season Preview

Expectations are high as the 2009-2010 Butler Bulldogs look to continue their dominance of the Horizon League and progress further in the NCAA tournament after losing in the first round of the Big Dance last year to LSU, 75-71. The Bulldogs return everyone from last year's squad that went 26-6 and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Key Losses

Director of Basketball Operations Kevin Kuwik left Butler in the offseason to take a position at Ohio State. Most preview articles wouldn't mention a "DoBO," but when that is the only person who left the program, something has to fill this space.

Key Additions

The Bulldogs only have one incoming recruit, center Andrew Smith. Smith is 6'11" from Indianapolis' Covenant Christian H.S. Smith comes with a three-star rating from Rivals and from Scout. 

Smith runs the floor well for a big man and should fit nicely into Butler's offensive system that requires its big men to be able to screen and move. With such a stacked lineup, Smith may be a redshirt candidate this year, or could contribute some minutes backing up Matt Howard.

Butler also has two players who redshirted last year that will have freshman eligibility this year. Chase Stigall is a 6'4" guard from New Castle, Ind., the same city as former Butler players Brandon Miller, Darnell Archey, and Bruce Horan (as well as current Bulldog Zach Hahn).

Stigall was named as part of the Indiana All-Star team that plays against the Kentucky All-Stars each year. As a sophomore, Stigall was part of the 2006 3A State Championship team for New Castle. In 2008, Stigall was regarded as a two-star recruit from Scout and Rivals.

Emerson Kampen also will have freshman eligibility for the Bulldogs. Kampen is a 6'9" center from Yorktown, Ind. who is a preferred walk-on for Butler. At only 189 pounds, Kampen will definitely need to hit the weights to be much of a force on the block.

But Kampen's game reminds many of former Butler sharpshooter Pete Campbell, who also went to Yorktown H.S., so Kampen will spend as much time out by the arc as he will in the paint.

Frontcourt

The Butler frontcourt will be led by reigning Horizon League Player of the Year Matt Howard. Howard, a 6'8" junior from Connersville, Ind., led the Bulldogs last year with 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. 

"The Monsterizer," as dubbed by The Mid-Majority's Kyle Whelliston, has a relentless passion for the game that can be described as Tyler Hansbrough-like.  For Howard to take his game to the next level, he must cut down on his fouling habit. Howard only averaged 27.8 minutes a game by often being in foul trouble, committing 101 fouls over 32 games.

The PF spot will be manned by senior Willie Veasley. Veasley, a native of Freeport, Ill., plays much larger than his 6'3" frame would suggest. Known primarily for his defense and energy, Veasley stepped up his offensive game last season. Veasley averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, and expanded his range, hitting 34 three-pointers at a 32.7 percent clip.

Gordon Hayward, last year's Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, rounds out the frontcourt. Hayward, who has grown another inch to 6'9", has generated the most buzz of any of the current Bulldogs. The sophomore from Indianapolis suburb Brownsburg, Ind. was named to the all-tournament team at this year's FIBA U-19 World Basketball Championships in New Zealand.

Hayward can play any position 1-4 (he doesn't have the post-up game yet for a true center) and his versatility can be noted in his stats. He averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and just under one block per game. Hayward also shot 44.8 percent from three-point range and 81.5 percent from the free-throw line.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla named Hayward one of the 12 most versatile players in America, and Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman named Hayward the fourth-best shooter in the country.

Frontcourt depth for the Bulldogs will primarily be provided by Garrett Butcher and Avery Jukes. Butcher, a 6'7" sophomore from Ellettsville, Ind., played in all 32 games last season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10 minutes per game. Butcher has decent range, hitting seven threes out of 20 attempts last season. Expect a similar contribution this year.

Jukes, a 6'8" senior transfer from Snellville, Ga., by way of Alabama, primarily served as Howard's backup last season. Jukes played in 27 games last season, missing some time with a knee injury. 

In his 27 games, Jukes averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.  Like Butcher, Jukes also has some range, making nine three-pointers on 26 attempts. If Andrew Smith doesn't redshirt, Jukes' role may diminish, or he will take minutes away from Butcher.

Alex Anglin, a 6'5" junior walk-on from Kokomo, Ind., made some nice contributions on the defensive end when Butler's frontcourt got in foul trouble. Anglin got action in ten games last season, but did not score.

Backcourt

Butler's backcourt will be led by a couple sophomores. Shelvin Mack is a 6'3" combo guard from Lexington, Ky. Mack was also member of the USA U-19 team that traveled to New Zealand this summer. Mack is primarily asked to play the two-guard at Butler, but is fully capable of running the point as he did for the USA this summer. 

Mack led Butler last season with 3.5 assists per game, to go along with his 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. He is a streaky shooter, hitting 57 threes, but only at a 32.6 percent rate. His shot can get flat and is something that will hopefully improve this season.

Ronald Nored will handle the duties at the point. Nored has been hampered by a stress fracture in the offseason, and was just recently given the all-clear to resume full-speed practice.

The 6' sophomore from Homewood, Ala. is more renowned for his exploits on defense, as shown in helping force Stephen Curry into several turnovers last year in Butler's win at Davidson. 

Offensively, Nored is a bit of a liability, scoring only 4.2 points a game, including just 22.5 percent from three-point range and only 46.9 percent at the line. Nored was second on the team with 84 assists, but also led the Bulldogs with 77 turnovers. 

Teams could afford to drop off Nored to stop his penetration and help defend Howard inside because of his lack of an outside shot. His ball handling and shooting must improve for the Bulldogs to go to the next level.

Backing up Mack and Nored are two junior guards that were the thought to be heirs to A.J. Graves and Mike Green, Zach Hahn, and Shawn Vanzant. If Nored has continuing problems with his injury, either of these guards could fill in quite well. 

Hahn is from the great line of New Castle sharpshooters, shooting 41 percent from three-point range and 81.8 percent at the line. He was the leading scorer off the bench for the Bulldogs, averaging 5.2 points per game. 

Vanzant, a 6' guard from Tampa, is known primarily for slashing to the basket and his defense. But he did become a bit more confident in his outside shot, hitting 13 three-pointers last season. At 28.9 percent from behind the arc, Vanzant still has some work to do.

Grant Leiendecker, a 6'5" redshirt junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., is known as a lights-out shooter in practice. The problem is, this ability hasn't quite carried over to games yet. In his 26 appearances last season, Leiendecker only hit 13 of his 50 three-point attempts (26 percent).

Unless something changes, Leiendecker will probably lose most to all of his 6.6 minutes per game to Stigall.

Nick Rodgers is a 6'2" senior walk-on from Noblesville, Ind. Rodgers mainly saw action in blowouts, only appearing in seven games last season, tallying one three-pointer. Expect a similar role for Rodgers this season.

Coaching

Brad Stevens enters his third year at the helm of the Bulldogs. All Stevens has accomplished is win the second-most games of any coach in NCAA basketball history in their first two seasons.

Stevens' 56-10 career record is only surpassed by former North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge, who went 58-14 in his first two seasons. 

Stevens recently signed an extension that runs through the 2015-'16 season. He could probably get a lifetime extension if he wanted it. The question that lurks in every Butler fan's mind is when will a big six conference school throw down a seven-figure check in front of Stevens that Butler can't match and Stevens can't refuse?

The assistant coaching staff of Matthew Graves, Terry Johnson, and Micah Shrewsberry remains the same as well. Taking Kuwik's spot as DoBO is Butler cult legend Darnell Archey. Archey set the NCAA Division I record of 85 consecutive free throws without a miss and was a key part of the Bulldogs' 2003 NCAA Sweet 16 team. Archey was previously the head coach of Indianapolis' Park Tudor High School.

Outlook

With one more year of experience and added depth, anything less than a Horizon League Championship and trip to at least the round of 32 in the tournament would be a major disappointment.

Some are calling Butler a sleeper Final Four team, which would be a fairy tale with Butler and the Horizon League hosting the Final Four in Indy this season. That type of run, if it is going to happen, is probably a year away. Butler's third Sweet 16 in eight years is the realistic goal for this squad.