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Post by valporun on Nov 16, 2010 21:35:50 GMT -5
Just watching this game, Butler lost a lot more than they were willing to give credit for. Maybe some of that had to do with the fantastic season they had in 2009-2010, but WOW!! Dick Vitale is right, Butler is not looking like the Butler we've watched the last few seasons. They don't really have someone that is meant to be the shooting star, though Shelvin Mack is trying to take that role. Matt Howard, I'm sorry...he needs to ride some bench for a lot longer than he does. He's not the NBA player so many fans thought he might be a few years ago. He can barely keep himself on the court because he's committing so many stupid fouls inside. This is just the game that we needed to see Butler lose so they would be humbled by someone who had the kind of players they should have to be as good as the "talk/hype" says they should. I'm sure they'll pick it up as conference play comes, but this is a bad game for them, plain and simple.
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Post by motowntitan on Nov 16, 2010 21:54:25 GMT -5
It's like I said
1) they had no idea how much they lost with both Hayward and Veasley.
2) Matt Howard does not belong as a 1st team all Horizon league team.
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Post by fwalum on Nov 16, 2010 22:01:08 GMT -5
It certainly looks like Butler will be much more vulnerable than predicted. Unranked Louisville is making the Butler D look like the Valpo D. As Jimmy V was saying, "This is not Butler basketball".
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Post by vu72 on Nov 16, 2010 22:39:40 GMT -5
Butler gives up 85 to unranked Louisville. Makes our 79 to Kansas not look so bad!
Really bad form by Butler and Stevens at the end of the game as they continued to foul until the very end even being down by 15. The fans and announcers didn't like it.
Howard turned it around and ended with about 25 but Butler was all over the place.
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Post by valpofan56 on Nov 16, 2010 22:59:45 GMT -5
To be fair, ranking (or lack thereof) is less than pointless this early in the season. Think about how high UNC was ranked when we played them last year. They didn't even make THE tournament.
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Post by zvillehaze on Nov 16, 2010 23:17:01 GMT -5
Bring it on and enjoy. First Butler loss by more than 10 points in 115 games. Lots of blame to go around, but the defensive lapses were the most difficult to understand. It's obvious that Stevens is still working on the rotation, but Howard on the bench with fouls and Mack with leg cramps (again) don't help matters. Opening of the arena and officials' calls didn't help, but those aren't valid excuses.
It's obvious that there's still lots of work to be done, but I think the players will now be listening.
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Post by milanmiracle on Nov 17, 2010 1:51:10 GMT -5
I think it will take some time for the team to come around and get going this season. My guess is some players are still basking in the glow of last years NCAA runner-up. While I am pleased to hear they've identified the problem, I was shocked to hear that Butler "didn't come ready to play". Really? Louisville on ESPN opening a new arena and you're not ready to play? Once they figure out the rotation, they'll be fine and the defense hasn't been a problem at Butler for years so don't expect those lapses to continue.
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Post by vuweathernerd on Nov 17, 2010 9:29:59 GMT -5
they shot the ball just about as poorly as we did in lawrence. at one point, late in the second half, the commentators were saying that with mack's scoring, they were shooting 29% from the floor, and it dropped to 19% without him.
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Post by fwalum on Nov 17, 2010 10:26:18 GMT -5
The HL has not stepped up like I had hoped in the early going this season. Would have much preferred to see a Butler win. We win the ones we should, but have not performed well on the national stage. Butler needs to find a 3rd scoring option that can take some of the load off of Mack. It also appears that Veasley was a much bigger cog in the defensive machine then originally thought. They really had trouble matching up and getting down the floor in the first half.
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Post by dylanrocks on Nov 17, 2010 11:02:23 GMT -5
"Really bad form by Butler and Stevens at the end of the game as they continued to foul until the very end."
I really think this was a teaching tool, don't you?
In essence, Brad seemed to be saying, "Don't quit on me and I'll never quit on you!" The rules allow it, so why not do it? I'm sure the UL partisans were still plenty comfortable in their $1,000 seats.
Continuing to play to the final whistle is better than laying down and taking a beating.
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Post by valpo04 on Nov 17, 2010 11:31:26 GMT -5
"Really bad form by Butler and Stevens at the end of the game as they continued to foul until the very end." I really think this was a teaching tool, don't you? In essence, Brad seemed to be saying, "Don't quit on me and I'll never quit on you!" The rules allow it, so why not do it? I'm sure the UL partisans were still plenty comfortable in their $1,000 seats. Continuing to play to the final whistle is better than laying down and taking a beating. It's wrong... just like earlier this year in football when East Carolina's coach was calling timeout with 9 seconds left, losing to Navy 76-35. What are you teaching exactly? You are dragging out a game that is decided and risking injury. Stopping the fouling when down by 15 isn't laying down and taking a beating. It's conceding that the other team outplayed you and has it wrapped up. |
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Post by jerome1 on Nov 17, 2010 11:39:44 GMT -5
"Really bad form by Butler and Stevens at the end of the game as they continued to foul until the very end." I really think this was a teaching tool, don't you? In essence, Brad seemed to be saying, "Don't quit on me and I'll never quit on you!" The rules allow it, so why not do it? I'm sure the UL partisans were still plenty comfortable in their $1,000 seats. Yes, but many Sports Center viewers were delayed in getting their sports news if they don't have the ESPNews channel. That was directly effected by Brad Stevens fouling philosophy. Of course we all know that Brad Stevens cares little about making ESPN/ABC/Disney happy. He's all about team and students learning in pressure situations. |
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Post by dylanrocks on Nov 17, 2010 12:03:16 GMT -5
I stand by what I said and I'll follow with a question:
When has Brad Stevens ever shown himself to be a poor loser (not that he has all that much practice)? Instead, he's only displayed impeccable comportment.
Fellas, this wasn't crybaby Jim Harrick, Sr. making a jerk of himself in a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Southern Illinois in 2002.
This was the first game of a new season with a 60 percent turnover in the starting lineup and a team expected to get significant contributions from at least two freshmen.
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Post by vusupporter on Nov 17, 2010 12:40:41 GMT -5
Homer has had his team do the exact same thing in the past. For instance, Bowling Green last year.
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Post by valpo04 on Nov 17, 2010 12:58:32 GMT -5
It's the exact opposite of running up the score. I don't care who does it. There is no point to it and it's bad form.
It has nothing to do with being a poor loser, just seems pointless and not the time to "teach kids not to give up."
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