joshua wilsher

How sweet it may be!

Here's hoping that this is the scene tomorrow night in St Louis, Missourri after Butler take on the Gators. The bookmakers don't think it's going to happen; every Vegas and offshore line that I've taken a look at has Florida extremely strong favourite accross the board. (At this point int time, you'd have to plonk down around $800 to make a 100 bucks from a Florida win).

This is the second time in 5 years that the Dawgs have made the Sweet 16, but only the third in school history - the other years being 1962 and 2003. You know it's a big event when broadcast during primetime on a major network. I will be relegated to a local internet cafe to watch it at CBS online (the home pc doesn't have enough power for video).

The pic above does little to help promote Butler's diversity but is probably an accurate representation. The good thing about attending a school with a small enrollment is that one comes into contact with many of the players. Crone (the guy hugging AJ) and Betko (far right) came on the whitewater rafting trip - such encounters creates a greater personal desire for me to see them succeeed.

Oh yeah, national newspaper USA Today had this to say about the Dawgs. While the term, "The Butler Way", does not appaear, it certainly is alluded to:

When it comes to basketball IQ, Butler could start its own Mensa chapter.

The Bulldogs (29-6) are back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in five years despite having a lineup that — as one NCAA Tournament broadcaster noted — does not look very impressive in the airport.

"We're challenged a little bit physically," admits junior point guard Mike Green. "But as far as thinking, we might be one of the best-thinking teams in America."

Physical mismatches are nothing new for Butler. At 6-feet, Green is the squad's top rebounder. The tallest starter is 6-7 senior Brian Ligon and junior guard A.J. Graves, the leading scorer, is generously listed at 160 pounds.

They aren't very athletic, either. In the second-round win against Maryland, the Bulldogs had zero blocks and zero dunks and were out-rebounded by a 37-23 margin.

No worries. Their genius-level hoops intelligence more than levels the field and creates a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it's senior forward Brandon Crone drawing a charge from Terrapins star D.J. Strawberry with 40 seconds left, or Green corralling an offensive rebound with less than five ticks remaining.

"Our system is set up where you really have to know the game," says Crone. "You definitely have to be able to think at times. We've shown that when 12 players play together, anything can be done."

Go Dawgs!

posted by Joshiesmoov @ 7:27 PM