On Saturday, the Butler Bulldogs entertained their second and final exhibition opponent. They did so in a fashion that delighted the 6,000-plus in attendance for the matinee affair at Hinkle Fieldhouse, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 93-68 win.
The visiting Tigers gave Butler all it could handle in the first half. Keeping things honest, DePauw trailed by no more than nine, which eventually became their halftime deficit of 42-33.
Adams Botts led the way for DePauw in the first half, as he scored 14 of his team-high 17 points before the break. Tommy Fernitz pitched in 10 by the halftime break.
Kellen Dunham paced Butler in the first 20 minutes with 11, while Erik Fromm kept the Tigers honest down low with 10.
DePauw had no idea how much of a second half time Butler could be. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 51-35.
Freshman guard Elijah Brown was quite impressive, as he scored 8 by the half and 10 after to finish with 18 points. Brown shot 6-of-11 from the floor and connected on all five of his free throw attempts in just 22 minutes of action.
Dunham led all scorers with 23 points and shot pretty well, knocking down 7-for-11 of his field goals and also sank all six from the charity stripe.
The second half was all about getting the Bulldogs' bench involved to see who will wind up being key contributors as the regular season starts this week.
DePauw got three into double-figure scoring. They were led by Adams Botts and Pat Haggin both scoring a team-high 17, with Tommy Fernitz adding 10.
With Dunham leading all with 23, Elijah Brown was instrumental off the bench with 18, while Erik Fromm was the third Bulldog to reach double-digits with 11 and six rebounds. Alex Barlow had 9 and three steals, with fellow starters Kameron Woods (6 points, 6 boards) and Khyle Marshall (8 points, 3 rebounds) did their part, before giving way to the Bulldog bench.
Two other freshmen got some quality minutes, as Nolan Berry and Andrew Chrabascz each pitched in 5 points.
The Bulldogs shot well overall by making 53% of his shots and 47 % (7-15) from outside the three-point arc. Butler got back to its old ways of drilling 30-of-39 from the free throw line.
Butler begins regular season play this Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the Lamar Cardinals coming to Indianapolis for an 8 p.m. tipoff and can be seen on Fox Sports 2.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Butler Bulldogs dominate Nova Southeastern in exhibition
It didn't take long at all before the Butler found themselves running away from their visitors in Tuesday night's exhibition contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The youthful home standing Bulldogs took advantage of every miscue of visiting Nova Southeastern, blowing away the Sharks, 101-64.
Alex Barlow and Kellen Dunham started in the backcourt, with Erik Fromm in the middle, while Kameron Woods and Khyle Marshall rounded out the starting lineup at the forward slots. Those five bring back a lot of experience from last year's 27-9 squad, which will be without the services of returning scorer and rebounder Roosevelt Jones this season.
Dunham (left) (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) dropped down all of his team-high 16 points, while freshman Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei) knocked down eight of his 11 by halftime.
Butler cruised its way to doubling up the Sharks through the first 20 minutes, 55-27. The Bulldogs shot pretty well in the first half, making 18-of-28 from the floor over all and sinking 7-for-13 from outside the three-point arc. Three of those seven treys came from Dunham's 3-5 shooting (5-8 overall) and junior guard Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) swished his only two attempts from downtown to finish with eight.
The second half was all about spreading out the playing time and keeping the Sharks at a distance, which is exactly what the Bulldogs were able to do. Butler was able to do what it wanted, pretty much whenever they wanted to against the visitors from the Sunshine State, outscoring Nova Southeastern 46-37 in the final half.
Khyle Marshall (left) (Davie, FL/Flanagan), who grew up just down the road from Nova Southeastern, finished with 13 points (6-8 field goals) and four boards. Freshman Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) quickly became a crowd favorite as he scrapped his way to scoring six of his 11 points in the first half, while also grabbing six rebounds.
Senior center Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) added eight points in his starting role, making 5-of-6 free throws and Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) snagged nine rebounds to his credit.
Junior Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) scored five on a three and a couple from the charity stripe and flighty sophomore guard Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) put four on the scoreboard, with four rebounds and two assists.
Freshmen Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/Chrysler) was one of a few that awoke the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd on hand in the second half, scoring six in just eight minutes. Three additional freshmen gave it their all when they got their opportunity. Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) netted four points and four rebounds, Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) had four and dished out a pair of assists and local product Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel) managed five points in eight minutes on the floor.
Nova Southeastern was only able to get two into double-figures. Chris Page led all scorers with a game-high 18 points on six field goals and 4-4 from the foul line. Casey Carroll had 13 and Brian Cahill added nine for the visiting Sharks.
In the post-game press conference, I got the chance to ask Butler head coach Brandon Miller about the depth he'll have in his frontcourt.
"I think that's exactly what they give us. They give us depth and looking at our team, we're able to play a number of different combinations. Those guys fit to what we're doing and they each have their strengths and I think they'll both give something to this team. We're counting on those guys to play and that's why they're not going to redshirt. They'll give us valuable minutes throughout the season," said a confident Miller.
It seems pretty obvious that their four-game trip to Australia in August has helped this group of Butler Bulldogs and their chemistry immensely and will even more as the season progresses.
Butler will be playing its second of two exhibition games against Division III DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs will open regular season play on Saturday, November 9 when they host the Lamar Cardinals of the Southland Conference for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Fox Sports 2.
Alex Barlow and Kellen Dunham started in the backcourt, with Erik Fromm in the middle, while Kameron Woods and Khyle Marshall rounded out the starting lineup at the forward slots. Those five bring back a lot of experience from last year's 27-9 squad, which will be without the services of returning scorer and rebounder Roosevelt Jones this season.
Dunham (left) (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) dropped down all of his team-high 16 points, while freshman Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei) knocked down eight of his 11 by halftime.Butler cruised its way to doubling up the Sharks through the first 20 minutes, 55-27. The Bulldogs shot pretty well in the first half, making 18-of-28 from the floor over all and sinking 7-for-13 from outside the three-point arc. Three of those seven treys came from Dunham's 3-5 shooting (5-8 overall) and junior guard Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) swished his only two attempts from downtown to finish with eight.
The second half was all about spreading out the playing time and keeping the Sharks at a distance, which is exactly what the Bulldogs were able to do. Butler was able to do what it wanted, pretty much whenever they wanted to against the visitors from the Sunshine State, outscoring Nova Southeastern 46-37 in the final half.
Khyle Marshall (left) (Davie, FL/Flanagan), who grew up just down the road from Nova Southeastern, finished with 13 points (6-8 field goals) and four boards. Freshman Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) quickly became a crowd favorite as he scrapped his way to scoring six of his 11 points in the first half, while also grabbing six rebounds. Senior center Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) added eight points in his starting role, making 5-of-6 free throws and Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) snagged nine rebounds to his credit.
Junior Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) scored five on a three and a couple from the charity stripe and flighty sophomore guard Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) put four on the scoreboard, with four rebounds and two assists.
Freshmen Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/Chrysler) was one of a few that awoke the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd on hand in the second half, scoring six in just eight minutes. Three additional freshmen gave it their all when they got their opportunity. Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) netted four points and four rebounds, Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) had four and dished out a pair of assists and local product Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel) managed five points in eight minutes on the floor.
Nova Southeastern was only able to get two into double-figures. Chris Page led all scorers with a game-high 18 points on six field goals and 4-4 from the foul line. Casey Carroll had 13 and Brian Cahill added nine for the visiting Sharks.
In the post-game press conference, I got the chance to ask Butler head coach Brandon Miller about the depth he'll have in his frontcourt.
"I think that's exactly what they give us. They give us depth and looking at our team, we're able to play a number of different combinations. Those guys fit to what we're doing and they each have their strengths and I think they'll both give something to this team. We're counting on those guys to play and that's why they're not going to redshirt. They'll give us valuable minutes throughout the season," said a confident Miller.
It seems pretty obvious that their four-game trip to Australia in August has helped this group of Butler Bulldogs and their chemistry immensely and will even more as the season progresses.
Butler will be playing its second of two exhibition games against Division III DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs will open regular season play on Saturday, November 9 when they host the Lamar Cardinals of the Southland Conference for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Fox Sports 2.
Butler's 2013-14 schedule: Bulldog Big East tv exposure
The Butler Bulldogs begin their first of two exhibition games to jump start the Brandon Miller head coaching era in the 2013-14 season tonight when they welcome in Nova Southeastern to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Four days later on Saturday, November 2, the Bulldogs will host Division III's DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana for their second and final exhibition contest before the games start counting for real.
Butler will be completely exposed to a national audience all season long in its first year as a member of the Big East conference. The regular season starts off with two straight games on Fox Sports 2, with the regular season/home opener with Lamar on Saturday, November 9 at 8 p.m. and Princeton one week later on November 16 at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs continue their three-game opening spree at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the SEC's Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday, November 19 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
Before heading to Lake Buena Vista, Florida for the Old Spice Classic at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, Butler heads up I-69 to Muncie, Indiana to face the improved Ball State Cardinals at Worthen Arena at 2 p.m. on Nov. 23.
The ESPN networks will showcase the Old Spice Classic from November 28-December 1. The Bulldogs open up with a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Washington State Cougars on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. Their second Old Spice game will be against either #12 Oklahoma State or Purdue. Others that Butler could meet up with are LSU, Siena, Saint Joseph's and #13 Memphis.
The week following, Butler returns home where they'll play three games in Indianapolis before ending their semester and starting their first season in the Big East conference. Home dates with North Dakota (Dec. 7) and Manchester (Dec. 9) on Fox Sports 1 will be offensive tune-ups.
On December 14, Butler faces Purdue in what could be their second meeting in just over two weeks. The two are the second game in the Close the Gap: Crossroads Classic at Banker's Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers. The Bulldogs and Boilermakers will be a 6 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network.
The only game, aside from their game at Ball State, that isn't currently slated to be televised, is December 21st at Evansville.
The Bulldogs get back into things on Fox Sports 2 to host NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) on December 28 at 1 p.m. They'll follow that up with a New Year's Eve game in the Big East opener at Hinkle Fieldhouse vs. the Villanova Wildcats at 7:30 p.m.
January and February are the meat and potatoes of Butler's schedule and will truly be a test of how they will survive in their first season in the Big East conference.
Ringing in the new year in conference play, they'll hit the road to Cincinnati, Ohio to face the Xavier Musketeers on Fox Sports National on January 4 at 2 p.m. Butler will have three more road tests in January, with all three in unfamiliar territory. Road games at Creighton (Jan. 14), Providence (Jan. 21) and Seton Hall (Jan. 29) will at be televised on Fox Sports 1.
Home games with DePaul (Jan. 9) and Georgetown (Jan. 11) will both be on Fox Sports 1. The home game with Marquette (Jan. 18) will be on CBS Sports Network and St. John's (Jan. 25) first trip to Indianapolis will be on Fox Sports National.
February starts off with huge games on the road at Marquette on Feb. 4 (Fox Sports 1) and Georgetown on Feb. 8 (CBS). Two straight home games will give Butler a little break after four of five on the road. Xavier on Feb. 11 (Fox Sports 1) and Creighton on Feb. 13 (CBS Sports Network) come to Hinkle for two games in three nights for the Bulldogs.
Butler will spend three of their final five games on the road and all five will be on Fox Sports 1. They'll make their first trips to St. John's (Feb. 18), Villanova (Feb. 26) and DePaul (Mar. 6), but will also play Providence (Feb. 23) and then Seton Hall (Mar. 8) to wrap up regular season play at home.
It's going to be a big step for the Big East, as they will be the focal content throughout the winter with the conference's new television home being Fox Sports 1 and 2.
Four days later on Saturday, November 2, the Bulldogs will host Division III's DePauw University from Greencastle, Indiana for their second and final exhibition contest before the games start counting for real.
Butler will be completely exposed to a national audience all season long in its first year as a member of the Big East conference. The regular season starts off with two straight games on Fox Sports 2, with the regular season/home opener with Lamar on Saturday, November 9 at 8 p.m. and Princeton one week later on November 16 at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs continue their three-game opening spree at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the SEC's Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday, November 19 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
Before heading to Lake Buena Vista, Florida for the Old Spice Classic at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, Butler heads up I-69 to Muncie, Indiana to face the improved Ball State Cardinals at Worthen Arena at 2 p.m. on Nov. 23.The ESPN networks will showcase the Old Spice Classic from November 28-December 1. The Bulldogs open up with a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Washington State Cougars on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. Their second Old Spice game will be against either #12 Oklahoma State or Purdue. Others that Butler could meet up with are LSU, Siena, Saint Joseph's and #13 Memphis.
The week following, Butler returns home where they'll play three games in Indianapolis before ending their semester and starting their first season in the Big East conference. Home dates with North Dakota (Dec. 7) and Manchester (Dec. 9) on Fox Sports 1 will be offensive tune-ups.
On December 14, Butler faces Purdue in what could be their second meeting in just over two weeks. The two are the second game in the Close the Gap: Crossroads Classic at Banker's Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers. The Bulldogs and Boilermakers will be a 6 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network.
The only game, aside from their game at Ball State, that isn't currently slated to be televised, is December 21st at Evansville.
The Bulldogs get back into things on Fox Sports 2 to host NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) on December 28 at 1 p.m. They'll follow that up with a New Year's Eve game in the Big East opener at Hinkle Fieldhouse vs. the Villanova Wildcats at 7:30 p.m.
January and February are the meat and potatoes of Butler's schedule and will truly be a test of how they will survive in their first season in the Big East conference.
Ringing in the new year in conference play, they'll hit the road to Cincinnati, Ohio to face the Xavier Musketeers on Fox Sports National on January 4 at 2 p.m. Butler will have three more road tests in January, with all three in unfamiliar territory. Road games at Creighton (Jan. 14), Providence (Jan. 21) and Seton Hall (Jan. 29) will at be televised on Fox Sports 1.Home games with DePaul (Jan. 9) and Georgetown (Jan. 11) will both be on Fox Sports 1. The home game with Marquette (Jan. 18) will be on CBS Sports Network and St. John's (Jan. 25) first trip to Indianapolis will be on Fox Sports National.
February starts off with huge games on the road at Marquette on Feb. 4 (Fox Sports 1) and Georgetown on Feb. 8 (CBS). Two straight home games will give Butler a little break after four of five on the road. Xavier on Feb. 11 (Fox Sports 1) and Creighton on Feb. 13 (CBS Sports Network) come to Hinkle for two games in three nights for the Bulldogs.
Butler will spend three of their final five games on the road and all five will be on Fox Sports 1. They'll make their first trips to St. John's (Feb. 18), Villanova (Feb. 26) and DePaul (Mar. 6), but will also play Providence (Feb. 23) and then Seton Hall (Mar. 8) to wrap up regular season play at home.
It's going to be a big step for the Big East, as they will be the focal content throughout the winter with the conference's new television home being Fox Sports 1 and 2.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Big East's basketball Media Day leaves Butler with work to do
Today in New York City, it was Big East basketball Media Day for both men's and women's basketball. Three schools played the role of new kid on the block. Butler, Xavier and Creighton are all starting their first athletic seasons in the Big East conference.
This trio of newcomers to the league have been selected by the coaches to finish 3rd (Creighton), 7th (Xavier) and 9th (Butler) out of 10. Below is the full pre-season coaches poll that was revealed today before national media members in The Big Apple at Chelsea Piers.
1. Marquette
2. Georgetown
3. Creighton
4. Villanova
5. St. John's
6. Providence
7. Xavier
8. Seton Hall
9. BUTLER
10. DePaul
Other pre-season predictions:
Player of the Year: Doug McDermott, 6'8 senior forward, Creighton (Ames, IA)
Rookie of the Year: Rysheed Jordan 6'4 freshmen guard, St. John's (Philadelphia, PA)
All-Big East 1st team:
All-Big East 2nd team:
Honorable mention:
2013-14 will be quite the learning experience for this rendition of Butler Bulldog basketball. New conference, first-year head coach and every game viewable by a national audience.
It's been said by some that the 2013-14 season will be a down year for Butler basketball for numerous reasons. They lost sharp-shooting three[point threat Rotnei Clarke and the tough inside presence of Andrew Smith to graduation. Returning starter Roosevelt Jones was lost for the season when he injured his left wrist during Butler's four-game Australian exhibition tour in early August, leaving a bit of a hole in the Bulldogs' offense.
Butler will have its hands full for the whole season, to say the least. The Catholic 7 (Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul) have welcomed the Bulldogs, Xavier and Creighton with open arms to help create a new identity for the new Big East. Those seven have a great NCAA Tournament history already and bring in upswing Creighton, Xavier who's had some Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances and cap it off with Butler's back-to-back national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011.
We're in for quite a winter in this first season of the new Big East and it will be exciting to see how many teams make the NCAA Tournament. It all starts to unfold in early November!
This trio of newcomers to the league have been selected by the coaches to finish 3rd (Creighton), 7th (Xavier) and 9th (Butler) out of 10. Below is the full pre-season coaches poll that was revealed today before national media members in The Big Apple at Chelsea Piers.
1. Marquette
2. Georgetown
3. Creighton
4. Villanova
5. St. John's
6. Providence
7. Xavier
8. Seton Hall
9. BUTLER
10. DePaul
Other pre-season predictions:
Player of the Year: Doug McDermott, 6'8 senior forward, Creighton (Ames, IA)
Rookie of the Year: Rysheed Jordan 6'4 freshmen guard, St. John's (Philadelphia, PA)
All-Big East 1st team:
- D'Angelo Harrison, 6'4 junior guard, St. John's (Missouri City, TX)
- Semaj Christon, 6'3 sophomore guard, Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)
- Markel Starks, 6'1 senior guard, Georgetown (Accokeek, MD)
- Davante Gardner, 6'8 senior forward, Marquette (Suffolk, VA)
- Bryce Cotton, 6'1 senior guard, Providence (Tucson, AZ)
All-Big East 2nd team:
- Jamil Wilson, 6'7 senior forward, Marquette (Racine, WI)
- JaKarr Sampson, 6'9 sophomore forward, St. John's (Akron, OH)
- Fuquan Edwin, 6'6 senior forward, Seton Hall (Paterson, NJ)
- Ryan Arcidiacono, 6'3 sophomore guard, Villanova (Langhorne, PA)
- JayVaughn Pinkston, 6'7 junior forward, Villanova (Brooklyn, NY)
- Cleveland Melvin, 6'8 senior forward, DePaul (Baltimore, MD)
Honorable mention:
- Kadeem Batts, 6'10 senior forward, Providence (Boston, MA)
- Chris Obekpa, 6'9 sophomore center, St. John's (Makurdi, Nigeria)
2013-14 will be quite the learning experience for this rendition of Butler Bulldog basketball. New conference, first-year head coach and every game viewable by a national audience.
It's been said by some that the 2013-14 season will be a down year for Butler basketball for numerous reasons. They lost sharp-shooting three[point threat Rotnei Clarke and the tough inside presence of Andrew Smith to graduation. Returning starter Roosevelt Jones was lost for the season when he injured his left wrist during Butler's four-game Australian exhibition tour in early August, leaving a bit of a hole in the Bulldogs' offense. Butler will have its hands full for the whole season, to say the least. The Catholic 7 (Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul) have welcomed the Bulldogs, Xavier and Creighton with open arms to help create a new identity for the new Big East. Those seven have a great NCAA Tournament history already and bring in upswing Creighton, Xavier who's had some Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances and cap it off with Butler's back-to-back national runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011.
We're in for quite a winter in this first season of the new Big East and it will be exciting to see how many teams make the NCAA Tournament. It all starts to unfold in early November!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Butler Bulldogs anxious for 2013-14 Big East debut
It may have become official on July 1st, but the 2013-14 version of the Butler Bulldogs couldn't be more ready to start their first season of play in the new Big East conference.
There are quite a bit of schools that have gone elsewhere until all of the dust really settles. Former Big East icons Louisville, UConn, Cincinnati and Rutgers have all moved to new American Athletic Conference. After 2013-14, Louisville heads to the ACC to help make it the new super conference in college basketball. Rutgers, along with Maryland, will both become a part of the Big Ten, to give it 14 members.
Butler, Xavier, and Creighton have all joined up with 7 of the original Big East members in Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul to form the 10-team new Big East.
Playing in its third conference in three seasons, Butler feels like it has finally found a place where it can showcase itself on a national level. From the Horizon League two years ago and to its one-year stint with the Atlantic 10, the Bulldog traditions welcome joining the Big East conference and what it will do for Butler University as a whole.
Under 1st year head coach Brandon Miller, there will be quite a few changes from the 2012-13 team. The Miller Era has started and Brad Stevens is now the head coach of the Boston Celtics. It was tough to see Stevens make a quick exit for the NBA, but Butler has welcomed back former backcourt star Brandon Miller to take over the reigns and continue The Butler Way, just as Stevens built it up so well.
The Bulldogs officially began practice for the season on September 26 and despite being without one its top returning starters, Roosevelt Jones, depth will be an asset for Butler in the 2013-14 season.
Jones suffered a season-ending injury to his left wrist during the first of Butler's four-game Australian trip in early August. He will receive a medical redshirt and be able to continue as a Bulldog during the 2014-15 season.
Butler will have four weeks of regularly routines and practices before starting their two-game exhibition play. Nova Southeastern comes to Hinkle Fieldhouse on October 29 at 7 p.m. and DePauw visits the Bulldogs on Saturday, November 2 at 2 p.m. Without Jones in the starting lineup, numerous others will be counted on to contribute.
Two starters return from last season's 27-9 squad. Senior forward Khyle Marshall (top photo) (Davie, FL/Flanagan) and junior point guard Alex Barlow (Springboro, OH/Archbishop Moeller) come back with plenty of experience. Sophomore Kellen Dunham (photo at left)
(Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights), senior Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) and junior Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) should more than likely round out the starting lineup.
Juniors Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) and Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) should be see a good amount of time off the bench in the rotation. 6'3 sophomore Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) should also be a spark off the Bulldog bench.
Butler has quite the freshman class for Coach Miller's first set of recruits. Yes, they were all originally contacted and recruited by Brad Stevens, but they stuck with their commitment to Miller and the Butler program, even after Stevens jaunted to the Celtics.
Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei), Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel), Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) and Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/New Castle Chrysler) will all four be battling to see action on the court this winter. 6'10 Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) and 6'7 Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) are both very likely to see time in Butler's frontcourt carousel.
It's going to be quite a transition during Brandon Miller's first year at the helm of the Butler Bulldogs, but there's extreme potential to make a lot of noise and shock the college basketball world when they least expect it. Most publications have thrown Butler into finishing between 6th through 10th in their first season in the Big East. Two weeks remain until the Bulldogs start exhibition play.
There are quite a bit of schools that have gone elsewhere until all of the dust really settles. Former Big East icons Louisville, UConn, Cincinnati and Rutgers have all moved to new American Athletic Conference. After 2013-14, Louisville heads to the ACC to help make it the new super conference in college basketball. Rutgers, along with Maryland, will both become a part of the Big Ten, to give it 14 members.
Butler, Xavier, and Creighton have all joined up with 7 of the original Big East members in Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul to form the 10-team new Big East.
Playing in its third conference in three seasons, Butler feels like it has finally found a place where it can showcase itself on a national level. From the Horizon League two years ago and to its one-year stint with the Atlantic 10, the Bulldog traditions welcome joining the Big East conference and what it will do for Butler University as a whole. Under 1st year head coach Brandon Miller, there will be quite a few changes from the 2012-13 team. The Miller Era has started and Brad Stevens is now the head coach of the Boston Celtics. It was tough to see Stevens make a quick exit for the NBA, but Butler has welcomed back former backcourt star Brandon Miller to take over the reigns and continue The Butler Way, just as Stevens built it up so well.
The Bulldogs officially began practice for the season on September 26 and despite being without one its top returning starters, Roosevelt Jones, depth will be an asset for Butler in the 2013-14 season.
Jones suffered a season-ending injury to his left wrist during the first of Butler's four-game Australian trip in early August. He will receive a medical redshirt and be able to continue as a Bulldog during the 2014-15 season.Butler will have four weeks of regularly routines and practices before starting their two-game exhibition play. Nova Southeastern comes to Hinkle Fieldhouse on October 29 at 7 p.m. and DePauw visits the Bulldogs on Saturday, November 2 at 2 p.m. Without Jones in the starting lineup, numerous others will be counted on to contribute.
Two starters return from last season's 27-9 squad. Senior forward Khyle Marshall (top photo) (Davie, FL/Flanagan) and junior point guard Alex Barlow (Springboro, OH/Archbishop Moeller) come back with plenty of experience. Sophomore Kellen Dunham (photo at left)
(Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights), senior Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) and junior Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) should more than likely round out the starting lineup.
Juniors Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) and Jackson Aldridge (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) should be see a good amount of time off the bench in the rotation. 6'3 sophomore Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) should also be a spark off the Bulldog bench.
Butler has quite the freshman class for Coach Miller's first set of recruits. Yes, they were all originally contacted and recruited by Brad Stevens, but they stuck with their commitment to Miller and the Butler program, even after Stevens jaunted to the Celtics.
Elijah Brown (Los Angeles, CA/Mater Dei), Michael Volovic (Carmel, IN/Carmel), Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) and Steven Bennett (New Castle, IN/New Castle Chrysler) will all four be battling to see action on the court this winter. 6'10 Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) and 6'7 Andrew Chrabascz (Portsmouth, RI/Cushing Academy) are both very likely to see time in Butler's frontcourt carousel.
It's going to be quite a transition during Brandon Miller's first year at the helm of the Butler Bulldogs, but there's extreme potential to make a lot of noise and shock the college basketball world when they least expect it. Most publications have thrown Butler into finishing between 6th through 10th in their first season in the Big East. Two weeks remain until the Bulldogs start exhibition play.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Butler's Blue II passes away, leaves legacy
He lived
a very fulfilled life as Butler University's athletics mascot fo
r his whole life, dating back to 2004 and ending with the final athletic events of the 2012-13 calendar. On May 20, 2013, Blue II officially retired from his active duties as mascot of the Butler Bulldogs, but gave the reigns to Blue III, who will be known as "Trip" on Friday, March 9 at the final regular season home game against Xavier.
Trip made appearances throughout the remainder of Butler's spring sports calendar.
Blue II became an instant celebrity when Butler's men's basketball team wore Cinderella's slippers to their fullest during their 2010 and 2011 NCAA Tournament runs all the way to the National Championship game each year. Blue suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy, which affects both the right and left sides of the heart, which decided Blue II's ultimate fate on August 31.
Upon his retirement as Butler's live mascot, Blue II had the privilege of walking across the stage at the May 2013 Butler commencement ceremonies, putting his stamp of approval on the spring semester's Butler University graduates.
He was owned by Butler University's Director of Web Marketing, Michael Kaltenmark, who is a 2002 Butler grad.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Butler releases 2013-14 schedule; face challenges in new Big East
Joining the Big East is going to be an amazing thing for Butler University as a whole, especially the things it will do for men's basketball now and in the coming years. Two years removed from playing in the Horizon League and now just months have passed since the Bulldogs' final play in their lone season in the Atlantic 10 conference, Butler has quite a challenge ahead in the 2013-14 men's basketball season under first-season head coach Brandon Miller.
Butler has two exhibition games on the slate for the pre-season. Nova Southeastern visits the Bulldogs on Tuesday, October 29 and DePauw will make the short drive from Greencastle, Indiana on Saturday, November 2.
The Bulldogs have a somewhat unique non-conference slate, as they'll start off the regular season hosting Lamar (Nov. 9), Princeton (Nov. 16) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 19). They'll cap off their first two weeks of the season with a Saturday afternoon affair in a trip just an hour north of Butler's Indianapolis campus at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana on November 23 at 2 p.m.
Thanksgiving weekend, Butler will participate in the eight-team 2013 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Bulldogs meet up with Washington State in their first game of the Old Spice Classic on Thursday, November 28. Their second round opponent will either be Purdue or Oklahoma State. Depending on how the matchups shape up, BU has a chance to play Memphis, Siena, LSU or St. Joseph's, all four of which are on the other half of the bracket.
Following the Thanksgiving break, home dates with North Dakota (Dec. 7) and Manchester (Dec. 9) help the Dawgs open the month of December. Saturday, December 14, Butler will play Purdue, in what could be their second meeting of the season, at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The neutral site contest with the Purdue Boilermakers is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff as the second of two games in the Close the Gap: Crossroads Classic. Notre Dame and Indiana face off in the first game at 3:15 p.m. that day.
Just before the Bulldogs take time for Christmas break, they take a trip to Evansville to play the Purple Aces at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 21. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) makes a trip from the Garden State to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 28 at 1 p.m.
Big East conference season starts out the way Butler hoped it would, with a long-time conference power in the Villanova Wildcats on New Years Eve at 7:30 p.m.
Hitting the road in the 10-team Big East might be the biggest challenge, other than replacing the play of injured forward Roosevelt Jones.
Road trips to Xavier (Jan. 4), Creighton (Jan. 14), Providence (Jan. 21), Seton Hall (Jan. 29), Marquette (Feb. 4), Georgetown (Feb. 8), St. John's (Feb. 18), Villanova (Feb. 26) and DePaul (Mar. 6) will provide more than enough test for the 2013-14 version of Butler Bulldog basketball.
Along with the aforementioned home games with Lamar, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Manchester, North Dakota and NJIT, Butler also hosts a pretty hefty group of Big East foes. Villanova (Dec. 31) becomes the first to grace Hinkle Fieldhouse with its Big East tradition. DePaul (Jan. 9), Georgetown (Jan. 11), Marquette (Jan. 18), St. John's (Jan. 25), Creighton (Feb. 13), Providence (Feb. 23) and Seton Hall (Mar. 8) will all be making their first trips to Indianapolis as Big East opponents of Butler.
As per usual tradition in college basketball, the Big East conference tournament will once again be held at the world's oldest basketball arena, Madison Square Garden, from March 12-15.
Xavier (Feb. 11) will make its second trip in as many years and fourth time playing Butler, as the two were also Atlantic 10 conference opponents in the 2012-13 season. Prior to last season, Butler and Xavier would play every other year on each school's home court.
Overall, Butler faces a very challenging schedule, but there have been many times in the past that the Bulldogs have overcome obstacles and beaten teams that the critics and so-called experts had not even given them a chance. Hinkle Fieldhouse will host a total of 17 games, including nine Big East tilts. Brandon Miller and his squad also will play 4 four neutral site games, three in Orlando, and the other against Purdue just miles away at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Nine road games in the league, plus trips to Ball State and Evansville will only make this particular Butler team that much better. As of today (Sept. 18), there are just 42 days until the Bulldogs welcome Nova Southeastern on October 29!
For anything and everything Butler basketball, come back to the Butler Bulldogs college basketball page at examiner.com!
Butler has two exhibition games on the slate for the pre-season. Nova Southeastern visits the Bulldogs on Tuesday, October 29 and DePauw will make the short drive from Greencastle, Indiana on Saturday, November 2.
The Bulldogs have a somewhat unique non-conference slate, as they'll start off the regular season hosting Lamar (Nov. 9), Princeton (Nov. 16) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 19). They'll cap off their first two weeks of the season with a Saturday afternoon affair in a trip just an hour north of Butler's Indianapolis campus at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana on November 23 at 2 p.m.
Thanksgiving weekend, Butler will participate in the eight-team 2013 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Bulldogs meet up with Washington State in their first game of the Old Spice Classic on Thursday, November 28. Their second round opponent will either be Purdue or Oklahoma State. Depending on how the matchups shape up, BU has a chance to play Memphis, Siena, LSU or St. Joseph's, all four of which are on the other half of the bracket.Following the Thanksgiving break, home dates with North Dakota (Dec. 7) and Manchester (Dec. 9) help the Dawgs open the month of December. Saturday, December 14, Butler will play Purdue, in what could be their second meeting of the season, at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The neutral site contest with the Purdue Boilermakers is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff as the second of two games in the Close the Gap: Crossroads Classic. Notre Dame and Indiana face off in the first game at 3:15 p.m. that day.
Just before the Bulldogs take time for Christmas break, they take a trip to Evansville to play the Purple Aces at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 21. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) makes a trip from the Garden State to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 28 at 1 p.m.
Big East conference season starts out the way Butler hoped it would, with a long-time conference power in the Villanova Wildcats on New Years Eve at 7:30 p.m.
Hitting the road in the 10-team Big East might be the biggest challenge, other than replacing the play of injured forward Roosevelt Jones.
Road trips to Xavier (Jan. 4), Creighton (Jan. 14), Providence (Jan. 21), Seton Hall (Jan. 29), Marquette (Feb. 4), Georgetown (Feb. 8), St. John's (Feb. 18), Villanova (Feb. 26) and DePaul (Mar. 6) will provide more than enough test for the 2013-14 version of Butler Bulldog basketball. Along with the aforementioned home games with Lamar, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Manchester, North Dakota and NJIT, Butler also hosts a pretty hefty group of Big East foes. Villanova (Dec. 31) becomes the first to grace Hinkle Fieldhouse with its Big East tradition. DePaul (Jan. 9), Georgetown (Jan. 11), Marquette (Jan. 18), St. John's (Jan. 25), Creighton (Feb. 13), Providence (Feb. 23) and Seton Hall (Mar. 8) will all be making their first trips to Indianapolis as Big East opponents of Butler.
As per usual tradition in college basketball, the Big East conference tournament will once again be held at the world's oldest basketball arena, Madison Square Garden, from March 12-15.
Xavier (Feb. 11) will make its second trip in as many years and fourth time playing Butler, as the two were also Atlantic 10 conference opponents in the 2012-13 season. Prior to last season, Butler and Xavier would play every other year on each school's home court.
Overall, Butler faces a very challenging schedule, but there have been many times in the past that the Bulldogs have overcome obstacles and beaten teams that the critics and so-called experts had not even given them a chance. Hinkle Fieldhouse will host a total of 17 games, including nine Big East tilts. Brandon Miller and his squad also will play 4 four neutral site games, three in Orlando, and the other against Purdue just miles away at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Nine road games in the league, plus trips to Ball State and Evansville will only make this particular Butler team that much better. As of today (Sept. 18), there are just 42 days until the Bulldogs welcome Nova Southeastern on October 29!
For anything and everything Butler basketball, come back to the Butler Bulldogs college basketball page at examiner.com!
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