Butler Basketball

The Atlantic 10 is already one of college basketball's strongest non-BCS conferences, led by perennially solid programs like Xavier, Richmond and Saint Louis. Even the A-10, however, has not been immune to the crazed climate of conference realignment.

In 2013, the A-10 will lose one of its bellwether schools as Temple waves goodbye and becomes a full member of the Big East. In response, the league has been linked with a trio of leaders from other conferences, all of whom have made recent Final Four appearances.

Butler, which had ruled the Horizon League for five years until being deposed in 2011-12, has an agreement "all but signed" to join the Atlantic 10 for the 2013-14 season.

The Bulldogs bring the prestige of national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011. No current A-10 member has reached a national final since Dayton—then an independent—in 1967.

Butler has also been the only Horizon member to earn an at-large tournament bid since 1998. Atlantic 10 membership presents an even greater chance to earn such a bid, as the league has sent at least three members to each of the last five NCAA tournaments.

In addition, the A-10 is reportedly in talks with Colonial Athletic Association kingpins, Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason. GMU reached the Final Four in 2006, and VCU battled Butler in the 2011 semifinals.

An ironic twist to the story is that the same unrest that has prompted the Big East to pluck Temple could also be interfering with the A-10's effort to add replacements.

Hampton Roads (Va.) Daily Press columnist David Teel has reported that VCU's outgoing athletic director, Norwood Teague, is recommending that the school remain in the CAA for at least one more season.

VCU may be holding off until the simmering tension between the Big East's FBS football members and its basketball-oriented schools can be resolved.

Preseason reports of the seven non-FBS members considering a split into their own basketball conference were not advanced during basketball season. Still, if such a league did form, Xavier and Dayton would be natural additions connecting Notre Dame, DePaul and Marquette to their east coast opponents.

Losing Xavier and Dayton would do further damage to the A-10's basketball brand and make it a less attractive destination for a solid program like VCU.

Reports have yet to surface regarding how VCU's plans would affect George Mason's decision. If one or both decide to bolt, Old Dominion could be watching intently.

Like fellow Colonial member Georgia State, which is headed for the Sun Belt to accommodate its new FBS football program, ODU is pondering its options. Leaving the CAA for some other league—like the Sun Belt or Conference USA—would likely entail a premature rise to FBS for its own program, which is only entering its fourth season.

Such a move would not be necessary if ODU headed to the Atlantic 10, but no reports have suggested that the A-10 would consider an invitation.

Either way, if the planned Colonial exodus continues, the last team out may need to turn off the lights. Meanwhile, Horizon members like Valparaiso, Detroit and Cleveland State may enjoy not having Butler to kick them around anymore.

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An ESPN.com report on Monday stated that Butler is pursuing a possible move to the Atlantic-10 conference in all sports. In response to that report, Butler Athletic Director and former men's basketball coach Barry Collier told the Indianapolis Star, "all colleges are watching the ever changing landscape." Collier also noted that Butler's relationship with the Horizon League is strong.

Is anybody really surprised that there are whispers of a possible move by Butler? This is a college sports landscape where the Big East, a once powerful basketball conference, is forced to grab schools from the state of Texas. West Virginia is leaving the Big East for the the Big 12, a conference comprised of schools from the southwest. Geographically, most of it makes no sense.

Everything considered, it leaves leagues scrambling to stay alive. Temple will move to the Big East in 2013, and Butler would logically be the basketball power to replace the Owls in the A-10.

The first reaction from most Butler fans is overwhelming joy. It would give the Bulldogs a better conference schedule and limit the possibility for bad losses. A higher rated conference might improve recruiting, and it would give them a better chance to make the NCAA tournament year in and year out. Wouldn't it? 

Not so fast.

In 2001, Richmond, one of the best mid-major programs at the time was the class of the Colonial Athletic Conference. In 2002, the Spiders jumped ship and moved to the A-10. Richmond has been to the NCAA tournament three times since the move. They just finished up a 16-16 campaign. They have become far from a basketball power in the 12 years since the move.

Hold on a second. Didn't Butler just finish an 11-7 season in the Horizon League? In a rebuilding year, that wasn't too bad, but it is not up to the newly formed Butler standard. One of the losses was to Green Bay. That can be compared to losing to George Washington, Charlotte, Fordham or Rhode Island in the A-10. Those would also be considered bad losses and certainly would not look good to a tournament selection committee.

The A-10 is a considered a superior conference to the Horizon League. That means the bottom of the league will be better just as the top of the league will.  

Take a look at what Gonzaga has done. It has been to the NCAA tournament 13 years in a row from the WCC. The "Bulldogs of the west coast" have been courted a couple of times by the MWC and the WAC, but have stayed put. Their dominance has forced other teams to find ways to get better. Randy Bennett now has St. Marys in the top 25 every year, and just beat the Zags for the WCC Title this season. The addition of BYU to the WCC shows how much more attractive Gonzaga has made the league. It will be a perennial multi-bid league now.

The same could happen for the Horizon League. Detroit head coach Ray McCallum, a former Indiana assistant, is a great recruiter. Gary Waters and Cleveland State had a win this season over SEC tourney champ Vanderbilt and was receiving at large consideration, but struggled down the stretch due to injuries, and Milwaukee has shown signs of being an excellent program under Rob Jeter. Valparaiso, in just its fifth year in the league has already won a regular season title under head coach Bryce Drew. 

Finally look at this years Atlantic 10. Eight teams won 20 games. That is a lot of games, but only three of those teams received at large bids to the NCAA tournament. Had St. Bonaventure not won the postseason tournament less than half of the leagues 20-win teams would not have made the field of 68. That shows little value in the argument for a stronger conference schedule. If the Bulldogs do make the transition to the A-10 they had better recruit because an Ohio road trip through Xavier and Dayton sounds a whole lot tougher than through Youngstown and Cleveland State.

Would a move to the A-10 really put Butler in a better position as a basketball program?

The Bulldogs already play Xavier every year. Since Brad Stevens took over five seasons ago the Bulldogs have played non-conference games against Ohio State, Louisville, Northwestern, Indiana, Purdue, Gonzaga, Stanford and Duke (they had multi-year contracts with most of those school). They have played in major preseason or Holiday tournaments every year but the past one, and will be in the Maui Invitational next season. Butler is a premier college basketball program, and a brand name that has proven it can schedule the bigger schools without the Atlantic-10.

All that being said, switching to the Atlantic-10 would be a big risk that could pay off in a big way. Xavier left the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now the Horizon League, in the mid 90s for the Atlantic-10. They are always up for at large consideration and while they haven't been to the Final Four like Butler, they have gained the university recognition in other ways. Forbes magazine ranked the Musketeer men's basketball program as the 17th most valuable college basketball team in the country.

Does Butler really need the Atlantic-10? No. They've proven that and then some. Is there a chance it would better Butler's athletic department? Yes, but who knows what will happen to the A-10 once conference realignment is over.

Sure, it would increase revenue for the university, but think about the added expense of longer trips to Charlotte or Massachusetts.

We have entered a very precarious era in college sports. Recruiting violations, illegal benefits and conference realignment has totally changed the face of athletic departments across the country. But one of the few things that has stayed the same is the purity of the Butler basketball program since Barry Collier took over as head coach in 1989, then to Thad Maata, to Todd Lickliter and now Brad Stevens. There is something about Butler that works in the Horizon League. I don't care about how small or mediocre of a conference it is.

It just works. 

Fourteen postseason appearances in 16 seasons with a 20-13 record, speaks for itself. Eleven of those were NCAA Tournaments with a 16-10 record. That speaks for itself too.

Butler has accomplished more than any other mid major basketball program for its school and athletic department in the past two decades. Why? Because they have done it the right way, and they should continue to do it the right way by remaining in the Horizon League.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament takes place on March 11.

It's an exciting time for major college basketball power houses, such as Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke and North Carolina, as well as Cinderella dreams, such as Butler, which shocked the collegiate sports world by making it to the NCAA championship game for two straight years.

"March Madness" has become a national entertainment phenomenon that transcends sports.  In countless companies across the U.S., there will be office pools in which sports fans, as well as people who know very little about NCAA basketball, will participate. It is estimated that nearly 60 million Americans will participate in pools this year, resulting in billions of dollars in lost productivity, as workers will analyze their brackets, constantly check the scores of daytime contests, and discuss their prognostications with their office colleagues. 

The NCAA Tournament attracts hardcore college sports fans and casual viewers in the same way that the Super Bowl does. That's why CBS and Turner negotiated a $10.8 billion contract for broadcast rights over 14 years. Big money is involved.  Schools that win make more of it.

Not being among the 64 teams in the tournament can result in a coach's pink slip. An early exit from the tournament can also be a death knell. Head coaches whose teams win big during the regular season but come up short in March are coaches whose days can be numbered. Losses in an early round cost programs lots of money. Since the players can't be fired, the coach often takes the fall. It may not be fair, but inevitably someone pays for failing.

Conversely, coaches whose teams perform better than expected often look for greener pastures when they become hot properties. Surely Brad Stevens, who put Butler Bulldogs on the map, and Shaka Smart, who brought Virginia Commonwealth to the Final Four last year and has led them to a 27-6 record so far this year, will be approached by schools looking to turn around their programs. Both coaches have recently signed long and lucrative contract extensions, but college coaching contracts do not always run their full course.

For many sports fans, March Madness is the most exciting time of the year. When the month ends, the April coaching merry-go-round will begin. It's a rite of spring; but before all of that happens, there will surely be a lot of exciting games to watch. 

Jed Hughes is Vice Chair of Korn/Ferry and the leader of the executive search firm's Global Sports Practice.  Among his high-profile placements are Mark Murphy, CEO of the Green Bay Packers; Larry Scott, Commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference; and Brady Hoke, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Hughes coached for two decades in professional and intercollegiate football where he served under five Hall of Fame coaches: Bo Schembechler (Michigan), Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh Steelers), Bud Grant (Minnesota Vikings), John Ralston (Stanford) and Terry Donahue (UCLA).  Follow him on Facebook, Twitter @jedhughesKF.

I woke up this morning with a weird feeling in my stomach. It was almost a sick feeling, or an empty feeling. No, I am not nursing a hangover; in fact, last night was fairly low key for me. Butler was eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention with Saturday's 65-46 loss to Valparaiso on Saturday night.

Think about this for a second. It had been 1,081 days since the Bulldogs last lost a basketball game in March. In 2010 and 2011 Butler lost heartbreaking national championship games to Duke and UConn in early April. In 2009, senior leader Ronald Nored was a freshman, when his team suffered its last March defeat as an eighth-seed to LSU. The look on his face when taken out of the game for the final time Saturday night suggested he wasn't used to this feeling as tears rolled down his face.

For coach Brad Stevens and other Butler followers, this exit into a lesser postseason tournament is not really a surprise. With Nored as the only true contributor from the previous two seasons and a whole slew of underclassmen, going back to the Final Four was not likely. However, the expectations were high, as has become customary for the tiny basketball giant in Indianapolis.

Much will be said about Butler's "dismal" year. Center Andrew Smith was inconsistent in his first year as a full-time starter and the Horizon League Tournament was no exception. In Friday's quarterfinal he put up 25 points against Milwaukee and 24 hours later nearly went scoreless in the Bulldogs' biggest game of the year against Valpo. Smith may never become consistent, but he has one more year to prove his skeptics wrong.

Freshmen Roosevelt Jones and Kameron Woods, who have showed signs of greatness to come, were awful. Jones committed two charging fouls, a foul that has been called on him time and again this season because of his stocky physique and physical nature. He basically throws his body into his opponent.

Woods is an adventure in the open court. Two times Saturday night he made a steal and raced down the court like a point guard on a one-versus-three fast break. The ball was stolen both times.

After the game Stevens acknowledged that "growth is a must" for his team.  

This was a season that most will consider a failure, but if you step back and take a look at it, it just might have been Stevens' finest coaching job yet.

Butler, typically a deadly outside shooting team, shot 28 percent on the season from the perimeter. That is fourth worst in the nation. Navy, Maryland Eastern, and Rhode Island are the only three teams that shot worse and each is sitting at or near the bottom of its respective conference. Brad Stevens and Butler won 20 games, a win mark that generally is considered a successful season for the majority of college basketball programs. 

Butler finished its season ranked 262 in total scoring offense at 63 points/game. The only two other 20-win teams below the Bulldogs are Wisconsin and Virginia, statistically the two best defensive teams in the country.

Butler was also ranked toward the bottom nationally (No. 289) in free-throw percentage at 64 percent.

Pretty much any other team ranked that low in of three-point shooting, scoring and free throws is going to have a bad year, maybe winning 12 games.

Not Stevens' Bulldogs.

Butler lost 50 percent of its scoring from last season. Stevens started 10 different players and didn't come up with his final rotation until the conference tournament. They still won 20 games. One must remember, when Stevens originally finished his best recruiting class to date back in 2008, he expected this to be a team with Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward leading the charge.

He has led Butler to 20 or more wins in his first five seasons at the helm and is on pace to be one of the winningest coaches of all time. He has put Butler basketball permanently on the map. They have been nationally televised more than any other mid-major program as the five-seed in its own conference.

The rest of the college basketball world probably won't understand the unsettling feeling that I have until next Sunday when the brackets are announced. Without the Bulldogs penciled in on that draw sheet, who will we pick as the Cinderella story? 

Who will we root for game in and game out to be the giant killer? Will the casual fan even tune in to the tournament without having a lovable bulldog to root for? There is just something about Butler that captures America.

The way Bulldogs fans post on Twitter and other social media networks about the disappointment of Butler's season is mostly negative. Someone who knows nothing about college basketball would think that this was one of the worst teams in the country.

They won 20 games.

That's what Stevens has done to the Butler basketball culture. The expectations are higher than ever, and that's a great thing.

College basketball world, imagine this.

Butler wins its last four games of the regular season, then runs off four more in the Horizon League tournament. That would put them at 23-12 and into the NCAA tournament. Five wins later they are in the national championship game again.

Consider this. At 23-12, are you picking them to win even one game in your bracket? Doubtful, but I would think about it.

Saturday's victory over a Cleveland State (20-6) team that has a win over Vanderbilt and has been in at-large bid discussions suggested the Bulldogs could be on the right track. Following the road win, Butler sophomore Chrishawn Hopkins threw the possibility out there.

"This might be a launching pad for us," Hopkins told the Indianapolis Star, "going to the next level, winning some games, and getting to the NCAA tournament."

After all, Butler's win at Cleveland State last season began a 14-game winning streak and a trip to the national championship game. At the time that team was 14-9, and looked like the worst team in the country at times. 

At the moment they are 15-12, and as USA Today wrote, "If there were an ocean in Indianapolis, Butler on many nights could not hit it from the beach." It's been that bad.

Yet they have the pieces in place to make another run. Ronald Nored is a really good point guard, a defensive-minded senior who has recently found himself offensively.

They also have a true center in Andrew Smith, a player that frustrates Butler fans on a game-to-game basis because of his lack of physicality, but even he seems to be answering the bell with the whispers of March being right around the corner. Both of those guys have been key parts in the last two magical seasons.

That experience will be the key, as the rest of the Bulldogs are young but talented. They are the deepest group in the Horizon League with eight players averaging at least five points per game and 10 different guys who have been in the starting lineup.

How realistic are Butler's chances of running the table?

They play Loyola, the worst team in the conference, on Monday, then a struggling Indiana State club next weekend in the BracketBusters event. After that is Illinois-Chicago, the second-to-last place team in the Horizon.

The final game of the regular season against in-state rival and first-place Valparaiso will be the big one. They beat the Bulldogs in overtime in December in a game Butler let get away. 

So, realistically speaking, Butler could easily go 4-0 in that stretch. Then they would get two home games in the Horizon League tournament and probably have to win two on the road after that.

They've beaten all but two teams in the Horizon, so there is no questioning Butler's capability to get the job done. It's possible, and when there is clear possibility I'm going with Brad Stevens and his young pups. 

Stevens maintains that his goal is always to work hard over the course of the season so that they are playing their best ball at the end. 

Butler is not playing great right now. Against Cleveland State, they didn't make a three-pointer, a shot that has been the staple of Butler basketball in its many tournament runs over the past decade.

Maybe that says even more about this team. The players embody their coaches' mentality—play hard, do the little things and at the end you've got a chance to win.

All Butler needs is a chance. Every game, win or loss, has been equally tough for loyal Bulldog followers to watch.

The shooting is bad; the foul shooting is even worse. Freshmen Roosevelt Jones, Jackson Aldridge and Kameron Woods make a lot of mistakes. Even the experienced players like Nored, Smith and Hopkins make some really bad decisions, sometimes one after the other. 

But they know who they are—a team that doesn't care about the flash—and that is what makes Butler a threat in the end. It doesn't matter how they win, as long as they do.

When Butler ends up in your bracket in March, don't be surprised, and definitely don't be shocked if they once again are bracket busters. 

GENTILE ARENA---There must be something magical about the Loyola-Butler matchup every year. Especially when it's at the Gentile Arena.

In front of a near sellout crowd of 4,347, the Ramblers (5-14, 0-9) were able to push Butler (12-9, 6-3) starting midway through the first half when Porter Moser switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense.

The zone kept Loyola in the game until the very end, but a couple of threes down the stretch by Butler sealed it off.

"Scoring did not come against the 1-3-1. We missed a lot of jump shots and they put us on our heels," said Butler head coach Brad Stevens. "I want them to shoot threes against the zone," Stevens added. Butler chucked up a total of 21 long balls, sinking only four of them.

Compared to Thursday's contest against Valparaiso, Loyola's performance today was a big improvement on all cylinders.

Ben Averkamp was fairly quiet for the second straight game, however, tallying only eight points. The offensive production came from freshman guard Joe Crisman and Walt Gibler, who each shared a team-high 14 points. The 14 for Crisman matches a season/career-high.

Crisman came to play for the second half after having a quiet first period, knocking down all three of his long-range shots to go along with his 5-of-7 shooting from the field.

"Teammates did a great job finding me in the second half," said Crisman. "Let the scoring come to me." A runner to beat the shot clock put Loyola within three, and two late threes proved to be a couple of deadly shots for Crisman and the Ramblers.

There must be something about playing in big games like these in front of large crowds that attracts the young guard. His other noteworthy performance this season came during a highly talked-about game at home with the DePaul Blue Demons.

Ronald Nored of Butler played the type of game all coaches dream of, according to Porter Moser. When discussing his game play, Porter sounded like he was his proud father or a coach trying all he could could do to recruit him over to the lake front.

"He is so in tuned to everything. His body language, toughness, awareness are superior," Moser said of Nored. The Butler guard led all scorers with 16 points and contributed with nine assists and six rebounds.

Andrew Smith could have done a whole lot more damage on offense for Butler, but the 6'11" center got into serious foul trouble too quickly. Smith finished with 12 points (2-of-3 from three-point land) and 13 rebounds.

Loyola should consider themselves lucky the big man didn't let loose for the duration of the game, because his size is unmatched on the Loyola front.

The game saw six lead changes with neither team really controlling the tempo.

Butler tried to take momentum in the first half, but Loyola's defense was too much. "They're a persistent, good team and our defense kept us in the game," said Walt Gibler.

Read the rest over at RamblerHoops.com. Check back there for more Butler and Loyola coverage including photos and videos. 

24 days: That’s how long it had been since Butler won their last game over a Division I opponent. 

That streak was far too long for the two-time national runners-up.

In improbable fashion, Butler ended that streak today in Indianapolis.  The Bulldogs rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to earn a 67-65 win over Purdue.  Andrew Smith’s tip-in with one second left saved the day for Butler. 

Perhaps it saved their season as well.

Butler was already a woeful—by Butler standards—4-6 entering today.  Granted, three of those losses were to Louisville, Indiana and Xavier, all currently top 20 teams. 

However, they had also lost to non-household names such as Evansville and Ball State.  Also, with a West Coast trip to play Gonzaga and Stanford looming, Butler was staring at a possible 4-9 record going into Horizon League play at the end of December.

Purdue came in at 9-2, poised to crack the Top 25 with another win.  The Boilermakers’ only losses were to Alabama and Xavier, both Top 25 teams. 

It did not seem like today would be the time for things to begin turning around Butler.

In the first half, that notion was supported.  At one point in the first half, Purdue was up by 15, which was trimmed to 11 by halftime.

However, Butler dug deep in the second half, thanks to their calling card, half-court defense. 

After consistently allowing far too many transition opportunities in the first half, the Bulldogs began forcing Purdue to work hard in the half court to get shots. 

They also kept Lewis Jackson in front of them, not allowing him to attack the basket and get to the foul line. 

Butler had Purdue right where they wanted them, and they gradually rallied to tighten the ballgame.

After a basket by Purdue’s Terone Johnson put Purdue up by nine with nine minutes to play, Butler held Purdue without a field goal the entire rest of the game. 

Eventually, Butler took the lead in the final minute, and ultimately won on Smith’s tip-in off Roosevelt Jones’ missed shot.

Just ask Florida, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, and Syracuse—teams that Butler beat in the last two NCAA Tournaments—if you let Butler hang around long enough, you’re in trouble.   

This year’s team does not have quite the same personnel or experience as the last two Butler squads, but they still know what they need to do to win. 

This win came at just the right time for Butler.  Their upcoming West Coast games will be yet a couple more challenges on Butler’s schedule. 

A win over Purdue, who is probably as good as both of those teams, may give the Bulldogs the confidence to steal a win in one of those two games. 

Perhaps more importantly, the win today means Brad Stevens’ team will avoid a long losing streak heading into conference play later this month. 

Even with the win today, there’s very little chance of Butler having what it takes to earn an NCAA at-large bid in March.  This year’s team route to returning to the NCAAs lies in winning the Horizon League tournament. 

They need to be ready to do serious damage in conference play, in order to position themselves as best as possible for a possible NCAA and Final Four run.

Beating Purdue was technically a resume win for Butler, but more importantly, it’s a confidence win. 

The name on the jersey is the same as it was the last two years. 

This win should help remind players of who they are, and how they can win consistently through the rest of this season.

After a really bad start, the rest of this season could be could be make or break for Brad Stevens and his Butler basketball program.

Clearly, this is a drastic statement, considering what the Bulldogs have been able to do the last couple of years. In 2009 they started 8-4, and last season they lost 10 games. Both resulted in runs to the national championship game.

This season, one without Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard it isn’t really about their 4-6 record. It is about the message that this current group of Bulldogs and its heralded coach is sending.

This is the first season since the last time Butler did not make the NCAA tournament in 2004-05 that the Bulldogs can’t shoot. The 38 percent from the field, 27 percent from three point land and 64 percent from the foul line are starting to make Butler’s performance in last years’ national title game look like “the Butler Way.”

This is also the first year since the mid-2000s that the Bulldogs cannot hold onto the basketball. Butler averages 17 turnovers per game. Main ball handlers Ronald Nored and Chrishawn Hopkins lead the team in turnovers. You can’t win basketball games against the schedule that Butler wants to play that way, plain and simple.

These statistics are troubling, and will undoubtedly get better. However, they lead to an even deeper issue. Butler has four scholarship freshmen on the roster who see significant minutes in Roosevelt Jones, Kameron Woods, Jackson Aldridge and Andy Smeathers.  Are they all nice players? Yes. Will they all improve? Yes. But here is the bigger question: Have you ever heard of them? Probably not.

As the country watched freshman Cody Zeller lead the Indiana Hoosiers to the upset win of this young season over No. 1 Kentucky on the same day that Butler lost to a mediocre Ball State team, who couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if Zeller had signed with the Bulldogs? Brad Stevens put all of his eggs in Zeller’s basket and what he came up with was the combination of the four freshmen listed above. None of which are ranked in this class’s top 100.

Citing the last two seasons as an example, it doesn’t take a bunch of McDonald's All Americans to reach the pinnacle of college basketball. But in order to remain on top of the college basketball world year to year, you are going to need to sign a Cody Zeller or two eventually.

The window of opportunity is shrinking, and it is doing so quickly for Brad Stevens and Butler basketball. It sounds premature because the man is embarking on what looks like a promising coaching career, a can’t miss coaching prospect with a seemingly perfect situation in the heart of Indiana, a recruiting hotbed in the past decade. Oh, that and he’s been to two final fours in a row. That’s the type of exposure that no mid major has ever had before.

When is that window of opportunity any bigger than after you lead a small mid-major to two straight national championship games? Quite frankly, it’s not going to get any bigger. Next year Stevens has one of the top high school shooters in America coming to Indy in Kellen Dunham, a player ranked right around the top-100 in almost every recruiting list. He’s also got the nation’s best transfer in Rotnei Cark out of Arkansas for a single season of eligibility.

It could be too little too late though.

In next years’ freshman class, rivals.com has five top 100 recruits in Butler’s backyard of Indianapolis. No. 17 Kevin Farrell is headed to IU, No. 22 D’vauntes Smith Rivera to Georgetown, No. 25 Gary Harris to Michigan State, No. 48 Jeremy Hollowell to IU and No. 91 Ronnie Johnson will attend Purdue.

This is a time where high school kids commit early, and often times change their minds on where they will go two or three times. The fact that none of these guys chose Butler, the king of Indiana for the last five years is troubling.

If Brad Steven’s can’t get a big name recruit after back to back national championship runs, when will he?

Butler now is much like Gonzaga, relevant in every college basketball discussion. They will be good and they will make the NCAA tournament a lot. But coming off of two unbelievable basketball seasons, two seasons that captured the hearts of the nation, they had the chance to do something unique and become a Duke or a Kentucky. Final four expectations would surround the program year in and year out. Those might be far-fetched expectations, but the potential appeared there.

Butler is rebuilding, a luxury that they do not have if they want to reach the heights of the major programs.

The window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller with every bad loss Steven’s and his team endures. But who knows, maybe come March, Stevens will prove us all wrong again. If he doesn’t that window just might close.

----Drew Schmelzer

It can certainly be argued that no team in college basketball has enjoyed more success the past two seasons than Butler.  It cannot be argued, however, that no team in college basketball has more NCAA tournament wins the past two seasons than Butler.

Coach Brad Stevens has led his team to a 10-2 NCAA Tournament record the past two years, with both losses coming in the National Championship Game, to Duke and Connecticut, respectively. 

Butler’s 2010 trip to the Final Four and final game was incredibly impressive, as a No. 5 seed. Last year’s repeat return to the very same spot—40 minutes from a national championship—was 10 times as stunning. 

Butler had to play nearly flawless basketball for six weeks just to make the tournament, winning nine in a row—including the Horizon League championship—after losing their fifth conference game on February 3. Despite the late-season run, the Bulldogs still had the odds stacked heavily against them as a No. 8 seed entering the Big Dance. 

After last-second wins over Old Dominion and top-seeded Pittsburgh in the first two rounds, Butler dismantled fourth-seeded Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. Their run seemed like it would finally end in the Elite Eight, against Florida. But yet again, they found a way, coming from six down in the final two minutes to force overtime, and eventually winning 74-71. 

The unlikeliest of Final Four matchups with No. 11-seeded VCU yielded a great opportunity for Butler to return to the championship game, of which they took advantage. 

As impressive a feat as it was for Butler to reach two straight championship games, everyone remembers how equally unimpressive their actual performance was in the game itself.  The Bulldogs shot just 18.8 percent, scoring just 41 points in a 12-point loss to UConn. 

The postgame press conference was rough to watch. Standouts Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard were forced to suffer through the same questions, and each answered them as quietly and succinctly as possible.

For Howard, a senior, there were no more chances. For Mack, a junior with serious pro prospects, another chance to win it all may have just seemed too impossible to consider. Mack did ultimately declare for the NBA draft, and is currently a part of the Washington Wizards roster, waiting for a shot to play.

With Mack and Howard—the heart of the past two years’ teams—departed, it would seem there is absolutely no chance for Brad Stevens’ team to get back to where they were. However, this is Butler.  They expect to make the NCAA Tournament every year. And once they get there, they will put up one heck of a fight, regardless of personnel.

Speaking of personnel, there are some key players returning from last year’s runner-up team that will give Butler fans reason for optimism. 

Center Andrew Smith appears on the verge of a breakout season. The 6’11” junior averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 boards a game last season, and averaged nearly seven rebounds a game in the Bulldogs’ six NCAA tournament games. Smith will have to adjust to playing without Matt Howard, however, meaning he will be focused on heavily by opposing defenses. This will be especially true against the somewhat smaller interior defenders in the Horizon League. 

Shooting guard Ronald Nored will be looked upon to take over as the leader for Stevens this season.  The senior has been an integral piece for each of the past two runner-up teams, playing the role of lockdown defender on the opposing team’s best perimeter player. 

He has never been a huge scorer, averaging just six a game last season. However, he will need to take on a bigger offensive role this season. He just may be able to handle that role with Mack no longer by his side in the backcourt.

Forward Khyle Marshall will be the wild card for Butler this season. The 6’ 6” sophomore was erratic through much of his first season, but showed flashes of brilliance.

Marshall also had some respectable efforts in March, with a 10-point, seven-rebound effort against Florida in the Elite Eight win. For the tournament, Marshall averaged over six boards a game. He will need about that same average in rebounding throughout this season, along with a significant increase from his 5.8 point per game average last season.

Senior forward Garrett Butcher and junior guard Chase Stigall are two additional pieces from the past two runner-up seasons. Each of them have been role players throughout their careers, and will be leaned upon more heavily this season. Their experience in being involved in high-pressure games in March will certainly be a boost for this year’s Bulldog team.

Sophomore Chrishawn Hopkins provided a spark in Butler’s season opener, an 80-77 overtime loss at Evansville. Hopkins led the team with 22 points, including making 3-of-8 on three-pointers. If he can provide consistent scoring totals going forward, the loss of Mack may not seem quite as daunting to Butler faithful.

As for the schedule, there will be some excellent opportunities in November and December for Butler to show they will still be a force on the national stage. On Saturday, Butler will host Louisville, currently ranked seventh in the nation. It will be a chance at redemption for the Bulldogs, who were blown out in Louisville to open last season. 

In December, Butler has three high-profile non-conference games. The first will be another home game, against Xavier, a team expected to be in the top 20 throughout the season. The next test will be a much anticipated Hoosier State battle with Purdue, in downtown Indianapolis. The final test of the month comes just three days later, as the team will travel west to take on Gonzaga, another preseason top 25 team, in Spokane. 

If Butler can split these four games—which seems reasonable given that three of them will be played in Indianapolis—they should have the foundation for a good case to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2012, should they not win the Horizon League tournament.    

The Bulldogs will certainly have their challengers in the league this year, particularly in Cleveland State and Detroit. Cleveland State already has an enormous win at Vanderbilt, and should be tough all season with a very experienced team led by guards D’Aundray Brown and Jeremy Montgomery. 

Detroit is regarded as the most talented team in the league, led by Eli Holman, who nearly averaged a double-double last season and is a top candidate for league Player of the Year. They were very competitive against Notre Dame on Monday night without Holman, losing by just six in South Bend.

However, this is Butler. No matter the expectations, they are still king of their conference. Much like Kansas in the Big 12, or Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, the title is theirs until someone else takes it from them. 

What does that mean? Expect Butler to find a way to get back to the dance, even if it isn’t always pretty. Once they get there, anything’s possible, even if it isn't always pretty.

For the second straight year the defending national runner up has been beaten by Evansville.

Butler is that runner up, but in its 80-77 overtime loss in Evansville on Saturday, the Bulldogs showed that they are far from the same team they were a season ago.

Evansville is a team full of juniors and seniors, and Butler is very inexperienced, but Evansville is picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, and the loss won't help any at-large hopes the Bulldogs might have come March.

Chrishawn Hopkins was a very little-used guard during Butler's national title run last year. He led Butler in scoring with 22 points against the Purple Aces. Andrew Smith, one of three returning starters had 21. They were the only two Bulldogs in double figures.

Now this is still "mighty Butler." One loss to a lower level mid-major isn't enough to ever count them out.

But I will make a BOLD prediction regarding the Bulldogs.

They are not going to make another run to the final four, and they very well may not make the NCAA tournament. That would be a first in six years for Butler, a team that has won 13 NCAA tournament games in the past half decade.

This sounds like the words of a normal Butler critic. Let's face it, there is no Matt Howard, no Shelvin Mack and no Gordon Hayward. There is only one senior who gets substantial playing time in point guard Ronald Nored, a non threat on the offensive end.

in 2010-11, Butler sometimes started three seniors. This just isn't the same team led by Hopkins, Smith, Nored and a handful of newcomers who watched the Bulldogs run to the championship on television.

Here is my next BOLD prediction: Brad Stevens is creating a monster at Butler, and they will be back in the national championship game soon.

With amazing tournament runs come some serious losses.

The Bulldogs are seeing what the major programs go through when they lose underclassmen to the NBA. That extra exposure also brings more highly rated recruits.

Butler added four top-200 recruits this season, as well as two more for 2012-13. Transfer Rotnei Clarke, Arkansas's leading scorer from a year ago, will be eligible next season. Clarke cited Butler's style of play and the way Stevens runs his program for his decision. 

Why else will Butler be back at the top of the college basketball world before we know it?

Well, there just aren't any great college basketball teams anymore. The last two years the Bulldogs lost national championship games to powerhouse programs.

Duke starred Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer. Connecticut featured Kemba Walker. They weren't the same Duke and UConn teams with stars like Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Ray Allen or Richard Hamilton. Butler wouldn't have belonged on the same court. But now they do, and it won't change.

The one-and-done players at all of the major programs leave the door open for these mid-major schools. Butler has a head start. Butler has the brand name. Butler has the results.

Gonzaga has been on the college basketball scene for a while, but never have they flirted with the final four. That is how impressive Butler's accomplishments are. 

Brad Stevens is building a monster in Indianapolis, and in the scheme of things Saturday's loss to Evansville is barely a blip on the radar. 

Butler won't make the final four this year—neither will over 300 other college basketball teams in America. The fact that I am even writing this article is a testament to where Stevens has taken the Butler program.

They are rebuilding for the future, and will be back to the top of the college basketball world before we know it.