Stevens Off To Oregon?

[4everwarriors]

Gotta think Phil Knight makes a huge run at this dude.

[Norm]

If I were him I'd stay at Butler and build a dynasty there. Dude is only 33 years old - that is incredible. If he wins consistently he could lock up the State of Indiana recruiting wise.

[4everwarriors]

Crean's hoping he goes. This is Stevens' shining moment. Smart money says he strikes while the iron is hot.

[CAINMUTINY]

I think he should test the waters to see what kind of money he would be offered by other schools and then tell butler he would stay if they match it.  Basketball is a business and at the end of the day you have to seize whatever opportunities come your way, even if it means leaving butler to only fall flat on his face somewhere else.  Either way he walks away with plenty of dough.

[NersEllenson]

I don't know..but I think Stevens is an Indiana native if I'm not mistaken??  Did he graduate from DePauw - I think they said during the broadcast?? Get the feeling he's a pretty humble dude, looks like his wife is from there also.  They seem to be Midwesterners.  Plus I can't see him walking away from Hayward or Mack, or Nored.  They return a decent amount of talent, and this year showed Stevens he can compete on a national stage while at Butler.  Why leave?  Butler will come up with some good cash.  Guaranteed.  Maybe not Phil Knight money..but Butler will make it hard for him to leave for purely financial reasons.

[MUBurrow]

I think Brad Stevens should take the Nets job for $12-$15 /year.

[kmwtrucks]

They also return Howard, Vansant and hahn. They will be real good next year, hopefully with Stevens.

[ChicosBailBonds]

If I were him I'd stay at Butler and build a dynasty there. Dude is only 33 years old - that is incredible. If he wins consistently he could lock up the State of Indiana recruiting wise.

Kids want to be on tv.  Butler is in the Horizon so tv options are lited.  No one is going to lock up the state if Indiana from a recruiting perspective.  Just as Gonzaga hasn't in Washington, George Mason didn't out east, etc, etc.

I'd love to see the guy stay but either result would not surprise me in terms of their coach.  With the talent in Indiana, no one is going to lock it up, least of all Butler.

[Norm]

Chicos,

Couldn't Butler start to alter where the elite guys from Indiana go? Stevens got Haywood when everyone thought he was going to Purdue. With this run, I would think players start to look at Butler in a much better light and I think a lot of them would want to play for Stevens.

[warriors1991]

Chicos,

Couldn't Butler start to alter where the elite guys from Indiana go? Stevens got Haywood when everyone thought he was going to Purdue. With this run, I would think players start to look at Butler in a much better light and I think a lot of them would want to play for Stevens.

I'm not gonna be a prude and correct people's spelling but come on, at least get the name of the player correct. There is no Haywood on Butler. It's either Matt Howard or Gordon Hayward.

[Norm]

Oops. Meant Howard. Sorry.

[DawsonCreekFillanderer]

It would be interesting to see Indiana offer Stevens then have him reject, in part because the previous two tenants have cheapened the IU basketball brand.

[mugrad99]

Kids want to be on tv.  Butler is in the Horizon so tv options are lited.  No one is going to lock up the state if Indiana from a recruiting perspective.  Just as Gonzaga hasn't in Washington, George Mason didn't out east, etc, etc.

I'd love to see the guy stay but either result would not surprise me in terms of their coach.  With the talent in Indiana, no one is going to lock it up, least of all Butler.

Agree with not "locking up" Indiana, but I heard they have 3Top 100 players for next year, as well as they made the "short list" for Cody Zeller.

Huge difference between George Mason and Butler. If you can't see that, well then, I don't know what else to say.

[GGGG]

I think he gets a nice raise and stays at Butler and waits out for a better program than Oregon.

BTW, one of the reasons they got both Howard and Hayward was because of the academics.  Both were offered by Purdue, but Stevens made it clear that practice time would not interfere with their majors.  Furthermore, did you hear that a bunch of these guys bussed back to campus yesterday to attend morning class?

I don't think he's ever going to pull in huge classes, but Indiana high school players tend to be very smart and very skilled.  He'd do just fine there pulling in the next tier of guys who don't go elsewhere.

[damuts222]

I think he gets a nice raise and stays at Butler and waits out for a better program than Oregon.

BTW, one of the reasons they got both Howard and Hayward was because of the academics.  Both were offered by Purdue, but Stevens made it clear that practice time would not interfere with their majors.  Furthermore, did you hear that a bunch of these guys bussed back to campus yesterday to attend morning class?

I don't think he's ever going to pull in huge classes, but Indiana high school players tend to be very smart and very skilled.  He'd do just fine there pulling in the next tier of guys who don't go elsewhere.

The announcers said that 2 out of the 5 Academic All-Americans were on Butler, Howard and Hayward. It's amazing that with all the academics talk about graduation rates of schools and two good schools like Butler and Duke that have high standards for their athletes meet in the finals.

[Norm]

There are 15 Academic All-Americans. Howard is on the first team and Hayward is on the third team. Awesome accomplishment by both.

[damuts222]

There are 15 Academic All-Americans. Howard is on the first team and Hayward is on the third team. Awesome accomplishment by both.

Thanks. I usually don't cheer for Duke but seeing as I followed Jon Scheyer in high school I was rooting for him. Through watching the way Butler played I found myself rooting for Butler. It's amazing that with the little amount of money that goes into their program they are able to come out with such a fine product on the court.

I however do not see Stevens leaving, I think it is the same situation as Buzz with Marquette in that he knows he got an opportunity early on with Butler and feels he owes them a little, IMO. To be honest with his demeanor I don't think he would like to coach at a bigger school.

[Canadian Dimes]

I think he gets a nice raise and stays at Butler and waits out for a better program than Oregon.

BTW, one of the reasons they got both Howard and Hayward was because of the academics.  Both were offered by Purdue, but Stevens made it clear that practice time would not interfere with their majors.  Furthermore, did you hear that a bunch of these guys bussed back to campus yesterday to attend morning class?

I don't think he's ever going to pull in huge classes, but Indiana high school players tend to be very smart and very skilled.  He'd do just fine there pulling in the next tier of guys who don't go elsewhere.

+10000

The oregon job while it represents alot of moeny is not that great of a gig.  Stephens can parlay this year into a huge pay raise at Butler and then will still have a top 10 team next year.  He can potentially have a much better opportunity to move to a real program next year.  Who knows maybe even the IU job by then.  But seriously its not like he is graduating 5 seniors and needs to strike while the iron is hot, the iron will still be hot next year and the choices will most likely be much better.

[flash]

There are 15 Academic All-Americans. Howard is on the first team and Hayward is on the third team. Awesome accomplishment by both.

Who are the other Academic All-Americans?

[jaybilaswho?]

Couldn't Butler start to alter where the elite guys from Indiana go? Stevens got Haywood when everyone thought he was going to Purdue. With this run, I would think players start to look at Butler in a much better light and I think a lot of them would want to play for Stevens.

Glad you were corrected that it was Howard not Haywood. Also, Hayward, as the commentators said last night, was more of a tennis star in high school so he wasn't getting looks from many programs, so its not like Stevens stole him from anyone.

I don't know..but I think Stevens is an Indiana native if I'm not mistaken??  Did he graduate from DePauw - I think they said during the broadcast?? Get the feeling he's a pretty humble dude, looks like his wife is from there also. 

He did go to DePauw. What does "looks like hiw wife is from there also" mean? Are you referring to a stereotype of some sort? I didnt see his wife so I dont know what she looks like, but that coming made me curious as to what native Indianians [is that the right word?] look like.

I agree with most of you. Stevens does not need to go anywhere right now. He still has a young team and is not losing much of anything at all. He will still be competitive and should still be a threat in next years tournament, although with 95 other teams in the mix, and a hand full of 'butler' like teams, it will be much harder. He should parlay a better deal from Butler at least for the next few years.

[pillardean]

Who are the other Academic All-Americans?

From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_NCAA_Men's_Basketball_All-Americans

Edit: Scroll down and you will find it...

First Team
Player School Class GPA/Major

Cole Aldrich Kansas Junior 3.32 Communication studies
Tim Abromaitis Notre Dame Junior 3.72 Finance
Patrick Foley Columbia Senior 3.87 History
Matt Howard Butler Junior 3.77 Finance
Yves Mekongo La Salle Senior 3.81 Int. Science, Business & Tech.

Second Team
Player School Class GPA/Major

Luke Babbitt Nevada Sophomore 3.51 Pre-business Administration
Marc Larson Bowling Green Senior 3.97 Engineering Technology
Roman Martinez New Mexico Senior 3.48 Business Admin./Marketing
E'Twaun Moore Purdue Junior 3.30 Org. Leadership & Supervision
Nick Schneiders South Carolina Upstate Sophomore 3.71 Graphic Design

Third Team
Player School Class GPA/Major

Devon Beitzel Northern Colorado Junior 3.72 Finance & Accounting
Graham Hatch Wichita State Junior 3.73 Chemistry
Gordon Hayward Butler Sophomore 3.31 Computer Engineering
Matthew Mullery Brown Senior 3.31 Modern American History
Jake Robinson Western Carolina Senior 3.40 Finance

[Nukem2]

Stevens background is Indiana/Midwest.  Hard to envision him leaving his background area for a job on the West Coast in an area with which he has zero familiarity and zeros contacts.  I suspect he' stay at Butler to ride the hoirse he has trained until the current guys graduate/leave and move on in a couple years to somplace more central than Oregon.

[GGGG]

Glad you were corrected that it was Howard not Haywood. Also, Hayward, as the commentators said last night, was more of a tennis star in high school so he wasn't getting looks from many programs, so its not like Stevens stole him from anyone.

Hayward was actively recruited by Northwestern, and had late offers from Purdue and Michigan.

He did go to DePauw. What does "looks like hiw wife is from there also" mean? Are you referring to a stereotype of some sort? I didnt see his wife so I dont know what she looks like, but that coming made me curious as to what native Indianians [is that the right word?] look like.

Well, having lived here for about ten years now, I would say that most of them look a good 15-20 years behind the times fashion-wise.  "Hoosier Hair" is a phrase I use often.

[Dawson Rental]

I'm not gonna be a prude and correct people's spelling but come on, at least get the name of the player correct. There is no Haywood on Butler. It's either Matt Howard or Gordon Hayward.

There can be no finer example than this of why Butler will never "lock up" the talent in Indiana.

[Warrior of Law]

I think the possibility of coaching in Indiana (specifically IU) is greater than coaching elsewhere. Next year he'll be the leading contender for the position.