BUTLER

vu72 · December 19, 2012, 06:58:42 PM

Quote from: atkins on December 15, 2012, 09:58:55 PM
I think Stevens could teach Bryce a few things about coaching. Hopefully, in a few years, Valpo will be able to win big games like Stevens' teams do. Somehow, Butler beats teams that would destroy us by at least 30. I hate to say it, but I think if Valpo played IU, the mercy rule would have to intervene.

So Bryce, in his FIRST year, after beating Stevens three straight times and being named Coach of the Year, will learn things from Stevens? He took a team predicted to be fourth or fifth to a two games lead and the Conference regular season title.

Somehow if had beaten Nebraska, St. Louis and New Mexico this guy would be saying "yeah, but nothing compared to who Butler beat". Look, Butler is playing great team basketball no doubt. My hats off to them. Just don't write off the Crusaders like the Butler fans did after getting beat up by Xavier. BTW, they were also significantly questioning Brad's coaching and in particular his recruiting "failures."

zvillehaze · December 19, 2012, 09:07:07 PM

I agree with vu72 ... Bryce seems like he's doing just fine and is a good fit for Valpo.

EddieCabot · January 01, 2013, 11:14:05 AM

Off topic, but thought I'd just tack on here instead of starting a new thread. A friend shared some tweets from Valpo beat writer / professor Paul Oren ... looks like he was enjoying his New Year's Eve celebration last night.

Paul Oren ‏@NWIOren
As you celebrate your new year, remember its been 730 days since @ValpoBasketball lost to Butler. #domination

Paul Oren ‏@pauloren
Happy New Year. If you didn't catch it on @NWIOren, it's been 730 days since Butler beat Valpo. @iameb15 @BigBobCapo @rbroekhoff45

FWIW, I understand why Paul is so proud of those wins over Butler as it was quite an accomplishment for Valpo and needs to be mentioned more often. Hats off to Valpo, because they really came to play in those matchups.

Disappointng that they don't play this year, but it's a win-win of sorts as Valpo is having a great year as the Horizon League favorite and Butler's been able to recover from the Valpo domination and seems to have avoided the fall to irrelevancy and mediocrity predicted by many on this board. As someone who follows both teams, it's nice to see them doing so well. For those hoping for a Valpo - Butler game this year, maybe we'll see one come March!

Happy New Year to all and best of luck in 2013!

vuweathernerd · January 02, 2013, 09:55:40 AM

i wouldn't mind giving the seniors one last shot at butler before they graduate. with the improved chemistry as the season has gone on, i think it'd be a very good game, regardless of where they'd play.

HC · January 06, 2013, 11:47:25 AM

http://cbbpps.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/butler-bulldogs-are-they-for-real/

Butler doesn't have the star power (Clarke isn't a star IMO), but they don't hurt themselves and they play great defense. Are they a top 20 team?

EddieCabot · January 06, 2013, 05:45:29 PM

Quote from: HC on January 06, 2013, 11:47:25 AM
http://cbbpps.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/butler-bulldogs-are-they-for-real/

Butler doesn't have the star power (Clarke isn't a star IMO), but they don't hurt themselves and they play great defense. Are they a top 20 team?

Interesting analysis ... can't wait to see what happens when Butler plays some "solid teams".

HorizonFan · January 06, 2013, 06:41:17 PM

Butler isn't a top 20 team, however, Valpo is!

valporun · January 06, 2013, 06:59:07 PM

Butler isn't exactly a top 20 team, I'll agree, but let's see how they do after a few weeks of conference play.

VULB#62 · January 08, 2013, 05:00:14 PM

Man, their OOC schedule is pretty brutal. Now they have A-10 teams to contend with, but they haven't lost since November 21 to U of I in Maui. They're doing something right. Hard to believe it reasonably the same team we kicked around last year Great example of melding new players with vets and not losing much in the transition. I'm not aware of Stevens' coaching style. Is he a disciplinarian, forceful and demanding, or is he a little more low key? From a distance, I tend see Bryce as more of the latter and a "teacher" type rather than the authoritarian type. There are good things to be said for both styles. And then you have John Wooden who was, ironically, all of the above.

vu72 · January 31, 2013, 10:03:22 PM

Wow! Just watched St. Louis beat the dawgs like we did in the tourney last year, maybe worse. 21 tos and a 19? point win which was really worse than that. They certainly do get peoples best shot and they got it tonight. No disrespect intended, it might be similar to Duke getting drilled the other night. They are beatable, but still a very good team.

StlVUFan · February 01, 2013, 01:40:45 AM

Quote from: vu72 on January 31, 2013, 10:03:22 PM
Wow! Just watched St. Louis beat the dawgs like we did in the tourney last year, maybe worse. 21 tos and a 19? point win which was really worse than that. They certainly do get peoples best shot and they got it tonight. No disrespect intended, it might be similar to Duke getting drilled the other night. They are beatable, but still a very good team.

From my seat in section 102 across from the Butler bench, I saw SLU play very stifling defense, and Butler's point guards were not up to the task, more often than not. I don't know if I've ever seen more of a lock-down defensive effort.

Khyle Marshall had a pass late in the 1st half that would have made Lubos Barton throw up: served it right on a silver platter for Jake Barnett. I thought Stevens was going to plunge the fingers of one hand clean through the palm of his other hand calling the timeout.

Actually, SLU probably should have beat them by 40, considering all the layups they missed, but I was impressed at how they kept the pedal to the metal until garbage time (the last 3 minutes by my estimation). Needless to say, Butler laid an egg tonight. There were small stretches where Butler caught SLU napping, but the home team recovered fairly quickly.