When Butler announced that it would be traveling out west to play fellow college basketball powerhouse Gonzaga and recent up-swing Stanford, many thought it would be a challenging trip. When fans realized that the trip would follow games against Louisville, Xavier, IU, and Purdue, everyone knew it would be tough to come out ahead. And when Shelvin Mack left Butler early for the NBA this past summer, everyone should have known that the early 2011-2012 season would be a struggle.
Butler's youth shows promise, but struggles still remain. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review)
Why then, is everyone so surprised that Butler is 5-7?
On Tuesday, following a surprising comeback win against Purdue a few days earlier, Butler took the court against a Gonzaga team that has only lost at home seven times in the past 101 games. Despite the Zags winning by 16, one of the worst shooting teams in college basketball, as many label Butler, once again hung around with an elite opponent until late in the game.
Not to mention the Bulldogs had two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup and another freshman (Woods) played significant minutes down the stretch.
In other words, Butler shot 36% from the field, 24% from the 3-point line (10.5% without Fromm), 25% on free-throws (on only four FT attempts), and started four Frosh in a game against a team that doesn’t lose at home – and was within 7 with 4:30 left in the game.
In fact, the lead was only more than ten point for only 7 minutes and 11 seconds the entire game.In the eyes of neutral basketball experts, many could consider this game to be one of those “moral victory” type wins for such a young and inexperienced team. In the eyes of some irrational Butler fans however, this loss continued to feed the outrageous claims that Brad Stevens doesn’t know what he is doing.
As I said last week, this Butler team is only a few shots/possessions from being deemed “good,” but for now they remain very much a work in progress.
Sophomore Erik Fromm showed why he deserved to start on Tuesday following a solid performance against Purdue by stretching the Gonzaga defense and scoring a career high 16 points in just 25 minutes of action. Khyle Marshall is beginning to show why he will eventually be Butler’s go-to player and Rose Jones and Kam Woods continue to impress in their first season of college basketball.
The leadership and decision making from veteran players is not where it should be – blame it on them trying to do too much for their team. The defensive rotation still needs to be ironed out – blame it on this being only the 12th collegiate game for the majority of the team.
But when you truly break it down: an inexperienced Butler team with a strenuous non-conference schedule, it is hard to be too upset. Frustrated? Sure, but not upset. What this team needs is some time – the same time that almost every team in the country would need after losing 64% of their scoring and 48% of their rebounding from last year’s championship team.
Butler wraps up its ambitious non-conference schedule tonight against a Stanford team who is 28th in AP voting this week and has only lost to #1 ranked Syracuse this season on its way to a 10-1 record. If the Bulldogs win, it could be a huge confidence boost for the young Bulldogs. If they lose, it will simply mark the end of a great learning opportunity for both players and coaches.
Regardless of outcome, the Horizon League awaits their arrival in Indianapolis on December 29 against Green Bay, and if the past is any indication, the Bulldogs will be ready when it matters most.
The schedule Coach Stevens took on is honorable but considering the inexperience of the team, it has been too much. They don’t have much confidence whatsoever. There is no such thing as moral victories, especially for a team that played in back-to-back title games. This team will be much better next season.
I’m sticking with the team through this tough time. They’ve given us so much the last two years and deserve our unwavering support. As usual, Coach will get this team going come later in the season. We’ll be all set when those two shooters are available next season.
BU!
Is it the fans or the media who fans the flames of discontent. There are many great fans who appreciate what Butler and Brad Stevens have done. If there are those who feel Coach Stevens doesn’t know what he is doing they are the vast minority. Not only is he a great coach, he is a great role model. Butler and Stevens are an example of what the game is, and should be about, not the multi million dollar programs it has become elsewhere. Go dawgs