Great article in the Chicago Tribune about how Butler overcame a tough losing streak during the season through a change in their overall attitude:
Butler's frustration mounted so high that Stevens sensed the need to do what good coaches do. He let his players take ownership of their team in a way necessary for it to grow. But before turning over the meeting that changed their season, Stevens told everyone he needed to improve too. That's when senior Zach Hahn actually shouted at his coach. "I had had enough at that point and yelled, with a few choice words, 'It's not about what you guys are doing, we've got to be better,' " Hahn said. "
Everybody agreed.
" Everybody agreed that a team built on attitude needed an adjustment and that the mid-major powerhouse had developed a major ego problem.
"We kind of got the big head a little bit," Mack said. "We had to get people back to doing things we'd been doing."
Butler hasn't lost since.
"Our whole thing when you come to Butler is it's not about you," guard Ronald Nored said. "The focus is sacrificing everything for your teammates, your school and each other."
Butler Way isn't just an access road in front of some academic buildings. It's the aw-shucks, almost corny method Stevens has used to attract fundamentally sound players and build a program special enough to be the first non-power-conference school to reach back-to-back Final Fours since UNLV in 1990-91.
"It's not brain surgery," Stevens said. "You can buy a book, you can read about it. People know what the critical components of success are. Everybody in every business and every industry talks about values, mission and vision. The key is holding to them."
The line at the souvenir store inside Hinkle Fieldhouse snaked out the door. One older couple made sure to remind me that the Milan High team immortalized in "Hoosiers" lost in the 1953 Final Four the year before winning the state title. That's the script they see their Bulldogs following this weekend. On the court, as players met the media, fans of all ages took pictures and sought autographs considered priceless in a state that loves God, corn and basketball — not necessarily in that order.
"One of our core principles in our locker room is humility," Stevens said. "If you don't have that, you're not here. You've got to respect everybody."
Somebody mentioned to Stevens that he has gained enough respect to be compared to Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. It's deserved praise but dangerous too. Around here, they would take losing Stevens harder than losing to VCU.
"That's nice for people to say, but like I tell our team, 'You're only good if you're good today,'" Stevens said. "We also say, 'You're good if you play good. You're great if you do that every day.' "
It would be great for college basketball if Butler won it all playing by these rules, especially in a sport where so many coaches make their own rules.
When Stevens reflected on the pivotal Youngstown State loss, he remembered telling Howard that the three-game losing streak would be "the most valuable thing you took from Butler."
Stevens also recalled the cartoon his coach at DePauw University, Bill Fenlon, sent to encourage him through the rough patch. It's an image of a dejected superhero sitting alone under a palm tree on a deserted island. The thought bubble read, "Oh, yeah, I can fly."
"That was kind of the way we were," Stevens said. "We had the ability but we were down. We weren't far from being good. It's easy to get caught up in the negatives, but they didn't. That is the most rewarding thing about this team."
