butlerway

Got some video of Matt Holba last weekend and talked briefly with him. He still lists St. Louis with interest.

Sorry for the self promotion, but I thought this would interest you guys. Highlights from the game where Macura and Martin faced each other. Adidas Invitational: JP Macura and Kelan Martin

If the past is any indication he knows what he is talking about. That doesn't mean he can't be wrong, especially since things like this can change from one day to the next, but he has credibility.

Well, I wouldn't say he is the "missing piece for a championship caliber team," but he improves Butler a ton. I don't know if you watched any games this year, but the problem wasn't really creating shots, it was hitting any type of jumper outside of a about 5 feet. Because of that, there was no type of offensive spacing at all. Clarke (as well as Dunham, possibly the best HS shooter in the country) is the answer to that major question mark. With the bulk of the talent being located in the freshman and sophomore classes last season, Butler is going to be much improved in the near future.

As a Butler fan, I would love to see them get in the A10, but I don't think it will happen. They seem to be quite content staying in the Horizon League, and as much as I don't like it, you can't exactly say it's held them back the past few years. Last year they might not have even made the dance if they were in a better league, and they will have to win the league tournament to get back this year (obviously this would be much more difficult in the A10. Conference would probably need to be split up into regions to minimize travel in order to get Butler to join.

If you look at the past few coaches at Butler you have examples of both sides. Todd Lickliter went to Iowa and failed. Thad Matta ended up at Ohio State and is obviously thriving. I think Stevens is in a completely different situation than both of them though and won't leave, at least not in the near future. First off, he is making a ton more money than either of them did. He already has financial security at Butler, so it's going to take more than money to lure him anywhere. Second, Butler is a lot more established now and with top 100 recruits committed for 2012 and 2013 its a pretty sure thing that Butler isn't going anywhere. Sometimes mid major coaches are in a position where they were fortunate to end up with a good team and it's better to leave for a big payday in case the next generation of players aren't as good and you lose the hype associated with the organization. This obviously isn't the case at Butler. If Stevens does want to leave, he can be patient choose the time and program that is best for him. I don't feel like Illinois is that program right now.

I would be completely shocked if Stevens ended up at Illinois, although I do think he would do a terrific job there. The past 2 years he has turned down huge raises to BCS schools, saying that you shouldn't mess with happiness. Now, I'm not saying he will stay there forever, but this isn't the year he is going to leave. Butler is going to have an extremely good team next season. It could be the most talented Butler team they've ever had, and will certainly be top 3. He won't abandon that for a job at Illinois.

Just thought I would let you guys know that SLU offered 2013 guard Darius Austin from Cahokia High School about a month ago. He has visited Butler recently and Stevens was there this week to watch him so I just came by here to see if you guys had any additional information on him. I didn't see his name anywhere so I just thought I would post about him in case you weren't aware of the offer. Just trying to be helpful, nothing more. End of the article below talks about the SLU offer. Cahokia Youngster Gets First Offer

I'm kind of shocked to read so many negative posts about Butler. Butler fans have come to expect this type of attitude from the fans of good BCS schools, but I don't expect to read it when visiting another mid major board. Usually mid major fans are able to look at Butler based on their accomplishments the past 5-10 years and not simply see them as a reflection of the rest of their conference. Is it really that much of a shock that someone would chose the Bulldogs over the Billikens? I know his grandpa went there, but that was a long, long time ago. It certainly is a factor, but I think everyone weighted that way too heavily.