From Pups to Dogs, Butler University Building Mid-Major Powerhouse

It’s not a secret.  Seven of the last nine years, the Butler Bulldogs have been in a postseason tournament, with five of them being the NCAA tournament.  These include two Sweet 16 appearances out of those five years and last year’s team, which lost in the second round, that was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country.

This continued success has put the Butler Bulldogs as a top mid-major program year in and year out.

Typically, though, the previous Butler squads that have made noise in the NCAA tournament were made up of juniors and seniors that grew with good coaching (Barry Collier, Thad Matta, Todd Lickliter, and now Brad Stevens) and familiarity with the system.

The roster this year is made up of six freshmen (Chase Stigall and Emerson Kampen are redshirting), four sophomores (Grant Leiendecker has sophomore eligibility), led by Matt Howard, and four juniors.  Two of those juniors (Nick Rodgers and Alex Anglin) are walk-ons and rarely see the floor.

With a roster young and inexperienced as a whole, one would expect a down year from the Butler Bulldogs.  But that is why games are played.

Picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, these young ‘Dogs have come out swinging and are taking no prisoners.

While the true anchor of this team is and will always be super sophomore Matt Howard, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be where they’re at without their young freshmen.  These young pups are arguably the best to ever walk onto the Butler University campus, as well as the best the Horizon League has ever seen, and they are proving it.

The three players that head this freshman class are 6’0” point guard Ronald Nored, 6’3” combo guard/stud Shelvin Mack, and 6’8” small forward Gordon Hayward, all starters.  6’7” Garrett Butcher is the fourth freshman who is also receiving playing time.

Nored, Mack, and Hayward are the type of players that Butler is now able to recruit because of its recent success.  Nored is a quick, athletic true point guard who originally committed to Western Kentucky, but de-committed after their coach left.

His quickness and ability to get to the basket is an attribute that Butler hasn’t had since Thomas Jackson was running the point, but Nored has a quicker first step.  He has shown a knack for getting to the bucket, especially at key times of an offensive drought.

Mack is a combo guard that can really do it all: pass, rebound, score, and play great defense.  He currently is third on the team in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and leads the team in assists.

Mack has a similar style to Mike Green, the do it all guard for the two previous seasons.  While his style is similar, he is far more athletic and already has that look of a crunch time player.

I am sure Billy Gillespie is kicking himself for not keeping the runner-up for Kentucky's Mr. Basketball at home in Lexington.  It is mind-boggling to think that someone of Mack's caliber can get looked over, especially for a struggling program looking to regain its swagger.

Because of his size and versatility, Hayward has a chance to be something special.  The Brownsburg, IN native has the ability to play the 1, 2, and 3. After a year or two in the weight room, he should be able to play the 4. The versatile G/F was being recruited by Big Ten schools and has a game similar to Robbie Hummel of Purdue, who was a named Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.

Hayward leads the team in three-point percentage and showed just how much of a game-breaker he can be against Ohio State, Butler’s lone loss on the season.  He literally kept the Bulldogs in the game with 25 points, hitting 7-12 from the three-point line and narrowly missing the game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

Against Xavier, Hayward provided a key block at the end of the game on what looked to be an easy lay-in that sealed the game.

Butcher, while not contributing as quickly as the previous three, was first team All-State in Indiana last year.  Hayward was actually second team.  His minutes have increased as of late and will be a major factor as the season progresses with his size and versatility.  If Butcher improves his defense, he'll help provide depth to the frontline and see increased minutes. 

This class has already progressed faster than any Butler fan could have imagined.  They don’t play like 18-year-old boys, more like 22-year-old men, and are truly team first ballplayers.  Throw in the fact that anyone of these four, as well as Matt Howard, could be playing for bigger programs, and you have one huge problem if you are a fan of any other mid-major program.

Head coach Brad Stevens will always look for the team first student athletes, but to be able to recruit higher caliber players with these attributes will only make the Butler program scary good.

At 10-1, and already knocking off previously ranked No. 12 Xavier, where can this team go?  What is the ceiling?  Butler fans contemplate this on a daily basis, but one thing is for certain: After only 11 games into the season, the rest of the Horizon League coaches are most certainly having a hard time sleeping knowing that this class is just 11 games into their college career at Butler.

Another four years in the Dance are likely.  At least one Sweet 16 is likely.  And I don’t doubt for one moment that this cast will see an Elite Eight before their time is up, and quite possibly a Final Four.

Look out, college basketball world, because Butler is here to stay, and they are only going to get better.  Are you ready?