At this time of year everyone in the Horizon League thinks back to their favorite tournament memories. For Butler, there have been a lot those memories in the past 13 years. So many memories, in fact, that they should be written down and shared with everyone. Come back HLN for continuous updates and additional stories leading up to the Murray State game.
My favorite NCAA Tournament Butler moment was in 2003, just after we lost to Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen round. Joel Cornette and Brandon Miller had just finished a postgame interview and were returning through the tunnel to the locker room. A custodian upset a trash can full of flattened cardboard boxes, which spilled over the floor. Without ado, Joel and Brandon proceeded to help the custodian pick up the cardboard. A USA Today reporter saw it happen and noted that it was characteristic of the classy conduct of the Butler team, as athletes and as citizens. It was one of the moments that have gone into exemplifying "The Butler Way."
Bobby Fong – President, Butler University
I will give you two. In my book, I started with the final moments of the 2007 regional at St. Louis, where Butler leddefending NCAA champion Florida with less than four minute left. Florida's roster included six future NBA players.I remember thinking, "My gosh, this would be one of the most amazing upsets in tournament history." And I willalways remember Louisville fans gasping when Darnell Archey caught the ball in the corner behind the 3-point line.Even before the ball left his hand, they all knew it was going in. Archey was 8-of-9 on 3s in that game, and the 12th-seededBulldogs upset Louisville to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
David Woods – Butler beat writer for the Indianapolis Star
There was something special brewing with the 2000-01 Butler basketball team that season. Why special? Because the team just wasn't together to start the year. The program had been legitimized throughout much of the 90's, winning league titles, but never really making a splash on the national stage. They were the bridesmaid of mid-major basketball.
But by the 2000 NCAA Tournament, Butler's work had paid off. They were a pesky 12 seed. Had a linebacker (Mike Marshall) for a team leader and the middle Graves brother firing daggers from Switz City so effectively that Rivals could have reported a scholarship offer for AJ. He was only 15 at the time, but c'mon, by the time Andrew rolled around, the family's future was assured. That Butler team had Florida beat, both mentally and physically. This is a team that ended up runner up to Mateen "Willis Reed" Cleaves. And then Lavall Jordan missed two FTs, and Scott Robisch jumped 10 inches, when 11 would have done. I still hate Mike Miller.
This is a memory about 2001 though. Why? Because the 2000 performance deserved better. And the 2002 team got royally hosed (that's a different story). 2001, therefore, is all we have before Sweet 16 became the pinnacle (thank you, 2003). Why else? Because replacing Mike Marshall and Andrew Graves was like ripping Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell out of "Old School" and telling Luke Wilson to make a funny movie about going back to college. Butler had no identity entering that season. Thomas Jackson needed to run the show. Rylan Hainje needed to be the force, the heart, the soul. Jordan needed to make shots like his name would make you imagine. And then there were the sophomores that needed to mature: guys named Cornette, Archey and a transfer from SW Missouri State (Brandon Miller).
The 2001 team took its lumps in the early part of the schedule, but had glimpses of brilliance. They flirted with knocking off Arizona in their own tournament, had some lock-down defensive performances and then the most quiet beatdown (58-44) of a ranked team, knocking off top-10 Wisconsin (IN Wisconsin) on January 30th. If a top 10 team goes down without being on TV, does it make a sound? Not that night, but those around the program knew something special was brewing.
The MCC (The Horizon wasn't on the horizon yet; sorry, couldn't resist) Tournament provided little resistance, evidenced by the defensive masterpiece in the championship, 53-38 over a good Detroit team. Yep, 38 points. Rashad Phillips was a great player. Best PG of the last decade in the league, in my opinion. Lavall Jordan made him look like Bum Phillips. Title, trophy, unsettled business...
I've spent 200+ words talking about a memory and haven't even gotten to the actual game. Because I can't really describe it in detail. Why? It was a blur of perfection and jubilation. It was the perfect display of basketball. Butler (#10) beat Wake Forest (#7). Final score doesn't matter. Halftime score: 43-10
Every player hit 3's. They filled passing lanes. They made the Demon Deacons look uncomfortable everywhere. For all fans of mid-major basketball, it was exactly what we had all been waiting for. I remember high fiving fans during media timeouts (not professional) and I didn't care. It was as if all of Butler Nation finally exhaled and said, "This is what we knew was possible!"
I honestly consider that team, on that court, on that day to be the best assembled Butler basketball team ever. Not the greatest season, but I would take that lineup in the NCAA Tournament against any Butler team, ever. Any other basketball team (other than one littered with 5 future NBA players; Why did they draw Arizona?), I'd take the Dogs. Ironically, Dave Odom left Wake after that game, Skip Prosser stepped in and Thad Matta went to Xavier. 43-10 had a lot to do with that.
43-10. By a team that had never won a modern NCAA Tournament game. A mid-major. Welcome to basketball in the 21st Century.
Kansas City was a Butler playground that day and it will always stick with me.
Will Haskett – HLN Game of the Week commentator
I have had the great fortune of experiencing 6 NCAA Tournaments with the Butler Bulldogs. Two of those as a player (2001, 2003) and now 4 as the color analyst for the Butler Radio Network (2007-2010). Needless to say, all have been memorable and are filled with "favorite" moments.
There is, however, one trip and one moment that sticks out for me. In 2003 the Bulldogs were sent to Birmingham, Alabama as a 12 seed set to face the 5th seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs. After being left out of the tournament the previous year, we were confident, focused and determined to make the stay as long as possible.
Brandon Miller's runner from the right elbow gave the Dawgs a 47-46 victory in the First Round. I can still remember sprinting in circles around the court at the BJCC trying to catch up to Brandon and celebrate, but not succeeding, he just kept running and I couldn't get to him until we finally reached the locker room.
Next up came the Louisville Cardinals. After winning the slow down game versus Mississippi State, we showed how versatile our team was by beating the Cards 79-71 in a back and forth affair. It was awesome, we had advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The next few days would be unlike any we had experienced but before anything, we had to get back home to Indy.
My favorite moment didn't happen on the court or really have anything to do with the game of basketball, rather it was the spending time with my teammates, waiting.
We beat Louisville on a Sunday afternoon and were scheduled to fly back to Indy shortly after the game. However for some reason the plane wasn't there or wasn't ready, I can't remember exactly. We had to wait for what seemed like forever to get on that plane back to Indianapolis. First on the bus, then after we got anxious there, we spilled out on to a small grassy courtyard somewhere inside the parameters of the Birmingham Airport. All of us were so excited and it was like we were grade schoolers again (although we seemed to act that way a lot). I think a makeshift football was made from some trash, pranking teammates and much of what normally goes on amongst teammates was happening in that courtyard. But this was different. A trip to the Sweet Sixteen awaited as well as the top seeded Oklahoma Sooners. During that wait, none of that mattered. We were enjoying the ride, together, and that is a time I will truly cherish and certainly never will forget.
Go Dawgs!
Nick Gardner – Former Bulldog, class of 2004
I would have two memories...
After a gut-wrenching last-second loss to Florida in 2000, it was great to be courtside as the Bulldogs beat Wake Forest in 2001 in Kansas City. To see the Bulldogs lead the Demon Deacons 43-10 at halftime was simply amazing. Many people think the current Butler teams of the past few years are the best, and that is hard to argue. But I believe the 2000-01 Bulldogs under Thad Matta may have been the best in school history. They had to face a very talented Arizona team in the second round, a team that had barely beaten the Bulldogs early in the season.
In 2003, watching Butler finally get over the hump and get to the Sweet Sixteen with wins over Mississippi State and Louisville was special for me. I became Butler's Director of Sports Marketing in 1989 at a time when Butler basketball was at a low point. Waiting on the airport tarmac in Birmingham with the team after the win over Louisville was special. All I could do was think about how far the program had come and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
Chris Denari – Former voice of the Bulldogs, current voice of the Indiana Pacers
My freshman year of Butler was one of the most fun and enjoyable years of my life. It was 2002-03, and it was fun to follow a winning Butler team in the cathedral of basketball, Hinkle Fieldhouse. A great experience, one I hope today's Butler students cherish.
Butler won the regular season title in perhaps the best basketball game I've ever seen. Avery Sheets nailed a 3 at the buzzer in a sold-out Hinkle as the entire student body rushed the floor. Things didn't go as well in the conference tourney, but the Bulldogs got an at-large bid and played Mississippi State in the first round.
I was at a party with friends and we celebrated mightily as Brandon Miller sank a runner to clinch the win over Mississippi State.
A great moment, no doubt. But my favorite tournament moment ever came two days later as Darnell Archey went off for eight 3s against Louisville, sending the Dogs to their first Sweet 16. Watching in my dorm in Ross Hall that Sunday afternoon, you could hear screams throughout campus as Archey drilled trey after trey after trey. Once the game went final, Butler students sprinted to the middle of campus and celebrated for the best...Butler...NCAA Tournament...memory....ever.
Josh Rattray – Assistant Sports Information Director, class of 2006
As a 1986 Butler alum, I vividly remember where I was when the Dawgs recorded NCAA wins in 2001 and 2003 prior to the amazing four-year run that I've been able to broadcast.
My favorite Butler NCAA Tournament story would be from Birmingham in 2008. Pete Campbell injured his ankle in practice at Monday's practice when Ben Slaton was blocking him out in practice and Pete landed on Ben's foot. Pete did not happen to be wearing his ankle brace at practice.
It seemed like Pete spent most of the week with Head Athletic Trainer Ryan Galloy getting treatment in hopes that he could play. We talked to Pete's Dad at the Alumni Reception the night before the game and he wasn't sure that Pete would be able to play.
Game day was Friday and we weren't sure if Pete would play and how long he'd be able to play. He came into the game and shot the lights out, hitting eight three-pointers and scoring 26 points in 20 minutes. Then, on Sunday, CBS showed Pete on its intro to our game against Tennessee.
Two other things I remember about that game were Drew Streicher's defense on the Sun Belt Conference "Player of the Week" Demetric Bennett.
And, Mike Green got into early foul trouble and Shawn Vanzant responded with his best game of the 2007-08 season with 5 points, 5 rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 21 minutes.
Joe Gentry – Voice of the Butler Bulldogs, class of 1986
The first thing that came to my mind, didn't directly involve me. It was overtime of the Butler vs. Florida 2000 and I was sitting on the floor at the end of the bench due to some questionable officiating. There were 20 seconds remaining and Andrew Graves drained a three from the wing and the place exploded. To this day, I have never been in an arena that loud. While we didn't have the outcome we desired, I am proud that Andrew and I came in with a bang and went out with one. To watch him put us on his back and try to carry us to victory was worth all the blood, sweat and tears that we put in together over our four years.
Experience number two was the 1997 trip to the tourney. It was Butler's first trip to the NCAA's in over 30 years. It was such a great experience because we went to a party and a basketball game broke out. Cincinnati (figuratively & literally) punched us in the mouth and we stood like prize fighters and fought back. For me it was really special, because I grew up dreaming of playing or Bob Huggins and to have a chance to compete against my hometown team was priceless. Playing at the Palace where the "Bad Boys" played was icing on the cake.
2001 Kansas City, MO....As many know, LaVall Jordan missed two free throws down the stretch against Florida and then won on a last second shot. What few people know it how little sleep he got that week due to the passing of his aunt, which was the person that raised him. That led to him becoming the leader and go to guy for the 2001 tournament team that ran away from Wake Forest. This team displayed the defensive grit and offensive fire power to have a 43-10 lead at halftime. For LaVall Jordan to make that kind of statement at the end of his career will always be memorable.
2003 Birmingham, AL...After defeating Mississippi St, I stayed up most of the night to cut watch/clip tape of Louisville for our players to watch. Entering that game no one thought he had a chance, the great Digger Phelps didn't think we would get out of the first round. The game was back and forth the entire time but our guys never got down. Darnell Archey led us with 26 points, making eight three point baskets along the way. The piece that most people don't know is I called most of the offensive sets. Of the eight three point baskets that he made, five were from the same offensive set. The only difference was I switched the assignment of Mike Moserez and Joel Cornette, additionally; I flipped which side of the floor the play was run on. To be in a battle which came down to a chess match between coaches and to win, brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.
Mike Marshall – former Bulldog, class of 2000
The NCAA Tournament has provided many great moments for Butler and I've been fortunate enough to be there for all except the 1962 trip. Watching Darnell Archey stun Louisville with maybe the best three-point shooting exhibition the NCAA Tournament has seen; the thrill of Brandon Miller's runner in the lane to upset Mississippi State; Pete Campbell's shooting exhibitions off the bench against Old Dominion and South Alabama; the gritty upset of Maryland and near-upset of Florida all were memories of a lifetime.
But the one that falls into the category of "am I really seeing this?" was the first round game in 2001. Our program was improving, but we still hadn't won a game in the tournament in 35 years and we were returning after the emotional loss to Florida the year before. Behind the three-guard attack of LaVall Jordan, Thomas Jackson and Brandon Miller, Butler came out on fire against ACC foe Wake Forest and stunned basketball fans, not only at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, but across the nation on CBS. We jumped in front and didn't let up. It was so one-sided, that I really didn't know what to say to the Wake Forest scorekeeper, whom I had gotten to know the previous year when Butler played Florida in the NCAA Tournament at Wake Forest. When the teams left the floor at halftime, the scoreboard read: Butler 43, Wake Forest 10. Reporters were scrambling to see when a game had a bigger halftime margin or when a team had scored fewer than 10 points in a half. (The 10 points were the fewest scored by a team since the inception of the shot clock in 1985-86. Butler went on to win the game, its first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years! To this day, I still shake my head when I think about that halftime score: Butler 43, Wake Forest 10.
Jim McGrath – Associate Athletic Director/Sports Information Director
Tags: Butler - Men's Basketball · Horizon League - Men's Basketball
