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Brad Stevens

Butler is a better program than Wake right now but the potential for Deacon basketball would be more of a selling point than staying put at Butler.
 
THE DEUCE said:
Butler is a better program than Wake right now but the potential for Deacon basketball would be more of a selling point than staying put at Butler.
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I think that's kind of what I was getting at with my last question. Is that true? I'm really not sure. With Stevens still there I have to imagine Butler has a lot of potential. I think Butler fans are probably going to have more fun than Wake fans over the next 5 years. Over the next 20? I'm just not sure. I hope it's us.
 
I see PH's point but IMO the ACC is a better draw to get better recruits than the Horizon League. ABC is not going to show Butler vs Cleveland State on a Saturday afternoon.
 
Mostly because ABC doesn't really air college basketball at all (okay, 1 game in 2010-2011), but I guess that probably wasn't your point.
 
THE DEUCE said:
I see PH's point but IMO the ACC is a better draw to get better recruits than the Horizon League. ABC is not going to show Butler vs Cleveland State on a Saturday afternoon.
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And they're not going to show Wake playing anybody but UNC or Duke on national TV either.
 
PhDeac said:
And they're not going to show Wake playing anybody but UNC or Duke on national TV either.
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Better chance they play Wake vs Clemson or Wake vs GT then Butler vs Valpo!

you know I am right! 2009 Brent Musberger did our game vs Clemson when we were red hot!
 
Stevens is the new, improved version of Mark Few. And he looks eerily similar to my best friend growing up.

I'm cool with him
 
THE DEUCE said:
Better chance they play Wake vs Clemson or Wake vs GT then Butler vs Valpo!

you know I am right! 2009 Brent Musberger did our game vs Clemson when we were red hot!
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Yeah, but Butler vs. Valpo is Butler taking a break all the games they'll be playing against elite competition in Nov and Dec.
 
Someone made the comment Butler fans will have more fun then Wake fans over the next 5 years but probably not over the next 20. Compare Wake and Butler in the postseason since 2000 and you will see they have already been having more fun then we have.

I have no idea what Brad Stevens does long term but right now staying at Butler as opposed to coming here is a great decision. He's not coming here, that's for sure.
 
PhDeac said:
He wouldn't be playing to make his second straight Final Four if he had taken the Wake job.

Butler is a better program than Wake right now. We just have to admit it. They've had postseason success with different coaches and I think they've found their guy for the next 30 years. I used to think he'd be the guy to take over for K, but he could build his own dynasty at Butler.
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Noooooooooo!
 
I love the underlying parallels between Butler/Stevens and Wake/Grobe. There was a lot of uneasiness here when Arkansas etc came calling on Grobe. Many non-WF people assumed he'd leave and to all of us, it looked as though he might. Each man is different. If Stevens is more like Grobe, I don't what, if anything, could get him away. Then again, there's coaches like Rich Rodriguez who leave their alma maters and go elsewhere.

I do know that if WF made a successful push for Stevens, I'd escalate my DC donation.
 
What is it about Butler? Not to diminish Stevens or anything, but Lickliter coached them for 6 seasons after Thad Matta took them to the NCAA's, finished 1st or 2nd in conference 4/6 of those, 2 NCAA births good for 2 Sweet 16 appearances along with 2 NITs. Now he's at Iowa and sucks.

Since 2000 they've played in 22 NCAA games under 3 different coaches. Of course they're a better program than Wake. Considering their conference, they have to be one of the best programs in the country, easily.
 
What is it about Butler?

It's a good school in a part of the world that's just nuts about hoops. Lots of solid HS talent from which to draw. Kids learn the game from birth

They play in a league that doesn't pander to a couple of perennial favorites (cough, Duke & Carolina, cough) at the expense of every other team. Their kids all come in with chips on their shoulders because they "weren't good enough" to get offers from the big schools.

The players are there for 4 years because outside of Gordon Heyward, kids don't go there with the idea of being 1 & done. Even in Heyward's case, there's about a 0% chance that he set foot on Butler's campus thinking he was going to be a 1st round pick after 2 years.

Barry Collier going to Nebraska and Lickliter to Iowa were both dead ends as far as basketball was concerned. Only Matta played it right by going to Xavier then OSU.

Oh, and they play in a great gym.
 
PhDeac said:
Yeah, but Butler vs. Valpo is Butler taking a break all the games they'll be playing against elite competition in Nov and Dec.
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I will go with the program that can play elite competition in Nov. and elite conference competition from January to March.

This program travels to Florida and Massachusetts, Butler travels to Detroit and Cleveland.

BTW we have a football team......

Unless the Bulldogs move to the BIG 10/12, I can sell Wake to a recruit a lot easier than to Butler.
 
THE DEUCE said:
I will go with the program that can play elite competition in Nov. and elite conference competition from January to March.

This program travels to Florida and Massachusetts, Butler travels to Detroit and Cleveland.

BTW we have a football team......

Unless the Bulldogs move to the BIG 10/12, I can sell Wake to a recruit a lot easier than to Butler.
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I don't think anyone is saying that Butler long term is going to always be a better program then Wake. But if you look at Butler over the past 10-11 years and compare it to Wake, Butler has been better. I agree that we should be out-recruiting Butler, but Butler has something that we don't have. An elite coach. I don't think Brad Stevens will stay at Butler forever but I can respect that he wants to wait for the right job and doesn't want to come here.
 
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It's not about Butler v. Wake, he can get a better job than either of those. He is holding out for the Indiana job
 
You guys have to realize, the guy is just out of college in the real world sense. He'll only be like 45 when his 10 year deal is up at Butler.

I think there's an oral agreement that after his 10 years he's going to Duke. Its the perfect spot for a guy like that and it will be just around the time that K is retiring or their new coach is choking.

Can you imagine Brad Stevens at a program like Duke? In his coaching prime days, late 40s...ugh. They'll be unstoppable.
 
godeacsskinsbravesdawgs said:
You guys have to realize, the guy is just out of college in the real world sense. He'll only be like 45 when his 10 year deal is up at Butler.

I think there's an oral agreement that after his 10 years he's going to Duke. Its the perfect spot for a guy like that and it will be just around the time that K is retiring or their new coach is choking.

Can you imagine Brad Stevens at a program like Duke? In his coaching prime days, late 40s...ugh. They'll be unstoppable.
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I actually think Duke will have a more difficult time filling K's vacancy than many believe, at least insofar as candidates who are not from the Duke "family" or "coaching circle." This may be a bit of a stretch as an analogy, but I see them having some of the same issues that the Bulls have had signing an elite free agent ever since Jordan retired; guys just don't want to have the pressure of "replacing" the irreplaceable. From what I recall, we experienced this to a similar degree in recruiting PGs after Chris left; some guys just didn't want to have to shoulder the burden of the entire program in the shadow of such a great player.

Duke is an incredible basketball job, but only because Coach K made it so. In 3-5 years, the guy is going to retire with over 1,000 wins and possibly another Final 4 or two. Division I coaches have huge egos and huge appetites for large paychecks, true, but I think a guy like Stevens might rather continue winning 28 games a year at Butler until IU opens up than possibly taking the chance of "failing to live up to Coach K's legacy" at Duke, especially as long as he's pwn3ng at Butler.
 
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