Assume you are an opposing coach and you are preparing for the dogs--you polish your offense, go over how to attack, & then you tell your guys that the
dogs are tough and don't take them lightly. But, no matter what you tell them, they will not be ready for the D that awaits them. Our recent history is
replete with examples: Wake Forest, even though a BU grad personally warned the Wake staff, the score was 33 to 5 (as I remember) before they knew what hit
them--the 33 was ok but the 5 was stunning. Louisville, Maryland, Ohio State, Xavier, etc - all were supposedly far superior to us offensively-more athletic,
etc, etc, but they were not prepared for us defensively, got their a@@ kicked. The best coaches will be the most successful in convincing their kids. However,
its like facing a 95 mph fast ball--you can watch it on tv, you can see it in the stands, or even in the on deck circle, but until you are in the batters box
& it eats you alive, you have no Idea--also like combat, until you are there with the incredible noise, fear, confusion, smells, etc, you have no idea. I
have no idea when the offense will gel or if we will have off nights when we cannot buy a basket, but I do know this the first time an opposing team brings the
ball up court against this crew--they have no idea. jmo
Preparing for Butler
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 62dog |
Preparing for Butler |
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Posts: 561 (10/30/09 08:56 PM) |
Offense is fickle, but defense comes every night.
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 Butler Bulldog |
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Posts: 1838 (10/30/09 09:34 PM) |
We know that Ohio St., Xavier, Davidson, and Northwestern will all be ready. The only teams I see something like you describe would be the Ana. Classic. Those
teams have yet to face Butler in person. I agree with you though. Additionally, I hope that our athleticism paired with Butler's defense and basketball IQ,
Butler will roll through conference play.
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62dog |
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Posts: 562 (10/30/09 09:43 PM) |
Butler Bulldog--The salient point was in Ohio State's case Thad KNEW!--but you are right, those teams having played us will be better prepared-- but we
will see.
Offense is fickle, but defense comes every night.
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MisterFive |
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Posts: 358 (10/30/09 11:09 PM) |
Some of we fans are going to have a long way to crash back down to earth if this team underperforms.
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Butler Bulldog |
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Posts: 1840 (10/30/09 11:56 PM) |
MisterFive wrote: I just do not want to think about that! Last season Notre Dame was ranked #9 in the preseason and then did not finish anywhere near the Top 25. I do not want to see that happen. Actually, I believe that most of the teams that were ranked Top 10 last year finshed the year close to that same position except for ND. |
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Staxawax |
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Posts: 4528 (10/31/09 06:54 AM) |
Underperform......... "to function less effectively or be less successful than expected or required".
Function less effectively? Not a chance in h*ll. Less successful than expected? Depends on who's expectations. Take away our juniors and seniors and we are still very young. A few losses in non-con play may be more of a learning experience than underperforming. |
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IrishDawg |
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Posts: 341 (10/31/09 08:57 AM) |
Exactly Stax. This team still is very young and there are still going to be bumps on the road. This team is talented enough to play with and beat nearly
everyone, but they still have a long way to go before they actually reach their potential as a team. This year will be interesting to see if they can handle
the expectations that have been thrust upon them, but I'm still looking for improvement in areas for each player and for the team as a whole.
"They say not to mix business with pleasure. If that's true, then tell me how a putt-putt golf course business works." |
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MisterFive |
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Posts: 359 (10/31/09 10:50 AM) |
I'm just saying that we should probably see how November shakes out before we start reserving hotel rooms downtown for April. Drawing a comparison between
preparing for our defense and preparing for a 95 mph fastball or saying that we will "roll through conference play" might be a little over the top.
The preseason poll is just a guess by some educated and some uneducated people and really means very little.
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dogace38 |
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Posts: 515 (10/31/09 10:56 AM) |
Go right at Matt Howard early and often to get him in foul trouble. If he is out of the game you have a chance.
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Title |
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Posts: 899 (10/31/09 12:13 PM) |
There are really two ways to defeat this team.
1. Have an overwhelming athletic advantage and speed the game way up; especially on defense, pick up full-court and turn them over. Nored will turn it over if he has heavy pressure by someone bigger and more athletic than him. The problem with this is that there just aren't that many teams that have the personnel to do this. 2. Make Butler 1-dimensional. The easiest way to do this IMO is to go really big and pack-in into a zone. If you take Howard out of the game offensively, Butler will fire 3s and keep shooting. If the shooting is poor, some UIC games were in the past, you can hang around and win a low scoring game. Outside of these two things; it is going to be difficult to beat Butler straight-up this year. This is why I think CSU or Detroit have a better shot vs BU than teams like Milwaukee or WSU. They can do some of points 1 and 2, if they are smart. I've got BU 17-1; but, that doesn't mean there aren't dangers out there. ESPN: No 3 programs burst onto the scene in the last 20 years the way UConn, Gonzaga and Butler have in college basketball. |
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digdadawgs |
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Posts: 86 (10/31/09 01:02 PM) |
Play a box and one (two, two zone with a man to man on Hayward).
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pitstop007 |
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Posts: 5957 (10/31/09 04:55 PM) |
digdadawgs wrote:I agree. Hopefully, we have the talent and experience necessary to take it to the hoop more as opposed to relying on the three. Last year our team sometimes would experience a let down in play after building a double digit lead. Again, I hope that experience and summer play will correct this deficiency. One thing for sure, all of our opponents will bring their "A games". It is going to be an exciting season.
"Basketball is like photography, if you don't focus, all you have is the negative." Dan Frisby
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62dog |
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Posts: 563 (11/01/09 08:20 AM) |
Stax- I can't seem to get to the unOfficial Butler web site any more---I wanted to get to the combined stats for last year's pts given up per game ave.
Even with the stronger schedule this year I think we will improve on this stat. Yes I think they are that good defensively. jmo
Offense is fickle, but defense comes every night.
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Staxawax |
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Posts: 4533 (11/01/09 12:37 PM) |
62dog wrote: the unOFFICIAL BUTLER BULLDOG BASKETBALL PAGE |
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