Turn that frown upside down

So I spent all of last week at my sister’s place up in Wisconsin, pretty much officially assuming the role of “World’s Greatest Uncle” to my 3-year-old nephew and his nine month old little brother. My single greatest feat came on Day 2, when I taught the older one how to catch … and it only took a couple minutes. The kid soaks up information better than John Daly soaks up Bud Heavy at the 19th Hole.

But a lot has happened since then, so I better just shutup about by uncling (yeah, I just made up that word). First and foremost, there are several reports of excessive hyperventilating coming from a four-block radius on Indy’s near-north side.

Well, all of us Butler fans can pretty much take a seat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to consider drowning myself after this two-game losing streak left the Bulldogs 22-4 with a dwindling chance of an at-large bid. It’s just time to be real about this team … a team that is still nothing to turn your nose at.

But being the kind of guy that I am, I am looking at this as an opportunity to just take a step back and realize what’s really going on here. I had pretty much one though after that hideous loss to Milwaukee last night, a loss that in many respects was worse than falling to the Loyola Junior Varsities. The thought was that this team is tired. They’re hitting the proverbial wall. And it’s both physical and mental at this point. Just watch the game … most of the bad fouls on defense come as the result of slow feet and lazy movements, for one example.

So I woke up this morning, decided to take a browse at the game story in the Indy Star. And here’s what Brad Stevens had to say: “I’m never going to say that. Nope. No wall.”

I love Brad, but come on, he’s saying that only because it’s exactly the opposite. You think he’s going to say, “This team is worn out. I can see it in their legs during the game, and I’m going to have to address that in the best way I can.” At this point of the season, he knows he can’t go that route. This is the start of the stretch run, when if you’re not playing your best ball, your season can end pretty quick. In other words, not the time to tell your players they are tired.

But here’s what is perhaps even more important: on top of being a half step slower, Butler is playing all of these teams for the second time this season and it’s really showing on the floor. Teams they beat like a drum the first time around aren’t just going to let that happen a second time. These coaches are better than that (most of them), and they are learning more and more about the Bulldogs every time they see them on film or in person. Until the young guys realize that, they will come out disinterested against inferior teams.

You could make the argument that going through this inevitable part of the schedule, it’s all on Stevens to not only prepare his team differently and do all the little things that go along with making it through the bumps of a full season. I would tend to agree with that, in theory, but in the end it really falls on the players’ shoulders when they are on the floor. The freshmen may be young, but they know what’s going on. And they’ll either work through it while learning … or they won’t. It’s just like going through your freshman year of college as a student: You will either learn how to handle being on your own and how to handle your booze and grades at the same time, or you’ll finish the year with a 2.1 GPA.

Look, with a 22-4 record, there is not much to complain about in the grand scheme of things. Do the fans expect more of this program now? Yes, and rightfully so. But is it a bit unrealistic at times? Yes, certainly. I have been guilty myself of both.

If the Bulldogs fail to reach the NCAA Tournament, it would be a huge disappointment from the standpoint of the development of this team – and the freshman class in particular. No, it won’t be the end of the world, but I firmly believe that if we are going to see this group’s full potential in the next couple years, then a spot in the field of 65 is a must this March. I say they’ll still be there … somehow, someway.