Post by AztecPhil on Jan 18, 2011 12:59:03 GMT -8
Lately there have been a lot of comparisons between our Aztecs and the 2009-10 Butler Bulldogs of Indianapolis, Indiana. So, I thought I would share a little information about Butler, and the biggest similarity I could see is that both teams have competitive players that wanted to win. Last years Butler team finished the season with 33 wins and five losses, the last lost being to Duke in the National Championship Game when a last second tying shot by a Butler player bounced off the rim. They had a really good season, and they have a top 50 program this year that is still in the hunt for an NCAA invitation.
Butler, which plays in the basketball heartland of Indianapolis, is a member of the Horizon League, which has featured a number of teams that have done well in the past. The Horizon League is Division One, but it does play in the Football Championship Series for football. So many of the elitist from Automatic Qualifying conferences look down upon them, just as they do the non-automatic qualifying teams, yet they receive even less football revenue than the FBS non automatic qualifiers.
Butler is currently coached by a much younger coach, Brad Stevens, but in his last three years he has kept the Bulldogs in the same winning form his mentor and current Iowa coach Todd Lickliter left them. In Steven's first thee years as thee head coach of Butler his team has won 89 games including: 30 & 4 record in 2007-8 (1 & 1 in NCAAs); 26 & 6 in 2008-9 (0 & 1 in NCAAs); and the 33 & 5 2009-10 season (4 & 1 in the NCAAs).
Just to note, last year Butler had three scholarships to fill. They picked up two forwards and a guard. The guard, Chrishawn Hopkins, was the Indianapolis Star's all area player of the year. The forwards include Khyle Marshall, a three year all first team player from Florida, and Erik Fromm, the team captain and leading scorer from the Indianapolis state championship team, which was also ranked the number three high school team in the Country that year.
Butler, which plays in the basketball heartland of Indianapolis, is a member of the Horizon League, which has featured a number of teams that have done well in the past. The Horizon League is Division One, but it does play in the Football Championship Series for football. So many of the elitist from Automatic Qualifying conferences look down upon them, just as they do the non-automatic qualifying teams, yet they receive even less football revenue than the FBS non automatic qualifiers.
Butler is currently coached by a much younger coach, Brad Stevens, but in his last three years he has kept the Bulldogs in the same winning form his mentor and current Iowa coach Todd Lickliter left them. In Steven's first thee years as thee head coach of Butler his team has won 89 games including: 30 & 4 record in 2007-8 (1 & 1 in NCAAs); 26 & 6 in 2008-9 (0 & 1 in NCAAs); and the 33 & 5 2009-10 season (4 & 1 in the NCAAs).
Just to note, last year Butler had three scholarships to fill. They picked up two forwards and a guard. The guard, Chrishawn Hopkins, was the Indianapolis Star's all area player of the year. The forwards include Khyle Marshall, a three year all first team player from Florida, and Erik Fromm, the team captain and leading scorer from the Indianapolis state championship team, which was also ranked the number three high school team in the Country that year.