Examining Brad Stevens’ Butler Success

The 2015-2016 Boston Celtics lack the star power of the prototypical NBA championship contender. The Celtics have no players who have been selected to represent their current or former teams as all-stars, other than David Lee, who is far removed from playing at the level which earned him the honor only two seasons ago. Nevertheless, Celtics fans’ optimism regarding their team remains as high as the rafters inside the TD Garden. The biggest reason for this might just be the head coach, Brad Stevens, and his impressive track record at the collegiate level of winning, and winning big, with much less talent than his opponents. So, how good is his record?

The 2009-2010 Butler Bulldogs men’s basketball ball team shook the sprawling landscape of college basketball. Hailing from the Horizon League, a lesser known mid-major conference, no one could have predicted the Bulldogs would accomplish all that they did. After all, only one current member of the Horizon League has made it to the sweet sixteen, Valparaiso in 1998, and even this required legendary late game heroics from present day Valpo coach Bryce Drew. But somehow, Brad Stevens’ Bulldogs bit and clawed their way to the NCAA championship game, beating such storied programs as Ohio State, Syracuse, and Michigan State along the road — teams whose fanbases cringe at the very thought of losing to upstart mid-majors like Butler had been at the time.

It took the most successful men’s college basketball program of our modern era, the Duke Blue Devils, to stop the Bulldogs that season, in what was a title bout for the ages. Pundits didn’t think Stevens’ team had a shot against Duke. But the team from the Horizon League went toe to toe with the heavily favored Blue Devils for the contest’s entirety, giving Coach K’s squad the unexpected fight of its life. The game came down to its final seconds and would have ended in Butler victory had it not been for a 3 point shot by Gordon Hayward that careened just a little too hard off the backboard and rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.

In 2011, Butler basketball stunned the sports world again, despite an even less auspicious storyline heading into the NCAA tournament. These Bulldogs posted a modest 12-5 record in regular season conference play and weren’t even the top seed entering the Horizon League’s postseason tournament. They would win that tournament, though, earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Stevens’ boys proceeded to knock out perennial powerhouses Wisconsin, Florida, and Pittsburg in their astonishing charge towards a return appearance in the NCCA title game. This time around, Butler only lost to what is the second most successful men’s college basketball program spanning the past few decades, the UConn Huskies, who have sneakily won four championships since 1999. Few thought Butler had any business playing against the Huskies in the title game, but those who did pointed to Brad Stevens being at the helm as their reason.

How did Stevens transform these lowly Bulldogs teams into championship contenders? The answer will surprise you….

It turns out, Brad’s Butler teams were better than we remember, particularly the 2009-2010 edition. The best player on the court during Butler’s excruciatingly close loss to Duke was a member of the Bulldogs, judging by professional success at least. I’m talking about Gordon Hayward, of course. Today, Hayward is one of the NBA’s best, a player Celtics fans have dreamed about seeing reunited with his former head coach in Boston since very the day the Celtics announced Danny Ainge had decided to give the young coach from Butler his shot in the pros.

Mason Plumlee has had the most successful professional career of any member of the 2009-2010 Blue Devils, but his current NBA average of 9 points per game pales in comparison to Hayward’s almost 20 a night for the Utah Jazz over the past two seasons. Plus, Plumlee wasn’t much of a contributor for Duke when they squared off against Butler for the championship. He played 14 minutes per contest during the 2009-2010 season, having been just a gangly freshman at the time. His college career really didn’t take off until his senior season at Duke.

The 2010-2011 Bulldogs certainly didn’t have as talented a roster as Jim Calhoun’s Huskies, who sported an embarrassment of riches in noteworthy players Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, and a young Shabazz Napier. But it’s incorrect to say this incarnation of Butler wasn’t itself a talented team. Indeed, a number of its players have gone on to have darn impressive professional careers.

Shelvin Mack is a player Celtics fans should be familiar with, as he began his post Butler career with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ D-League affiliate. Mack has since fought his way into the NBA. Right now, he can be found playing a supporting role for the second best team in Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks. Matt Howard plays in the first-tier men’s professional basketball league in France, which boasts such NBA notables as Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, and Bruce Bowen as former members. Butler’s Andrew Smith and Shawn Vanzant would also play professionally overseas.

Good coaching was a large piece of the puzzle in Butler’s unanticipated success, but Stevens’ teams were considerably more talented than they get credit for these days. Now, don’t be embarrassed, Celtics fans; you aren’t the only ones who believed Brad had won with a collection of ball boys and locker-room attendants. Celtics players have fallen into this trap, too.

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In a preseason interview with Celtics’ long time play by play commentator, Mike Gorman, in part about expectations for the 2015-2016 Celtics’ season, I recall Evan Turner asking a question of his own akin to “if Brad can win with Butler, why can’t this team win?”

Butler was a lot better than you think.