Originally Posted by WH

Frankly, I cannot remember the last time an A-10 team started two white guys in the backcourt.

Originally Posted by GoMuskies

Wow, I sure hope poor little old Butler can hang with the big, bad A-10.

Originally Posted by AdamtheFlyer

I think Stevens will fix everything that can be fixed, and a strong home court will keep Butler competitive. But ultimately, their lack of athleticism and lack of a play making PG will be keep them in the middle of the pack.

I see basketball in three acts. Transition, base offense, and late clock ad-libs.

Butler will struggle defensively in transition. They don't have the horses to run. Offensively they can have success, because the defense will be cheating on the quick three. They can attack with cutting bigs on the secondary break, as well as a quick reversal for an open three.

Base offense is where Butler will have success. They will run good sets and will scout well enough to slow yours. Even lesser athletes can defend when they have a good idea of what their man is doing. The more shots taken with somewhere between 20 and 10 seconds on the shot clock, the better the chances Butler will win a game.

Late clock situations will be a struggle for Butler. These can often mimic the transition game because it becomes more about sheer athleticism, and it's far less predictable than base offense. When the base offense is run and no shot is had, the PG typically pulls the ball out and sets up something, be it a high ball screen, a quick 1-4 set, or a two man high-low game. Essentially, there is a lot of one-on-one action. Defensively Butler will struggle with the high ball screen against quick guards, and they will struggle to handle skilled bigs. When it becomes a choice for a defender, I don't see the ability to handle a guard, nor the speed to rotate everyone to close the passing lanes a high screen or 1-4 set will create. In fact, I wonder if A10 teams with better guards will just scrap the base offense altogether and just run 30 seconds of quick hit sets. There are a lot of mismatches you can create on Butler's defense in a quick strike setting.

Offensively Butler has no one who can consistently create off a ball screen and the bigs will struggle to score 1-on-1 against A10 bigs. I think late clock situations will lead to a lot of open looks and FTs for opponents, and a lot of rushed, contested jumpers for Butler.

Overall, Butler will be decent, and they certainly will get better. But so will everyone else. Stevens will help. Given an average coach, Butler would struggle to win 5 games. Stevens is worth 4 wins on his own, so Butler will likely win between 7-9 A10 games. But coaching can only do so much. I don't think this is a roster built to win big in this league. Not yet. The immediate entry in the league hurt Butler a lot more than VCU. They just aren't A10 ready.

Originally Posted by paulxu

This should bring the Butler poster back to the board.

Originally Posted by chc3Bulldog

Now lets root for St Louis to beat Kansas St.