TDCB- Local Hero Hired by Bulldogs

[INDalltheway]

This is a dynasty I have been posting over at the .400 boards. If you have any feedback just throw it out there.

The Indianapolis Star

Local Hero Hired by Bulldogs

(Indianapolis, IN) In a surprising move last night, the Butler Bulldogs hired Ross Wheeler to head the basketball program. After only a 5 week vacancy, Butler AD Charles Little, made his decision to hire former Purdue Boilermaker stand-out Ross Wheeler.

“I am really glad to have hired someone with such a good reputation,” Little said. “It is also nice that he is from the area too.”

Wheeler is known around Indianapolis from his high school days at Pike, and his college years at Purdue. Wheeler, 33, is one of the youngest head coaches in the entire nation.

“We hope bringing in a young guy like Ross, it will jumpstart this program,” Little replied.

Wheeler has spent his last 3 years as the head assistant at Purdue under Gene Keady. Many thought Wheeler would be the successor of Keady after next year.

“I have been asked a lot lately why I just didn’t wait for another year to be coach at Purdue,” Wheeler said, “I want to start my own program from scratch.”

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #1

Meet the Staff

My staff is composed of two assistants, one head assistant, and one trainer. Assistant head coach John Turner is a 31 year old Eastern Michigan graduate, and specializes recruiting in the west. Assistant Sam Martin is a 30 year old from Bradley. Assistant Marlon Adams is a 41 year old Chicago St. graduate. The head trainer Michael Blake graduated from Bowling Green. Player Conditioning and Recovery is ranked as 'Average' for Michael. As of now It appears my staff is pretty set in stone. A poor performance next season could change things though. I am not here to fail.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #2

Meet the Players

Number First Name Last Name Position Height Weight Year GPA High School (Hometown) Status

5 Estell Nixon PG 5-11 147 Sr 1.79 Richland (Sikeston,MO) Active

18 Aaron Hyle PG 6-3 182 Fr 1.85 Crockett High School (Detroit,MI) Active

13 Tim Madsen PF 6-7 227 Jr 2.25 Ypsilanti (Ypsilanti,MI) Active

34 Sam Fletcher PF 6-10 234 Sr 2.63 Bethel (Tipp City,OH) Active

37 Luis Williams C 6-9 231 Sr 1.85 Lamoni HS (Lamoni,IA) Active

28 Robbie Dowling PF 6-9 191 Jr 2.11 North HS (Lee's Summit,MO) Active

25 Willie Phillips C 6-9 233 Fr 3.68 Griffith HS (Griffith,IN) Active

38 Fraser Walker SG 6-4 166 So 2.21 North Central HS (Indianapolis,IN) Active

17 Mick Cherry SG 6-3 179 So 1.83 Springfield Southeast (Springfield,IL) Active

14 Michael Henry SF 6-3 179 Jr 2.74 DeKalb (Auburn,IN) Active

29 Jared Anderson C 6-6 204 So 4.00 Kokomo (Kokomo,IN) Active

39 Antwan Leonard SF 6-4 178 Jr 2.63 Hale HS (Tulsa,OK) Active

2 Glendon McCrary PF 6-10 229 Fr 3.16 LaSalle High School (South Bend,IN) Active

Projected Starters
PG Estell Nixon
SG Aaron Hyle
SF Tim Madsen
PF Sam Fletcher
C Luis Williams

2002-2003 Outlook
Far and away senior Sam Fletcher will lead this team. He will lead this team in scoring and in leadership in general. I can really see this kid playing in the NBA next year. The kid has skills like no one I have every coached. he is a true inside/ outside player. He can kill you in the post or even beyond the arc. I have seen the kid play in the past, and even recruited him. It is nice to have him on my side now. Our teams biggest goal for the season is to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #3

Strategy

I believe strongly in the motion offense. I have emplemented that into our system, and it seems the kids are finally getting used to the constant movement. I believe with our current players, this offense could really help our team become a top offensive threat in the conference. Our current secondary offense is "High Post." I also believe this fits our current group of kids. Our third offense is the Swing Offense, fourth is One-guard front, and our fifth is "Perimeter Zone Offense.

Defense is the key to almost every game. I truely believe that if you can make the big stop you can go a long way. Just look at our teams at Purdue the last 4 years. We preached defense, and we won 20+ games each year. I promote a helpside man-to-man defense. My team will ocasionally play a zone, but I will not sit back in a zone for a whole game.

I think time outs are best used to control the tempo. I will rarely use them to make a substitution, but if I need to get Sam Fletcher into the game, I will use a TO. An important part of basketball is having fresh legs at the end of the game. I whole heartedly believe in conditioning in the offseason, but I think a large rotation is the best way to preserve players for the end of the game. After my team gets a defensive rebound I preach a quick outlet pass, and attempt to get a fast break every time. The easiest shot in basketball is the layup. Why not try to get one everytime? When my team is in the half court, I would prefer my team run our motion offese rather than run set player after set play. I do have a couple of set plays that will be run consistently though.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #4

Initial Recruits

I have three graduating seniors in Sam Fletcher (PF), Estell Nixon(PG), Luis Williams (C). I am looking to fill the spots of one or two Point Guards, one SG, and the best player I can recruit. The most important part of recruiting is keeping the players in your own backyard. I am most agressivley recruiting the following players...

SF Keith Johnson (6-4 160) Gary, IN

PG Johnathon Watson (6-3 180) Fairland, IN

SG Rick Hoiberg (6-4 183) Hope, IN

[INDalltheway]

Week 2 (0-0)

Old Dominion @ Butler

Old Dominion has a pretty signifigant height advantage over our bulldog backcourt. Sam Fletcher will be too much for Ron Leath of Old Dominion though.

Fletcher lead the way for us. He scored 23 points, pulled down 10 boards, and rejected 3 shots. Tim Madsen added 15 points, and Estell Nixon passed the ball well all night on his way to 11 assists. With a huge offensive outburst in the first half, (57 points) we never looked back in a 93-75 Win.

William and Mary (1-0) @ Butler (1-0)

William and Mary is an expierenced group. There starters include 3 seniors and 2 juniors. This game will not be a walk in the park by any means. James Broermann will match up against Sam Fletcher. Boermann (6-10 240) scored 19 points and pulled down 10 boards in William and Mary's first contest.

Another great start propelled my team to victory. With a 40-27 deficit at the half, William and Mary tried to claw back into the game, but fell short at the end. 78-57 Win. Fletcher lead the way in the scoring category with 18 points. He also added 12 boards, 1 behind game high Willie Phillip's 13. Fletcher also sent back 5 William and Mary shots, easily a game high.

Recruiting

I continue after the same core of players. It seems the players are impressed my teams recent victories. Every player has become more interested in Butler.

[INDalltheway]

Week 3 (2-0)

Iona (1-1) @ Butler (2-0)

Iona is has a solid group players. I can see this game comming down to the last defensive possesion. Hopefully we can make the stop.

The trend continues with another amazing first half. At the half we lead Iona 53-36. In the second half we out scored them by 15, 55-40. Offensivly we were great. It does seem we have some holes on the defensive end though. This week we will work on our overall team defense. We still managed a 108-76 Win. Aaron Hyle led the way with 27 points and Tim Madsen added 25. Sam Fletcher got lost in the scoring recording a season low 15 points. Robbie Dowling helped on the glass with 12 rebounds.

Recruiting

Sadly enough Johnathon Watson signed to play at Mississippi next season. We keep plugging away at the other players.

[INDalltheway]

Week 4 (3-0)

Butler (3-0) @ Northern Iowa (1-3)

Northern Iowa appears to be a very respectable team with a poor record. I think my team will win if they come to play. If we don't we will be kicking ourselves after the final buzzer. NIU is lead by Junior Shooting Guard Ray Lloyd. We will need to keep a man on him at all times. He can hit shots from anywhere on the floor. That is why he is averaging 18 points a contest.

My boys didn't come ready to play. I could tell when we arrived on bus to the gym they call an arena. Lloyd was totally shut down with only 5 points, but senior backup guard Emigijus Lesko lit it up with 31 points. This was a truely embarrasing effort from my club. I may just have to mix some things around for our next game. 90-80 Loss

Hartford (1-4) @ Butler (3-1)

The Hawks don't have one standout player. They get solid contributions from everyone on the roster. All the starters average atleast 8 points per game with the leader only averaging 13.4 points. Hartford has only played one road game in which they lost.

A quick first half and timely defensive stops helped us defeat the Hartford Hawks 79-71, Win. Sam Fletcher got back on track with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Estell Nixon scored 15 points and had 8 assists. I am going to try to get more shots for Sam Fletcher.

[INDalltheway]

Week 5 (4-1)

Butler (4-1) @ #4 Indiana (8-0)

We come into the game with a 4-1 record. None of the teams we have currently played can be compared to this Indiana team. They are off to a great stop, and it would take our best game to stop them. What could be a better way to set the tone in the race for the best team in Indiana?

Indiana came to play. We didn't. It is a simple as that. One day that is the way I want this program to be like. There is nothing else I can say besides 85-61 loss. Turnovers were not our problem. I think the refs were on Indiana's side. They shot 39 foul shots to our 20. That is tough.

Butler (4-2) @ Ball State (2-5)

Another important inner-state ballgame is on the brink. This is a game that needs to set the tone for the rest of the season. Ball State's 2 victories have come on their home court where the game will be played tonight. They too, have no standout. They rely on a long bench, with solid production from everyone. This one should be a good one.

Whew! We are lucky to come away with that. We escaped with a 86-84 Win. A couple of calls going the other end we could be on the wrong side of the score board.

Emails

Great news! No one is leaving school early. (That is a suprise. ) Also we got our first commitment from Keith Johnson (6-4 160). Keith is from Gary, IN and attended Gary Mann High school. Johnson is a 4 star player, who is looking for a starting spot next season. We believe he can step in right away and help us next season. In high school he is averaging 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Current IP Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Arizona 11-0 2,112 1
2. Illinois 7-0 1,942 3
3. Indiana 10-0 1,856 4
4. Kansas 8-0 1,713 5
5. Kentucky 7-0 1,584 2
6. Maryland 8-0 1,495 6
7. Mississippi 7-0 1,392 9
8. Alabama 7-0 1,293 8
9. Iowa State 8-0 1,240 11
10. California 8-0 1,155 17
11. Florida 8-1 1,080 15
12. Boston College 8-0 1,029 16
13. North Carolina 10-1 980 14
14. Michigan State 8-1 904 19
15. Mississippi St. 7-0 827 13
16. UCLA 9-1 775 22
17. Duke 9-2 726 7
18. Stanford 7-1 598 25
19. Tennessee 9-1 523 21
20. Virginia 7-1 426 24
21. Temple 8-0 354 23
22. Iowa 7-1 283 26
23. Georgia Tech 7-1 234 10
24. Texas Tech 8-1 210 27
25. USC 8-2 186 33

Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 173, Syracuse 160, Oklahoma 137, Cincinnati 114, Providence 90, Georgetown 68, George Washington 45, Texas 22, Minnesota 10, Wake Forest 6, Western Illinois 2, Ohio State 2, Michigan 1, Rutgers 1, Georgia 1, Arkansas 1, N.C. State 1, Connecticut 1, Memphis 1, Villanova 1, Washington 1, Purdue 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 18 Georgetown, No. 20 Minnesota, No. 12 Georgia

[INDalltheway]

The Indianapolis Star

Quick Start Credited to New Guy on Campus

(Indianapolis, IN) The quick start for the Butler Bulldogs (5-2) has suprised many people around the nation. One coach has even said that 'Butler could easily compete with the top teams in the nation.' Most agree though that this fast start will only fade this team into a .500 team.

"I just want to keep the winning up," Coach Wheeler said. "Everyone wants to win, and it is nice to bring that to this fine University."

Butler fans have been piling into the Cole Fieldhouse the last two weeks. The team is enjoying the near capacity crowds instead of the half filled arena.

"The atmosphere is so amazing when the place is filled up," senior forward Sam Fletcher commented. "Last week was the first time I have ever seen the place filled. I was like 'Whoa.'

"We need to keep up the large crowds, especially when the conference schedule begins," Wheeler said. "If the fans come, that will make the opposing team remember and fear every return trip back to this place. (Cole Fieldhouse)"

The next home game for the Bulldogs is December 17th against Peperdine.

"Make sure you wear your navy blue and black Bulldog gear," Fletcher joked.

[INDalltheway]

Week 6 (5-2)

Peperdine (1-6) @ Butler (5-2)

Peperdine comes into the game 0-6 on the road. That doesn't mean it will be a cake walk, but we should have our way with them. They don't have a star player to worry ourselves about, they also have a large rotation with lots of importance layed on the bench.

The return of Sam Fletcher was much needed in this contest. His 21 points and 11 rebounds helped propel us to a 77-73 Win. It is nice to come away with victories in games like these. It also nice to see us comeback from a halftime deficit.

Butler (6-2) @ Brigham Young (6-3)

BYU has solid size throughout the starting linuep with guards standing over 6-2 inches each. Everyone of there starters average over 10 points. Two of the players also average over 10 rebounds. BYU is the second best team we will play so far.

A great first half that was capped by a half court bank shot that left us with a 40-30 lead was quickly erased in the second half. All of the hard work in the first half was totally downed by the horrible second half. In the second half we were outscored 48-26. Final score 78-66 loss. This had to have been the slowest game in the history of basketball with a combined 70 freethrows.

Recruiting

Not too much to report. I am continuing after most of the same guys. When I get some commitments I will let everyone in the world know about it.

[Nyarlahotep]

Digging it so far, even if it is Butler.

[INDalltheway]

Hey, thanks for the comments. I have a couple quick updates to make. Most of the time by big updates will come on the weekends. Once June rolls around I will be in high gear.

[INDalltheway]

Week 7 (6-3)


Butler (6-3) @ Georgia Tech (9-1)

Tonight we will be playing a very solid team that hasn't lost at home this year. They are a perfect 5-0 at home. Tonight will be a tough game. Our only advantage is at PF with Sam Fletcher on our side. Like I have stated this will be a tough game for us to pull out.

We didn't get off to a great start, but I love the fight we had in the 2nd half. Fletcher struggled mightaly. He could find the hoop. He was 2-13 from the field. Final score 88-77 Loss.

Appalachian St. (2-9) @ Butler (6-4)

Our advantage lies in the front court. At both the center and powerforward we hold a size advatange and also in talent. We are currently 5-0 at home which is a good thing, but we need to come to play on the road too.

61-30. That is all I can say. One of the best halfs of basketball I have ever seen a team of mine play. We did everything right. Not even the best team in the nation could have stopped us. If we can bring that intensity to the arena every night we will be a tough team to beat. Tim Madsen had a career high 30 point effort on the night. Estell Nixon added 19 points and Sam Fletcher added another 15. I am proud of the effort we put forth tonight, I think we have the reputation I wanted to bring to this program. 105-52 Win.

[INDalltheway]

Begining of Week 8 IP Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Arizona 14-1 2,042 2
2. Boston College 12-0 1,855 5
3. Indiana 13-1 1,779 3
4. Mississippi 11-0 1,654 6
5. Illinois 10-1 1,530 1
6. Michigan State 12-1 1,452 11
7. Kentucky 10-1 1,370 13
8. Kansas 11-1 1,272 10
9. California 11-0 1,219 7
10. Virginia 11-1 1,127 19
11. North Carolina 13-2 1,051 20
12. Florida 11-2 1,003 8
13. Iowa 11-1 954 16
14. Duke 12-3 882 24
15. Iowa State 11-1 810 4
16. Texas Tech 12-1 761 18
17. Georgia Tech 11-1 712 23
18. UCLA 12-2 592 9
19. Cincinnati 11-1 517 25
20. Oklahoma 11-1 421 27
21. Syracuse 10-1 351 26
22. Providence 12-2 280 29
23. Maryland 10-2 233 14
24. Stanford 9-2 209 12
25. Georgetown 11-1 185 28

Others Receiving Votes: Mississippi St. 173, Texas 161, USC 137, Alabama 113, Temple 90, Wisconsin 68, Tennessee 45, Villanova 22, Memphis 10, Minnesota 6, Connecticut 2, George Washington 2, Michigan 1, Georgia 1, Wake Forest 1, Rutgers 1, St. Johns 1, Washington 1, Oklahoma State 1, Auburn 1, Massachusetts 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 17 USC, No. 22 Alabama, No. 21 Temple, No. 15 Tennessee

[INDalltheway]

Week 8 (7-4)

Butler (7-4) @ Wright St. (4-7)

The Horizon Conference season finnally has arrived. This is when things get interesting. Anything can happen when a conference title is at stake. I am looking forward to the confrence race which we will end up on top of. Looking at Wright St. it appears we need to shut down Antwan Bailey. The guy is averaging 16.7 points per contest. Wright St. has only played 3 home games. They are 1-2 in those contests.

It is awesome when your team scores 99 points, but when you let up 92 you still have more to desire. 99-92 Win. We didn't stop Bailey, he went out and scored 33 points. We had 6 guys in double figure points.

[INDalltheway]

The Indianapolis Star

Good Conference Start for Bulldogs

The Butler Bulldogs got off to a great start in the conference season with a 99-92 win at Wright State on Thursday. Butler showed something we haven't seen in a team from the school in 20-plus years. They showed a fight and desire like no other team.

Butler didn't get off to the quick start they have been used to. In the first half they were down as many as 10 points, only to cut it back to a 2 point halftime deficit. The second half was a different story. The Bulldogs started out of the gates strong when the team realed off a 10-0 run in the first 2 minutes.

"That great start in the second half was a huge reason for the victory today," Coach Wheeler commented. "That set the tone (for the second half.)"

The Bulldogs were led by Estell Nixon. Nixon scored 17 points and recored 11 assists.

"I just wanted to get off to a good conference start," Butler Point Guard Estell Nixon said. "I think this will show the conference that we are for real this season."

Frasser Walker also recorded 17 points in just 16 minutes. Frasser came into the game hot connecting on 7-8 shots. Frasser was 3-4 from downtown.

Wright State shutdown Butler star Sam Fletcher. Fletcher was held to only 7 points in only 26 minutes. Antwan Bailey of Wright State came ready for conference season recording 33 points. The senior guard is averaging 17 points on the season.

[INDalltheway]

Week 9 (8-4) (1-0)

Youngstown St. (3-10, 0-2) @ Butler (8-4, 1-0)

Youngstown St. is a bottom teir Horizon conference team. Team being the key word. They have a solid team when they play as a team. Any of their starters can get hot at a given time. We are prepared for this team, as we have played many teams like them so far.

Wow! What a tough loss. I can't believe some of the calls the offical made tonight. It made me kinda of wonder where these guys came from. It was a close game throughout. Neither team could pull away from one another. Sam Fletcher scored 17 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. He was ready to play today. 76-74 loss.

Butler (8-5, 1-) @ Wisc. Milwaukee (5-9, 1-2)

This is a game we should dominate, but looking at last game we might not win another game. Height wise we match up very well against them. We will look to take advantage of our size adcantage.

Flat. We came out flat. There is nothing to report besides a 103- 73 loss.

[condors]

ouch hopefully things turn around for you

[INDalltheway]

Week 10

Illinois- Chicago (7-8, 1-3) @ Butler (8-6, 1-2)

This Illinois- Chicago team is a very similar team to ourselves. Every starter is averaging over 10 points a game. The same holds true for our team with the exception of Luis Williams (C). I think this will be a close conference matchup.

A great 50-30 halftime lead helped lead our team to an easy victory. Sam Fletcher put up 26 points and 9 rebounds in a huge conference performance. After a couple losses it is nice to get back on the winning side. 97-75 Win.

Butler (9-6, 2-2) @ Detrioit (8-7, 2-2)

Once again we are two evenly matched teams. Both teams share a lot of common traits, and some very different ones. Detrioit is very top heavy when it comes to scoring. They have three scoring threats while the other two players seem to watch when they are on the offensive side. We just need to match up with their big three.

Consistent play led us past Detroit tonight. We got a great effort from our starting five. Especially Estell Nixon who has turned out to be the leader of the offense at the point. He scored 18 points and had 8 assists. Final score 75-64, Win.

Stats

SG Aaron Hyle- 14.9 points 3.3 assists.
PF Sam Fletcher- 14.7 points 9.7 rebounds.
SF Tim Madsen- 12.9 points 3.8 rebounds.
PG Estell Nixon- 12.5 points 8.5 assists.

Commitments

We got commitments from PG LeRoy Robertson and Cory Bradford. More info will be on them in the upcomming weeks.

[INDalltheway]

Week 11 (10-6, 3-2)

Weekly Overview

In our first game of the week we will take on Cleveland St. (6-10, 3-2). State is playing solid basketball of late after a very slow start. The key for us, like every game, is to get off to a quick start. Every player in the starting 5 can score on any given night.

In our second game of the week we play Wisc. Green Bay (10-6, 3-2). Wisconsin Green Bay is a solid road team winning 7 and losing 4 games. They are led by Mikeli Pastner. He averages over 14 points per contest.

Butler (10-6, 3-2) @ Cleveland St. (6-10, 3-2)

Estell Nixon, Tim Madsen, and Sam Fletcher all scored 18 points in a huge conference victory over Cleveland St. A comfortable 10 point halftime lead was a large part of the victory for us. 93-83, Win.

Wisc. Green Bay (10-7, 3-3) @ Butler (11-6, 4-2)

Sam Fletcher exploded scoring 18 of his 25 points in the second half. With Fletcher on top of his game, and the rest of the Bulldogs complimented Fletcher well there was no stopping us. If we can keep up this play we will run away with the conference. 83-75, Win.

Conference Outlook

With a little less than a half of the conference schedule played, Wisc. Milwuakee and ourselves sit atop the standings. Detroit, Loyola Chicago, and Cleveland St. are all tied with an identical 4-3 record. Wright St. looks like a cellar dwellar this season with a 5-14 record and 1-7 in the conference. This race will come down to the final weeks. All the teams in contention are very evenly matched up. If my oppinion counts, I would say we will win the conference.

[KWhit]

Good stuff so far. Keep it coming!

[INDalltheway]

Week 12 (12-6, 5-2)

Weekly Preview

In our first game of the week, we will faceoff with Cleveland St. Last week we beat them 93-83. We have a definate advantage, and will look to improve our record against them.

Detriot is our next opponent of the week. In week 10 we beat them fairly handly. Center Kory Thomas will be a tough guy to stop for them. 99-61, Win.

Cleveland St. (7-11, 4-3)@ Butler (12-6, 5-2)

With a comfortable 43-31 lead, we put it into cruise control in the second half out scoring Cleveland St. 56-30. Estell Nixon scored 20 points and Fletcher pulled down 22 rebounds.

Detroit (11-8, 5-3)@ Butler (13-6, 6-2)

Fletcher recorded 22 rebounds in back-to-back games, but it was not enough. The offense was not there tonight, and we couldn't make the big stop defensivly. 76-74, Loss.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 6-3
Detriot 6-3
Wisc. Green Bay 5-4
Wisc. Millwaukee 5-4
Loyola Chicago 4-4
Cleveland St. 4-5
Youngstown St. 4-5
Illinois-Chicago 3-5
Wright St. 3-7

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Butler Lands Solid Recruiting Class

The Butler Bulldogs have used all three of their scholarships. Keith Johnson, Cory Bradford, and LeRoy Robertson make up the 2003 Butler Bulldog recruiting class.

Keith Johson is a 6-4 160 pound Small Foward from Gary, IN. Keith attended Gary Mann Highschool. National Prep rates Keith Johnson as a 4 star recruit as the #23 small foward, #20 in the Great Lake region, and #96 overall player in the country. At Gary Mann, Keith is averaging 14 points and pulling down 9 rebounds per game.

"We are happy that Keith has chosen to come to Butler," Coach Ross Wheeler commented. "We know he got some intrest from Purdue and Minnesota, so that is really encouraging for us."

Butler's second recruit is 6-0 174 pound Point Guard Cory Bradford. Bradford attended Mishawaka Highschool in Mishawaka, IN. National Prep gives Bradford a 2 star rating. Cory is averaging 11 points and 4 assists per game at Mishawaka.

6 foot 173 pound Point Guard, LeRoy Robertson rounds out the recruiting class. LeRoy attends Olympic Highschool in Charlotte, NC. National Prep gives LeRoy Robertson 4 stars. They rate him as the #14 PG, #15 in the South region, and #55 in the nation. LeRoy Robertson is averaging 24.5 PPG and dishing out 7 APG.

"LeRoy could very easily come here and start next season, " Wheeler said. "I didn't even imagine bringing in a player like him (LeRoy Robertson) in my first season."

Butler looks like they brought in a very good class that will possibly contribute next season. Bulldog fans appear to have a solid future team to root for.

[INDalltheway]

Week 13 (13-7, 6-3)

Weekly Preview

In our first game of the week we take on a very solid Wisc. Green Bay team. They are 5-4 in conference play and 12-8 overall. We will be focussing on Mikeli Pastner when they are on the offensive end. In our first matchup we beat them 83-75.

In our second game we will be playing Illinois-Chicago. They stand at 3-5 in the conference and 10-10 overall. In our first matchup we got off to a tremendous start, and ended up beating them 97- 75. We will have to stop David Madison like we did in our first meeting.

Butler (13-7, 6-3) @ Wisc. Green Bay (12-8, 5-4)

A great first half effort got us off to the start we needed. We led them at the half 53-36, and we held them off in the second half to earn a 93-80 Win. Sam Fletcher led the team with 23 points and his 9 rebounds were also team high. Mikeli Pastner went off on us scoring 33 points. No one else on Wisc. Green Bay reached double figures.

Butler (14-7, 7-3) @ Illinois-Chicago (11-10, 4-5)

We continued our solid play today with a great victory over Illinois- Chicago. Fletcher led the way again scoring 18 points and pulling down 9 boards. Our balance again helped propell us to a pretty easy victory. 85-73, Win

IP Top 25

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Arizona 22-4 1,913 1
2. Florida 20-4 1,760 2
3. Iowa State 21-2 1,688 4
4. Cincinnati 21-2 1,563 7
5. UCLA 21-4 1,438 8
6. North Carolina 22-4 1,366 9
7. Kansas 19-4 1,288 5
8. Indiana 21-4 1,194 10
9. Kentucky 18-4 1,148 13
10. Duke 20-6 1,078 12
11. Providence 23-3 1,009 6
12. Iowa 20-3 956 14
13. Boston College 20-3 908 15
14. Illinois 17-5 837 3
15. Georgia Tech 19-3 764 16
16. Oklahoma 20-3 716 11
17. Georgetown 20-3 665 19
18. Virginia 18-5 550 17
19. Stanford 17-6 479 20
20. Syracuse 18-4 391 18
21. Temple 19-4 325 24
22. USC 18-7 259 26
23. Michigan State 17-7 215 21
24. California 18-5 193 22
25. Texas Tech 18-6 171 23

Others Receiving Votes: Maryland 159, Wisconsin 146, Tennessee 124, Texas 103, Utah 81, Mississippi 60, Mississippi St. 40, Villanova 20, Alabama 10, Massachusetts 6, Memphis 2, Western Illinois 2, Ohio State 1, Michigan 1, St. Johns 1, Auburn 1, Connecticut 1, George Washington 1, Missouri 1, Gonzaga 1, Seton Hall 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 25 Maryland

[INDalltheway]

Week 14 (15-7, 8-3)

Weekly Preview

On Wednesday we will be taking on Wright St. (7-16, 3-9). Wright St. is not off to a very good start, but that does not mean they lack the talent. They have some solid players, but no real discipline. They have a great back court that we will have to shut down. We will need to make them bring the ball inside where we have an advantage.

In the second game of the week we will travel to Loyola Chicago (10-11, 6-4). They are a decent team with a great SG James Jones. He is averaging 18 points. The bad thing is, is that he is only and junior and will be comming back next season.



Wright St. (7-16, 3-9) @ Butler (15-7, 8-3)

Their back court had a huge game, but it wasn't enough for them. We got a great peformance from Aaron Hyle. He scored 27 points, easily his season high. Estell Nixon and Sam Fletcher both contributed 16 points. 92-82, Win.

Butler (16-7, 9-3) @ Loyola Chicago (10-12, 6-5)

We quieted a very vocal Loyola Chicago crowd in the first half with our superb offensive play. Robbie Dowling came off the bench to score 22 points. Sam Fletcher scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds. 89-69, Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 10-3

Wisc. Green Bay 7-5

Detroit 7-5

Illinois-Chicago 6-6

Wisc. Millwuakee 6-6

Loyola Chicago 6-6

Youngstown St. 6-7

Cleveland St. 5-8

Wright St. 3-10

[INDalltheway]

Week 15 (17-7, 10-3)

Weekly Preview

Our first game sees us traveling to Youngstown St. (9-15, 6-7). They have a very balanced attack. With that, we cannot key on any one player. We will have to be ready to match up tough against their hot player.

We get a little conference break in our second game. South Alabama (9-16, 7-6) is traveling to Indianapolis to challenge us in a non-conference game. They are led by SG Ed Buckmaster. He scores 16.6 PPG.

Butler (17-7, 10-3) @ Youngstown St. (9-15, 6-7)

It was never a contest. We came out ready to play. I am glad to see that we are playing our best ball come tourny time. Sam Fletcher only had to play 17 minutes in the blowout. He scored 12 points in that time period. Nixon led one of the five double-digit scorers with 17 points. 10 players got into the game, and 10 players scored. 102- 69, Win.

South Alabam (10-16, 8-6) @ Butler (18-7, 11-3)

We had an awesome first half, but tried to blow the game in the second half. With a 15 point halftime lead, we got way too relaxed. Therefore we let them back into the game. They didn't have enough fire power though. Fletcher scored 15 points. 71-68, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Arizona 26-4 1,924 1
2. Iowa State 25-2 1,761 2
3. Duke 24-6 1,675 6
4. Florida 23-5 1,558 5
5. Kentucky 22-4 1,439 8
6. Indiana 25-4 1,367 7
7. Providence 26-3 1,290 9
8. Cincinnati 24-3 1,196 10
9. UCLA 24-5 1,147 3
10. North Carolina 25-5 1,075 4
11. Iowa 23-4 992 14
12. Illinois 20-6 946 12
13. Boston College 23-4 899 11
14. Oklahoma 23-4 819 13
15. Georgetown 23-4 744 15
16. Georgia Tech 21-5 698 18
17. Syracuse 21-5 647 17
18. Temple 22-5 538 20
19. Kansas 19-8 473 16
20. Virginia 20-7 385 24
21. Texas Tech 21-7 320 19
22. Stanford 19-8 256 26
23. Maryland 18-8 212 21
24. Texas 20-8 189 27
25. Wisconsin 19-7 167 28

Others Receiving Votes: California 156, USC 145, Michigan State 124, Utah 103, Mississippi St. 80, Massachusetts 60, Memphis 40, Tennessee 20, Michigan 10, Connecticut 6, Mississippi 2, Ohio State 2, Villanova 1, Auburn 1, Seton Hall 1, Gonzaga 1, St. Johns 1, Alabama 1, Western Illinois 1, Missouri 1, George Washington 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 25 California, No. 22 USC, No. 23 Michigan State

Still no votes for the top 25. I kind of like that. We want to stay under the radar.

[INDalltheway]

Week 16 (19-7, 11-3)

Weekly Preview

Wisc. Millwaukee will be comming to town for our first game of this week. Back on January 12, we lost @ Wisc. Millwaukee 103- 73. That was very easily our worst game of the year. We have a lot to payback. Since that game we have only lost one game. Wade Jordan and Erik Holden provide a great 1-2 punch on the offensive side. They are averaging 17 and 18 PPG respectivly.

Our second game we will be playing Loyola Chicago. They are a decent team, with one great scorer. James Jones averages 17 points a contest. We will have to shut him down, and make them come inside where we have a huge advantage.

Wisc. Millwaukee (12-14, 7-7) @ Butler (19-7, 11-3)

They got us again in a very well-played close game. Jordan was the key. We let him score 20 points, which was enough for their victory. Aaron Hyle was on top of his game scoring 27 points, but it was not enough. 84-82, Loss.

Loyola Chicago (11-14, 7-7) @ Butler (19-8, 11-4)

In a rare Sunday game, we never got our game going. We let Loyola Chicago play at their tempo. We held James Jones to 14 points, but Billy Wright scored 24 points. Aaron Hyle led the team again with 17 points. 77-76, Loss.

Regular Season Stats

Aaron Hyle - 15.1 PPG 3.3 APG

Sam Fletcher- 14.9 PPG 9.9 RPG

Estell Nixon- 12.6 PPG 7.9 APG

Tim Madson- 12.1 PPG 3.1 RPG

Luis Williams- 5.9 PPG 5.4 RPG

[INDalltheway]

Week 17 (Conference Tournament) (19-9, 11-5)

1st Round of Games

The first game of the Horizon Conference Tournament is between Wright St. (9 Seed) versus Cleveland St. (8 Seed).

Cleveland St. came away with the victory 77-71.

2nd Round of Games

Cleveland St (8 Seed) versus Butler (1).

We came out with a solid 87- 68 Win. Tim Madsen scored 24 points.

Illinois-Chicago (7 Seed) versus Wisc. Green Bay (2 Seed).

Wisc. Green Bay won 88-77.

Youngstown St. (6) versus Detroit (3 Seed).

Detroit won 79-68.

Wisc. Millwaukee (5 Seed) versus Loyola Chicago (4 Seed)

Wisc. Millwaukee won 94-82.

3 Round of Games

Wisc. Millwaukee (5 Seed) versus Butler (1 Seed)

We came out and played well. We won it 88-77.

Detroit (3 Seed) versus Wisc. Green Bay (2 Seed)

We will be playing Detroit. They won 82-67.

Horizon Championship

Detroit (3 Seed) versus Butler (1 Seed)

We are in! We are in! Today we defeated Detroit to win the Horizon Conference Tourny. With the victory we recieved an automatic bid into the NCT Tournament. The game was never close. We won it 88-66. Now it is our time to make some noise in the tournament with whoever we get paired with.

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

New Coach Brings Instant Results

The Butler Bulldogs brought in new coach Ross Wheeler after an awful sub .500 season. Many people thought that this Butler team could maybe win half of their games. That is, if they are lucky. Ross Wheeler came into Butler and instituted his brand of ball to his players, and his players have played very possitivly.

"I just wanted to come here and institute my offense and philosophies in the first season," Wheeler commented. "I didn't even imagine winning 22 games in my first season."

Butler has had plenty of acomplishments they have achieved throughout the year. They won the regular season conference title, Horizon Conference Title, and a bid into the NCT Tournament. Nothing will be easy for the Bulldogs in the NCT.

"We will have to play close to flawless basketball to make any noise in the NCT," Coach Ross Wheeler said. "I do think our team is up to it though."

Freshman Aaron Hyle has taken the load offensivly once teams started consistently double teaming Sam Fletcher. He leads the offense, scoring 15.8 points per game.

"Teams are really just concentrating on Sam, and I have had a ton of open looks," Hyle said. "I just want to keep up what I have been doing these last few weeks.

Many experts are picking Butler to win one game. Even one expert who did not want his name mentioned said 'Butler could easily win 2 or 3 games.' This excitment of March Madness is usually present here in Indiana, but it is usually directed towards the bigger schools like Inidana University and Purdue. Only time will tell how our Bulldogs will play in the NCT Tourney.

[INDalltheway]

I am looking to finish the rest of this season tomorrow. Do you guys think that this is too slow moving or what? Just throw some comments out there. Let me know you are reading it! :)

[Swaggs]

Good looking dynasty, Ross.

Keep up the good work and start pumping more journal entries out. :)

[INDalltheway]

Congratulations! We made the NCT! Your expert coaching has landed us the 11th seed in the South Region. We will face Utah in the first round on Thursday.

John Turner
Assistant Coach

South NCT Region

The South Region is one of the most solid regions in the whole NCT. With teams like Florida, North Carolina, and Oklahoma winning this region would be amazing. We will play our hardest and our best.

Utah is a very solid #6 seed. In the regular season the were 27-5 overall and 15-2 in their conference. They are led by Sanyika Martin. He averages 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. This will be a tough game. They are a pretty deep team, with several other options besides Martin. We will be looking to stop Martin first. We just cannot let him beat us.

[INDalltheway]

Week 18 (22-9, 14-5)

NCT Tournament

Butler (11) versus Utah (6)

Sam Fletcher would not end his collegiate career in the first round of the NCT tournament. He just wouldn't allow that to happen. He came out with fire in his eyes and everyone else jumped aboard. Fletcher got off to a hot start and ended the game with 19 points and 18 rebounds. With a decent 36-29 lead at halftime, we knew we had to put them away in the first 3 minutes of the second half. We did just that going on a 7-0 run. 77-56 Win.

We will be taking on Oklahoma in the second round. They defeated Char. Southern 92-63. We will be looking to advance to the "Sweet Sixteen."

[INDalltheway]

NCT Tournament: Round 2

Oklahoma Report

Oklahoma comes into this game with a 28-5 record. That is a very good record considering they play in the BigXII. This team is lead by a dominant back court led by Senior PG Ryab Marshall. He is averaging 13 PPG and 8 APG. Sophmore SF Dustin Smith is the leading scorer, averaging 15 points a game. It will take another near flawless game to knock off this Oklahoma team. I still believe my team has nothing to lose. We will come out and play our best.

Oklahoma (3) versus Butler (11)

This year we have luckily recieved that nice little slipper on our foot. We are now the Cinderella of this March. We came out with nothing to lose and that is the way we played. Fletcher could not be stopped again. He went out and scored 18 points and got 11 rebounds. March has belonged to Butler and Sam Fletcher. I am thinking that expert who said we could win two games wished he got his name publisized. 81-74 Win.

Just a note... I am not cheating or anything. I have not done that yet. I just can't believe my team is winning all these games. I am as suprised as you guys.

[INDalltheway]

NCT Tournament: Round of 16

North Carolina Report

North Carolina hasn't had a close game yet in this tournament. They have handly beat Cambell and Cal. North Carolina comes into the game with an impressive 32-5 record. They are averaging 88 points per game, while only allowing 58 points per game. We are really going to try to take advantage of their lack of speed. That appears to be our only advantage. Junior PF John Duany is scoring 16 points per game for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina (2) versus Butler (11)

We didn't provide much competition for the Tar Heels in this one. They proved to be too much. On the defensive end they were simply amazing. They play defense like how I want my program to play. They were in our face and in the passing lanes also. Freshman Aaron Hyle was our leading scorer. He scored 14 points. Junior PG Robbie Johnson led the Heels with 25 points. I don't see to many teams beating this North Carolina team. 93-55, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

NCT Tournament Recap

North Carolina came out of the South Region only to lose to Kansas who came out of the East. Arizona will be playing Kansas in the National Title Game. They came out of the West Region. They beat Georgia Tech to advance to the finals. GA Tech came from the Mid West.

Championship Game

Nick Simons and his Arizona Wildcats are the 2002-2003 National Champions after a easy 90-74 victory over Kansas. Shane Jones led the way for the Wildcats scoring 27 points and earning MVP honors. Congratulations to Arizona, but it will not be so easy in the comming years.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #5

2002-2003 Season Review
(24-10, 14-5)

We ended the season with a great little run in the NCT Tournament. We are going to take that great run, and continue it right into next season. There were many doubters when I decided to take this job at Butler. Many thought it was the dumbest move I could make with coach Gene Keady soon to retire at Purdue. Many said I couln't ever win at Butler. 'They never have a chance to get a top recruit, even in their own backyard.' I believe I silenced those critics here in my first year.

This great season had its ups and downs. Winning 11 games out of 12 in the middle of the conference season was a great feeling. Then losing the last 2 conference games put us in the gutter. There were games like our 30 point loss at Wisc. Green Bay. Then there was our run through the conference tournament and winning a couple in the NCT Tournament. I have never felt so much pride in my life. I really think that this has been my biggest acomplishment of my life so far. I plan on topping this acomplishment by one day winning a NCT Championships. It will take several awesome recruiting classes and my total concentration on coaching.

We saw many great individual performances this season. Some from star PF Sam Fletcher. Then some from Estell Nixon, Tim Madsen, and Aaron Hyle. Aaron Hyle had one of the best Freshman seasons in the history of the Horizon conference. Tim Madsen had the season high in points in a single game with 30 against Appalachian St. early on in the season. Look for us to make some more noise in the conference and in the NCT Tourney.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #6

Emails

I have recieved several job offers after my first seaon here at Butler. I have recieved offers from one BigXII school and another for a top team in the A-10. I even got an offer from a bottom tier Big Ten school. I just want everyone to know that I am staying at Butler, and plan to lead this team to greatness.

Sadly enough Sam Fletcher was not drafted in the NBA. I have contacted him since the draft, and he says he plans to try to make a roster spot on any team in the league. If that doesn't happen he says he will go over seas and try it all over again. I know Sam too well, he will not give up on his dream without a fight.



I will get to the rest of the offseason tomorrow.

[Swaggs]

More please.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #7

I am officially anouncing the hiring of Leonard Crispin as the head trainer. Leonard is a 44 year old Wisconsin graduate. Our main reasoning behind the hiring was to bring in a cheaper solution, even though he presents the same skill as our old Trainer. Everyone has welcomed Leonard to the staff, and he is ready to get to know the guys he will be working with.

Freshman Class

After the past couple of weeks of watching our incoming Freshman practise I have come to the conclusion that this team has a very bright future. Both LeRoy Robertson and Keith Johnson have a great shot to start this season as Freshman. It will take a lot of work, but I believe these guys will put forth the effort. Cory Bradford looks to come off the bench this season hopefully starting in a couple of years. Keith Johnson should lead the team in scoring if he plays the way he is capable of playing. His future is very bright. His potential is higher than anyone on this team. I am looking forward to this season and the years following. This class can lead Butler to great things.

[INDalltheway]

I just want to make a note that I am entering the "set schedule" period, and that I will be starting over with Journal entry #'s. I think this is the best time because it officially ends the season.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #1

Non Conference Schedule

Date IP.400 Opponent
11/17/2003 - - - @Northwestern St.
11/21/2003 - - - San Diego State
11/27/2003 - - - UC Riverside
11/29/2003 - - - @Purdue
12/2/2003 - - - LA Lafayette
12/6/2003 - - - @SW Missouri St.
12/11/2003 - - - Maine 0-0 - -
12/14/2003 - - - UNC Greensboro
12/18/2003 5 6 -@UCLA
12/20/2003 - - - @Portland State
12/24/2003 - - - Marquette
12/28/2003 - - - East Carolina

I am glad I got my matchup with Purdue this year. Last year Purdue and myself tried our hardest to fit a game into the schedule but we just couldn't find a spot. I have talked with Coach Gene Keady several times since I left and he thinks this will be his last year at Purdue. I mention this because I want my record to be perfect against my old coach and colleuge. We also got a solid non-conference game at UCLA. They are ranked in the Pre-season top 10. I like this non-conference schedule. I think it will prepare us for our long conference season.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #2

The Media Guide

Meet the Players

PG Cory Bradford (6-0 174) Fr- Cory was apart of my first recruiting class here at Butler. To be honest with you he was just a guy I wanted to bring here on scholorship mainly just to practise. He may get his shot some day, but I doubt it will be this year.

PG Aaron Hyle (6-3 160) So- Aaron was our leading scorer last season averaging 15.5 PPG. Aaron did not attend our mandatory workouts many times. He missed at least half of the workouts. This will cost him a great deal of playing time this season.

PG LeRoy Robertson (6-0 173) Fr- LeRoy has some holes in his game. But his strenghts easily outweigh his weaknesses. LeRoy is projected to start this season. He will be in there for his defense and handling ability.

SG Frasser Walker (6-4 185) Jr- Frasser is a perfect bench player. He can come off the bench and light it up in a hurry. His strength is his amazing shooting ability, but in basketball you have to be able to play both offense and defense. There is no stopping after every offensive possesion to let your defensive guys come in.

SG Mick Cherry (6-3 197) Jr- Mick will get his chances to play this year. He is another very solid guy off of the bench. Mick had a season high 12 points against Wisc. Millwaukee last season in a big conference matchup.

SF Michael Henry (6-3 220) Sr- Michael will be starting this season. He put everything he had into our offseason workouts, and everyone can tell. His game has improved so dramatically that he seems to be a vital player to this team. Michael only averaged 6.6 minutes per game last year, but that will dramatically change.

SF Antwan Leonard (6-4 204) Sr- Antwan will be comming off the bench this year. He will be a good guy to come into the game when someone needs a breather. Antwan has been in the program for all 4 years here, and this is his 2nd with me. I am looking for a spot to put him in at.

SF Keith Johnson (64 160) Fr- Keith Johnson appears to be the starting Small forward this year. He brings everything to the table with his offense and defense. We are expecting huge things from him now and in the future.

PF Robbie Dowling (6-9 218) Sr- Robbie was an important player off of the bench last season for us. It also appears that, that will be his role this season too. We hope the senior does not get discouraged and plays his role this year.

PF Glendon McCrary (6-10 196) So- Glendon only played in 2 games last year. In each he only racked up 1 minute of play. This year it seems as though his minutes will be higher, but it doesn't appear they will raise too much.

PF Tim Madsen 6-7 192) Sr- With a log jam at PF, Tim may be the odd man out. He still has several practises left to prove to me he is the man for the spot. It would be tough for me to put an established player on the bench, but I will do what is best for the team.

C Jared Anderson (6-9 222) Jr- Jared played minimal minutes last season. It seems that the junior will play a similar role this season.

C Willie Philips (6-9 223) So- Willie will be our man in the middle this season when he starts at Center. Willie has the tools every man dreams of at the center position. Now he just needs to incorperate his amazing skill into game-time success.

Projected Starters
PG- LeRoy Robertson
SG- Michael Henry
SF- Keith Johnson
PF- Tim Madsen
C- Willie Philips

2003-2004 Outlook

Even though we lost some very good players last year due to graduation, I believe this team is bringing in enough talent to take off where last years team left off. With Keith Johnson in the starting lineup, we have replaced a great scorer in Sam Fletcher. With Estell Nixon gone, we have brought in LeRoy Robertson to run the point. With these two additions we should have a very successful season.

Our team has set many goals. One of them is to win the Horizon Conference regular and tournament titles. When we acomplish that, it will take care of our goal to make it and win the NCT Tournament. Last year was a great season, but I am looking for an even better 2nd year.

Edit- Willie Philips isn't 96 feet 9 inches. :)

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #3

Strategy

I will never use a timeout to control my team's fatigue. I think that is what a substitution is for. Timeouts are for discussing strategy not to give a guy a break and a sip of gatorade. I find that to be very horible use of a coaches timeout. Because I do not believe in using timeouts to control fatigue, I do sub a lot of players. On almost every dead ball you will see me send someone fresh into the game. This is an alternative to calling the TO for the breather.

Man defenses are my teams forte. My teams play tough and agressive in-your-face defense. If someone is not in a defensive stance they are comming out. If they miss a responsiblity they are comming out. That is how a player learns. If I keep a player in there, the player may make the same mistake again. That time though it can cost you the game. That is my reasoning behind that.

After we grab a defensive board we throw our outlet pass a get going. We like to play a "run and gun" style offense. This type of offense leads to a lot of easy shots and layups. Isn't it smart to attempt the easiest shot in basketball more often than the long range bombs? On the flip-side we like to play a full court press. Sometimes the press is a soft press that controls our opponent to slow down, or we can run our high pressure full court trap.

[INDalltheway]

Whoo-hooo! 400 posts!

[INDalltheway]

Week 2 (0-0)

Weekly Preview

We Travel to Northwestern St. to start off the season. Our guys have been waiting for a long time to get back onto the hardwood against some real opponents. We should come out with a lot of passion after such a long lay off. Northwestern St. shouldn't be much competetion, but you never know with this being the first game of the year.

In our second game of the week San Diego St. will travel to town. The Aztecs are a small team in height, and that is where we will try to take advantage of them. They are not very deep, so we would like to get them in foul trouble. San Diego St. isn't a very good team on some nights and others they can be pretty respectable.

Butler (0-0) @ Northwestern St. (0-0)

What started out as a blow out ended as a dog fight. We got out to a terrific first half lead only to let it slip away. We were in control the whole way, but it did seem we lost a little control late in the second half. With all of their energy used Northwestern St. came up short of a comback. 92-82, Win. Freshman LeRoy Robertson made quite a debut. He scored 25 points and had 8 assists in his first ever collegiate game.

San Diego St. (0-1) @ Butler (1-0)

With a three point halftime deficit, I screamed and yelled that we needed to pick up the intensity. That happened in the opening minutes of the second half. We started out scoring the first 5 points of the half. The rest of the half though went the wrong way. San Diego St. outscored us 47-26 in the second half. We will have to rebound from this loss next week. 86-64, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week #3 (1-1)

Weekly Preview

UC Riverside will be traveling here for our first game of the week. They come into the game with a 0-2 record, and in the little I have seen them play, that record is right for them. They lack talent at every position. We have a large advantage over them everywhere.

In our second game, we will be playing an important game for myself. We will be taking on the Purdue Boliermakers in West Lafayette, a place I used to call home. They have gotten off to a horrible start with a 0-3 record, but they will not be an easy team to beat. We will have to shut down Kelvin Watkins in order to win.

UC Riverside (0-2) @ Butler (1-1)

In a game that didn't want to end, we came out on top. With both teams not missing shots at the end of the second half and into the overtime, it came down to who had the ball at the end. We had the ball, but more specifically Freshman PG LeRoy Robertson had the ball. I knew it was over when I called for an isolation with him at the point. He made a couple of moves to free himself for a 10 foot jumper. The ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net. LeRoy scored 34 points, and more importantly we Won 101-99.

Butler (2-1) @ Purdue (1-3)

With a great Saturday afternoon crowd at Mackey, our opposition felt that with the crowd alone they would beat us. I mean, I see where they are comming from. We have to Freshman starters that have never played in a game like the one they were to encounter. With Senior Michale Henry playing the way we played, we could have had 4 blind men on the court and still beat them if they gave him the ball. The senior played a game you can only dream about. He scored 37 points. I am glad to have one this one. I hope I have proved to some people that I made the right decision. 99-88, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Florida 7-0 3,093 1
2. Kentucky 7-0 2,866 2
3. Arizona 6-1 2,584 4
4. Iowa State 6-1 2,296 3
5. North Carolina 5-1 2,025 8
6. Tennessee 5-2 1,866 9
7. Alabama 5-1 1,757 10
8. Connecticut 5-1 1,623 5
9. Maryland 4-0 1,538 15
10. Stanford 4-0 1,419 13
11. Virginia 4-0 1,313 21
12. Illinois 4-0 1,248 16
13. Wake Forest 4-0 1,188 22
14. Georgia 4-0 1,090 18
15. USC 4-1 1,000 27
16. Michigan State 4-0 939 19
17. Ohio State 4-0 878 17
18. UCLA 4-2 729 6
19. Iowa 4-0 640 24
20. Mississippi St. 4-0 522 28
21. Wisconsin 4-0 433 23
22. Texas Tech 4-2 346 34
23. Indiana 4-2 286 7
24. Michigan 4-0 256 30
25. Providence 4-1 226 11

Others Receiving Votes: Auburn 212, South Carolina 197, Temple 167, Texas A&M 139, Arizona State 110, Washington 82, Kansas 55, Duke 27, Kansas State 10, Xavier 5, Boston College 5, Mississippi 4, Cincinnati 4, Creighton 3, Missouri 3, Arkansas 2, Ball State 2, Georgia Tech 1, Seton Hall 1, Portland 1, California 1, Oklahoma 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 14 Boston College, No. 12 Mississippi

[INDalltheway]

Week #4 (3-1)

Weekly Preview

After a couple of close games last week, we get a little break when we play LA Lafayette. The Rajun Cajuns are 0-4 on the season. Mike Mitchell is the closest thing the have to a ballplayer.

In our second game of the week we travel to SW Missouri St. They are 1-3 on the year, and are lucky to get that one win. This week should be easy for us, but you never know in the crazy world of College Basketball.

LA Lafayette (0-4) @ Butler (3-1)

We like to beat up on the better teams, and play with the horrible teams. We didn't want to win tonight. Luckily we are talented enough that when we don't want to win we still win. Freshman Keith Johnson led us in scoring with 19 points. 85-82, Win.

Butler (4-1) @ SW Missouri St. (2-3)

For the first time all year we came ready to play versus a bottom teir team. We blew them out from the begining tip. Michael Henry led the way with 27 points, and LeRoy Robertson added 20 of his own. Willie Philips is quietly putting up great numbers. He scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds. 96-81, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Butler Starts Off Hot Again

It is becoming a regular occurrence for the Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball team to get off to a great start. Last season the Bulldogs started 4-1, but this year they have outdone that start compiling a 5-1 victory.

"I think I prepare my guys for the first weeks of the season better than any other coach," Coach Ross Wheeler said. "I try to make our practices as close to game-like as I can."

Butler has played very well in close games so far this season. The Bulldogs are 2-0 in games decided by less than 3 points. Players think the "Situations Drill" has helped when these situations arise.

"Coach always makes us play in these situations," Freshman PG LeRoy Robertson said. "I always thought he was wack, but I think that helped me with my isolation play to win the game against UC Riverside. We ran the exact same play in a similar situation in practice."

There is nothing you can say about the job Ross Wheeler has done in his short stay so far at Butler. Butler fans should just enjoy what they are getting for now, and they can only hope the man behind this team stays with this school.

"I have talked to several AD's at top notch schools who said they would be interested in hiring Coach Wheeler if he could continue what he is doing at Butler," a man who did not want to be identified said.

Even though Coach Wheeler has repeatedly told reporters he was staying at Butler, but one can only wonder.

[INDalltheway]

Here is a note. I apparently forgot to save after the SW Missouri St. game... I will edit that post acordingly.

Luckily there was not much change from when I re-simmed the game. Sorry for the inconvienece.

[INDalltheway]

Week #5 (5-1)

Weekly Preview

In our first game of week #5, Maine will travel to play us at home. Maine comes into the game with a 3-2 record so far this season. Maine has three scorers in their starting lineup, while the other two do the scrappy jobs. If everyone comes ready to play we should have no problems against them.

UNC Greensboro is coming to town for our second game this week. They currently have a 1-5 record, with a 1-2 record on the road. This team just lacks talent. They may win a couple games this season because they focus on the little things, and scrap like a pack of wild dogs. If we get off to a good start there will be no looking back.


Maine (3-2) @ Butler (5-1)

We played a decent first half, but only lead the visiting team by a single point at the break. But that is when my boys kicked into high gear, a gear I have never seen this team in, for the whole second half. Michael Henry once again led us in scoring with 24 points. Keith Johnson is becoming more and more comfortable out there. He scored 18 tonight. 97-74, Win.

UNC Greensboro (2-5) @ Butler (6-1)

After UNC Greensboro had an emotional victory earlier this week, I knew I had to prepare this team for war. We didn’t particularly play well, but we played well enough to pull this one out. Tim Madsen had a great game scoring 22 points and pulling down 9 boards. Michael Henry kept up his hot play scoring 18 points. 86-85, Win.

Individual Stats

Michael Henry- 21.5 PPG 6 RPG
LeRoy Robertson- 15.4 PPG, 7.5 APG
Willie Philips- 11.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG
Keith Johnson- 11.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Tim Madsen- 11.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG

Commitments

SG Bryen Richardson told us today that he will be atending Butler University next fall. Bryen is the first player to commit to Butler so far this recruiting season.

[INDalltheway]

Week # 6 (7-1)

Weekly Preview

Our toughest challenge so far this season lies ahead of us in the first game of Week #6. We are traveling to the #20 ranked UCLA Bruins arena to play an important game for this University. UCLA is 8-2 on the season and is 4-0 on their home court. This will be a tough environment for us to play in, but we have proved we can play in the big games. I think that both of our teams are very similar in size and ability. We will just have to get over the fact that they “are” UCLA and we “are” Butler. We cannot make this a name game because we will surely lose if we do.

In our second game of the week we will be staying out West. We will be host to Portland State. They are 3-6 and 3-2 currently on their home floor. This is a definite break after a tough game against UCLA. Still we will have to play intense for the first several minutes so we can set the tone for the rest of the game. I really would like to empty my bench in this game.

Butler (7-1) @ UCLA (8-2)

We got put into place very quickly in this contest. Actually it really never was a contest. There is not much I can say on my part besides the fact that we played like crap, and the capitalized on that. I want to thank Willie Philips for coming ready to play tonight. He was the only guy. He scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds. 96-68, Loss.

Butler (7-2) @ Portland State (3-6)

We put together two solid halves of basketball against a very poor team tonight. My wish was granted when I got to clear the bench with close to 10 minutes left to play. I am glad to see that my team has gotten over our loss against UCLA, and came out with some fire. Michael Henry scored 26 points and Keith Johnson added 19. Willie Philips had a big day on the glass with 18 rebounds. 93-72, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Maryland 10-0 2,087 1
2. Florida 11-1 1,921 2
3. Stanford 10-0 1,830 3
4. North Carolina 11-1 1,702 6
5. Arizona 12-1 1,570 5
6. Virginia 10-0 1,494 4
7. Kentucky 11-1 1,415 8
8. Wake Forest 10-0 1,301 9
9. Georgia 9-0 1,247 10
10. Ohio State 10-0 1,164 11
11. Iowa 10-0 1,080 13
12. Kansas 8-1 1,024 15
13. Wisconsin 10-0 975 14
14. Mississippi 8-1 902 16
15. Duke 9-2 825 17
16. UCLA 10-2 769 20
17. Alabama 10-1 719 18
18. Illinois 9-1 598 7
19. Tennessee 10-2 522 23
20. Georgia Tech 9-1 426 22
21. Missouri 8-1 354 21
22. Michigan State 9-1 282 24
23. Mississippi St. 8-1 234 12
24. Michigan 9-1 207 30
25. Iowa State 10-2 183 31

Others Receiving Votes: Syracuse 172, Oklahoma 160, Georgetown 135, Cincinnati 112, Seton Hall 90, USC 67, California 45, Arkansas 22, Indiana 10, Arizona State 6, Texas Tech 2, Washington 2, Providence 1, South Carolina 1, Connecticut 1, Auburn 1, Utah 1, Temple 1, Clemson 1, Xavier 1, Boston College 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 19 Cincinnati, No. 25 Arkansas

[INDalltheway]

Week #7 (8-2)

Weekly Preview

The Golden Eagles of Marquette are coming to town in our first match up of the week. They come in with a 2-7 record with a 0-2 road record. All 5 of their starters can score, but not very well. This Marquette program is quickly going down the drain, and we would like to assist them down.

In our second game, 5-4 East Carolina will come to Indy. East Carolina has been dominant on the road compiling a 4-0 record. We should have scheduled this at their place. 6 foot 8 inch Center Ryan Williams leads the Pirates.

Marquette (2-7) @ Butler (8-2)

Mikeli Jones scored, and scored often against us today. He was ridiculous from the field today for the Golden Eagles. He ended up with 31 points. We can’t play another game like this one and expect to go far in the NCT Tournament, or even our Conference Tourney. 99-88, Loss.

East Carolina (6-4) @ Butler (8-3)

Every player on the roster came ready to play today. I think it is great that our leading scorer(s) only scored 14 points today. That really shows the depth and skill of our bench and team in general. It also doesn’t hurt that we pulled one out today. Henry and Johnson led the way once again with 14 points. 76-72, Win.

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Week # 8 (9-3, 0-0) Conference Play

Weekly Preview

Our conference season starts off on Monday this week against 5-7 Cleveland State. Cleveland State is 3-6 on the road so far this season. State only has 2 players that average over 10 points a game, and they average 10.5 and 10.8 respectively. This game should head us into the right direction for the conference season.

In our second game we will travel to Wisc. Millwaukee. They have a 4-8 record and they currently have a 1-2 home record. This team is lead by Senior SG Wade Jordan. We will be looking to shut him down offensively, and make someone else beat us.

Cleveland St. (5-7, 0-0) @ Butler (9-3, 0-0)

The game did not play out the way we wanted it to, but still we managed to take the game into overtime. In the overtime we made timely free throws and long range bombs. Aaron Hyle got his chance to play today, and he played well. With the injury of Frasser Walker, Aaron moved up on the depth charts and found himself in the game. Aaron Hyle, Michael Henry, and Keith Johnson all scored 18 points to lead us to a huge opening conference game. 95-93, Win.

Butler (10-3, 1-0) @ Wisc. Millwaukee (4-9, 0-1)

Our first road conference game did not go the way we would have liked it. We didn’t appear to have the intensity I preach everyday. We played decently in the first half, and held a 3 point advantage when the first 20 minutes ended. Keith Johnson was our only offense today. He accounted for 26 points. Wade Jordan beat us today, he scored 28 points. 76-74, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week # 9 (10-4, 1-1)

Weekly Preview

We travel to Detroit this week to take on the Horizon Conference leaders. Detroit has 3-10 record, but is currently holding a 1-0 conference record. Detroit has a couple of scorers, but not one of them will require 100% attention from us. A quick start will be the key for us on Thursday.

Butler (10-4, 1-1) @ Detroit (3-10, 1-0)

Today we played a solid game of basketball. It was hard to concentrate on basketball after Senior Tim Madsen fell to the floor in pain. He was checked into a local Hospital in the area of the arena. I just received word that Tim will miss 2 months with a hernia. Tim was well on his way to having a season high. In only 22 minutes, Tim scored 14 points. Once Tim left the game, Senior SG Michael Henry picked up the slack along with Freshman Keith Johnson. This was a tough game, but losing Tim made it even tougher. 96-84, Win.

Commitments

We recieved 3 commitments this week. PG Javier Abel, PF Duane Mourning, and PF Joey Kirkland all commited to attend Butler next fall. These three round out our Recruiting Class of the 2003-2004 season.

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Week #10 (11-4, 2-1)

Weekly Preview

Wisc. Green Bay is traveling to our place in the first game in this cruical week of conference play. This is the week that seperates the good teams from the bad ones. In order for us to be on the good side, we need a good start to the week against Wisc. Green Bay. This Wisc. Green Bay team is playing pretty well of late. Overall they are 5-11 and 2-2 in the conference. We will need to shutdown Harvey Dixon and play good team defense.

In the second part of the week, we are traveling to play Youngstown State. State is playing pretty good basketball so far this season. They have compiled a 6-10 record and are 3-1 in the conference. These two games will show us where we fit in, in the conference.

Wisc. Green Bay (5-11, 2-2) @ Butler (11-4, 2-1)

Consistency was the key to a great conference victory this evening. We were consistent all night long. We consistently made shots, and never seemed to go on a long scoring drought that can sometimes prove costly. Our Freshman Duo of LeRoy Robertson and Keith Johnson led us in scoring, which will be a regular occurrence the next 3 years. LeRoy had a very solid night scoring 19 points and tossing out 11 assists. Keith was not to be outdone. Keith scored 22 points and made shots from all spots of the floor. It is nice to get a good conference victory over a pretty solid opponent. 84-72, Win.

Butler (12-4, 3-2) @ Youngstown State (6-11, 3-2)

These are the games you dream of playing in. A big conference match up against a solid opponent. The game is close all the way, and the game is decided by what you do. We had an open look at the 3 point shot, but it just wasn’t meant to fall. Keith did everything right tonight, but just couldn’t get that last shot to fall. He led us with 25 points. It is tough to lose a game like this one. The ones decided by a couple points or less. We can take this loss in two different ways, and the way we take it will determine the outcome of our season. We can either feel sorry for ourselves, or learn from this loss and take it into a similar situation in a later game. I hope we choose the latter. 88-87, Loss.

Conference Standings

Youngstown St. 4-2

Butler 3-2

Illinois-Chicago 3-2

Cleveland St. 3-3

Wisc. Green Bay 3-3

Loyola Chicago 2-3

Wright St. 2-3

Wisc. Milwaukee 2-3

Detroit 2-3

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Experts Say: 'Butler Recruits Average Class

Many experts across the nation believe that the Butler Bulldogs have brought in a solid, but not spectacular 2003-2004 recruiting class. With four graduating seniors departing after the season Butler had to go after quantity rather than quality.

“I tried to bring in a lot of very solid players,” Coach and recruiting coordinator Ross Wheeler said. “This class consists of four fine individuals and players.”

Basket Bytes does not see these players as ‘fine’ as Coach Wheeler does. They rate Butler’s recruits as 3, 3, 3, and 2 star recruits.

“I don’t really care what Basket Bytes says, they have to put that stuff in their little newsletters so people will buy them the next year,” Coach Wheeler said with a chuckle. “I know what I see, and I saw some pretty darn good ballplayers.”

SG Bryen Richardson is Butler’s first recruit. Bryen is from Omaha, NE, and he attended Omaha North HS. Basket Bytes rates him as a 3 star recruit and 94th in the Mid West region.

PG Javier Abal is another of Butler’s recruits. Javier is from Ann Arbor, MI and attended Pioneer HS. Basket Bytes rates him as a 3 star recruit and 81st in the Mid West Region.

PF Duane Mouring is from Toledo, OH. He attended Bowsher HS while in Toledo. Basket Bytes also rates him as a 3 star recruit and 93rd in the Mid West Region.

PF Joey Kirkland rounds out Butler’s 2003-2004 recruiting class. Joey is from Indianapolis, IN and attended Indianapolis Howe HS. Basket Bytes rates Joey as a 2 star recruit.

[INDalltheway]

Week #11 (12-5, 3-2)

Weekly Preview

We will be visiting Loyola Chicago in our first of two games this week. Loyola is 9-8 on the season and are 2-3 in the conference. This team is led by James Jones, who tore us up last season. Our defense will be keyed around Jones all night.

Our second game sees Wright St. coming to town. Wright St. is currently 8-9 and 2-3 in the conference. Kevin Ballinger is leading the conference in scoring with 18.7 PPG. We will be doubling him in the post whenever he touches it.

Butler (12-5, 3-2) @ Loyola Chicago (9-8, 2-3)

Where we firing on all cylinders or what tonight? We couldn’t do anything wrong tonight. Everyone who entered the game contributed something to the team. That is a special trait of this team. Whenever someone gets a shot to play, they always make me look bad by playing well. We need to continue on these winning ways this week. 89-69, Win.

Wright St. (8-10, 2-4) @ Butler (13-5, 4-2)

Kevin Ballinger was the key to this game for us. We limited his shots, therefore we limited his points. It is that easy. We stuck our scrappy 6-4 SG on his 6-8 268 pound frame, and shut him down. Averaging over 18.5 PPG, we limited him to a near season low 15 points. Because Henry ate up Ballinger and had a solid day on the offensive end, he is now the leading scorer in the Horizon Conference. We had 5 guys in double figures tonight, and another guy had 9. 92-70, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Kentucky 19-1 2,023 1
2. Florida 18-3 1,821 2
3. Illinois 19-1 1,748 3
4. Arizona 19-3 1,621 7
5. Kansas 16-2 1,500 4
6. Stanford 17-2 1,392 8
7. Iowa State 19-2 1,321 10
8. Duke 17-4 1,222 11
9. Alabama 18-2 1,169 6
10. Wake Forest 17-2 1,094 12
11. Missouri 16-2 1,022 13
12. Tennessee 17-4 968 15
13. Virginia 16-3 920 18
14. Maryland 15-4 850 5
15. Wisconsin 18-2 779 9
16. North Carolina 16-5 730 19
17. Georgia 15-3 678 14
18. UCLA 16-5 565 17
19. Georgia Tech 16-3 497 23
20. Iowa 16-3 404 16
21. Mississippi 14-5 332 21
22. Indiana 16-5 265 20
23. Texas Tech 15-5 219 27
24. Cincinnati 15-3 197 24
25. Ohio State 15-4 174 28

Others Receiving Votes: California 163, Temple 152, Georgetown 130, Michigan 108, Michigan State 86, Syracuse 64, Boston College 43, Providence 21, Arkansas 10, Connecticut 6, Oklahoma 2, Seton Hall 2, Memphis 1, Auburn 1, Utah 1, Texas A&M 1, Ball State 1, Texas 1, Washington 1, St. Johns 1, USC 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 25 California, No. 22 Syracuse

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Week #12 (14-5, 5-2)

Weekly Preview

Loyola Chicago is traveling to Indy to play us in an important conference match up. Loyola is 10-9 overall and 3-4 in the conference this season. In our first match up, we dominated them by 20 points. Billy Wright is lighting it up for Loyola in the past few weeks, including the game versus us. We are ready to stop him this week.

Our second game is a battle of the current leaders of the Horizon Conference. Youngstown St. is coming to our home after they beat us by 1 point at their place. Since that game our margin of victory has been 21 points on average. Richie Barker needs to be contained this week.

Loyola Chicago (10-9, 3-4) @ Butler (14-5, 5-2)

I think our home crowd helped cheer us on to a fairly easy victory over the visiting Ramblers. They looked scared at the tip, and their jitters didn’t wear off near in time. Keith Johnson and Willie Philips led this team tonight. Keith scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds. While Willie scored 15 points and pulled down 18 rebounds. I hope this game propels us to a huge victory over Youngstown St. 85-72, Win

Youngstown St. (8-11, 5-2) @ Butler (15-5, 6-2)

In an important Sunday afternoon battle, Youngstown St. was not ready for our intense style of play. We beat them on both sides of court and equally as bad in both halves. Eleven players played and ten of them scored tonight. Our starters did not have to play many minutes because the game was such a blow out so early. 102-68, Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 7-2

Illinois-Chicago 6-3

Youngstown St. 5-3

Wisc. Milwaukee 5-4

Cleveland St. 4-5

Wisc. Green Bay 4-6

Wright St. 3-5

Loyola Chicago 3-6

Detroit 3-6

[INDalltheway]

Week #13 (16-5, 7-2)

Weekly Preview

We start up our first of four road games stretching over the next 2 weeks. Our first game of this week and the road trip is against Wright St. Wright St. is 9-12 overall and 3-5 in the conference. In our first game against Wright St. we beat them by 22 points. Keith Johnson will once again need to have another good game offensively and defensively.

Our second game sees us go to Wisc. Green Bay. Wisc. Green Bay is 7-15 overall and 4-6 in the conference. This team is a very dangerous team. At times they can be one of the best teams in the conference. I don’t think they can play with us, but no one has seen this team play to their ability and talent yet. In our first match up we beat them 84-72.

Butler (16-5, 7-2) @ Wright St. (9-12, 3-5)

What a crazy game we played tonight. Everything was going right for us in the 1st half. We got the benefit of some calls early and took advantage of them. In the second half it was a different story. It seemed the refs had something to prove against us, but we did not take it personal. We just went to business, and would not let anyone ruin our chances of winning this game. 83-78, Win.

Butler (17-5, 8-2) @ Wisc. Green Bay (8-15, 5-6)

No one can stop us. We are playing the best ball I have seen since I have been here. This season is kind of reminiscent to last year in that we started off solid and had one little bump in the road then we couldn't lose to save our life. Ever since our 1 point loss, we have played great basketball. Especially in the close games. Michael Henry had a solid night scoring 19 points for us.

Individual Stats

Michael Henry- 17.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG

Keith Johnson- 15.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG

LeRoy Robertson- 11.9 PPG, 7.0 APG (This is the guy you want on the freethrow line in a tough spot. He is 64-69. That is 92.8%.

Willie Philips- 11.5 PPG, 11.7 RPG

[INDalltheway]

Week #14 (18-5, 9-2)

Weekly Preview

We travel to Cleveland St. for the first game this week. They are 9-13 overall and 4-6 in the conference. In our first match up we won it 95-93 in OT. I think my team has gotten a lot better since then, and I am guessing they have too. This should be a pretty good battle.

Illinois-Chicago is playing host to us on Friday. This is our first game against them this year. They are 13-10 overall and 7-3 in the conference. We might have a little trouble with their 7 foot 1 inch center Peter Shannon, but I don't see too much when I watch them on film. They are a team run on emotion rather than skill. We will have to get off to a very fast start and hopefully shoot down their emotion.

Butler (18-5, 9-2) @ Cleveland St. (9-13, 4-6)

Our six game winning streak was snapped tonight at Cleveland St. Roy Sullivan led all scorers with 31 points. He was practically unstoppable. Keith Johnson had a nice effort last night scoring 18 points. 91-77, Loss.

Butler (18-6, 9-3) @ Illinois-Chicago (14-10, 8-3)

We have the conference bragging rights for this week even though we lost to Cleveland St. I am very glad my guys came ready to play after a bad loss to Cleveland St. LeRoy Robertson scored 19 points tonight. Big victory to keep us in the conference lead. 88-72, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Week #15 (19-6, 10-3)

Weekly Preview

The Detroit Titans are coming to town for our first game this week. We beat them 96-84 back on Junuary 8th. Now Detroit's record is 6-19 overall and 4-9 in the conference. We cannot overlook this team.

Wisc. Millwaukee is traveling to play us here in Indy this week. They are 12-13 overall and 8-3 in the conference. This is obviously the bigger of the two games this week, but we cannot devote all of our attention to this game. We lost to Wisconsin Millwaukee earlier this year 74-76.

Detroit (6-19, 4-9) @ Butler (19-6, 10-3)

We picked up that all important 20th victory tonight. We blew them away early and often. I believe that was the key to our sucess. Willie Philips scored 18 points and had 14 rebounds. 87-69, Win.

Wisc. Millwaukee (12-14, 8-5) @ Butler (20-6, 11-3)

We would not let this team beat us twice this season. They should be satisfied with just beating us once this season. Our Freshman Duo of LeRoy Robertson and Keith Johnson scored 21 and 20 points respectively. We played pretty well tonight. 92-80, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Kentucky 25-3 1,935 1
2. Arizona 25-5 1,773 3
3. Florida 24-5 1,697 2
4. Kansas 22-4 1,574 4
5. North Carolina 24-5 1,446 5
6. Illinois 23-4 1,355 6
7. Duke 22-6 1,283 8
8. Missouri 22-4 1,173 13
9. Texas Tech 23-5 1,127 12
10. Tennessee 23-6 1,057 7
11. Iowa State 24-5 989 14
12. Mississippi 20-6 935 17
13. Maryland 20-7 889 11
14. Alabama 23-5 822 10
15. Syracuse 21-4 750 19
16. Cincinnati 22-4 704 20
17. Iowa 22-5 657 21
18. Indiana 22-7 548 9
19. Wisconsin 22-5 480 16
20. Boston College 19-6 391 24
21. Stanford 20-7 324 15
22. Georgia Tech 21-6 259 25
23. UCLA 20-9 216 28
24. Providence 21-6 193 27
25. Temple 22-6 172 22

Others Receiving Votes: California 161, Wake Forest 149, Virginia 127, Michigan State 104, Michigan 83, Ohio State 62, Arkansas 41, Connecticut 20, Memphis 10, Oklahoma 6, Utah 2, Georgia 2, Xavier 1, USC 1, St. Johns 1, Texas 1, Georgetown 1, Washington 1, Seton Hall 1, Massachusetts 1, Butler 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 23 California, No. 18 Wake Forest

We recieved our first vote for the IP Top 25 Poll!

[INDalltheway]

Week #16 (21-6, 12-3)

We start off this week with a non-conference game against Arkansas Little Rock. They are 15-11 overall and 9-6 in their conference. They get solid performances from everyone in their starting lineup. I haven't seen much tape of them, so we will adjust as we go.

We get back into conference play when Illinois-Chicago comes to town. Illinois-Chicago is 14-13 and 8-6 in the conference. This is an important game for us to set the tone for the conference tournament.

Butler (21-6, 12-3) @ Arkansas LR (15-11, 9-6)

We didn't adjust nor did it seem like we cared about tonights game. I think my team just thought it wasn't a conference game, so it wasn't important. This loss totally blows the chance of us getting an automatic bid into the NCT. Not that we would need it or anything. 90-83, Loss.

Illinois-Chicago (15-13, 9-6) @ Butler (21-7, 12-3)

We did this last year. It seemed we ran out of gas. Lets hope we can play solid ball into the conference tournament. Henry and Philips scored 16 points. 81-75, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Injury Update

Tim Madsen is now ready to come back after his hernia. He will be inserted into the PF Spot.

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Week #17 Conference Tourney (21-8, 12-4)

Other Games (1st Round)

Detroit (9) @ Loyola Chicago (8)

Loyola rolled over Detroit in the opening game. With a tie game at the half, Loyola was unstoppable in the second half. They outscored Detroit 60-19 in the second half alone.

Other Games (2nd Round)

Youngstown St (7) @ Illinois-Chicago (2)

Illinois-Chicago barely got by Youngstown St. The final score was 81-78

Wisc. Green Bay (6) @ Wright St. (3)

Wisc. Green Bay upset Wright St. 82-66.

Cleveland St (5) @ Wisc. Millwaukee (4)

Cleveland St. snuck past higher seeded Wisc. Millwaukee 79-73.

Our Game

Loyola Chicago (8) @ Butler (1)

We played our worst game of the season at the worst time possible. I can't believe that we blew our chance this season at the NCT. Unless we get incredibly lucky we will be playing in the ACT Tournament, that is if they would even want us. 91-82, Loss.

Tournament Results

Wisc. Green Bay and Loyola Chicago advanced to the final for a spot at the NCT Tournament. Wisc. Green Bay is a 6 seed and Loyola Chicago is the 8 seed.

In the final game Wisc. Green Bay won 90-78 advancing into the NCT Tournament. Congrats to them.

Postseason Status

While not our first choice, we have made the ACT Tournament. We will square off against Arizona State in the first round on Wednesday.

John Turner
Assistant Coach

[INDalltheway]

Week #18 ACT & NCT Tournaments (21-9)

Arizona St. Scouting

I really believe this will be a very close game on Wednesday. Arizona St. is a solid team that competes in a very good conference. Freshman Dane Nystrom is the offensive leader for ASU. An interesting not to add is that my newphew, Tobe Wheeler, is the starting center for ASU. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of family I have not been around in a while. Just because we didn't get into the NCT Tournament doesn't mean that we will just pack it up now. The ACT Tournament will be an important stepping stone for this program.

Arizona St. (16-15) @ Butler (21-9)

Keith Johnson came to play today. He scored 28 points. Fellow Freshman LeRoy Robertson also played well tonight. He scored 18 points and had 8 assits. Those were our only bright spots though. Our seniors acted like they did not want to play anymore so I set them on the bench and let my younger guys play. It probably did not help that Tim Madsen got injured again. I am told that he broke his ribs. It is a sad way for that kid to go out. 90-84, Loss.

ACT Results

Auburn will play Clemson in the first game at Madison Square Garden to try to advance to the finals against the winner of the Texas- USC game.

Auburn defeated Clemson to advance to the finals and Texas beat USC. In the final Texas Won 92-65.

NCT Results

UCLA is taking on Alabama in the first game to determine who will play in the final game of NCAA season. Iowa St. takes on Tennessee in the second game in Philidelphia.

Alabama defeated UCLA 84-75 to advance to the finals. Iowa St. smoked Tennessee 78-66.

NCT Final

Iowa St. got off to a great first half start. They were hot out of the gates, and appeared to be the more poised team. At the half it was 45-34 in favor of the Cyclones. Alabama didn't put up much of a fight after that. The final score was 76-63. Iowa St. is the top team until next year. When I was watching this game on my television I could only think about coaching in this game. It is my dream, and I hope to fulfil my dream in my upcoming years.

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Butler Ends Season on a Sour Note

The season ended a lot shorter than any Butler basketball fan, alum, or player could ever imagine. What started as one of the best seasons in the history of Butler basketball abruptly came to a halt in the last two games of the regular season.

Arkansas Little Rock and Illinois-Chicago started the horrible end of the season for Butler. Arkansas Little Rock hosted the Bulldogs and beat them 90-83 on January 25th. Illinois-Chicago continued the misery for Butler when they defeated Butler 81-75 3 days after the Arkansas Little Rock loss.

“Those two losses seemed to stick in our brains into the Conference Tournament and then into the ACT Tournament,” Coach Ross Wheeler said. “This is not the way we wanted to end the season by any means.”

Loyola Chicago beat Butler in the Horizon Conference Tournament to extend the Bulldog’s losing streak to a season high 3 games.

“With that loss we knew that our chances of the NCT were very slim,” Wheeler said, “I hope that not making the NCT was the reason for our poor performance the ACT Tourney.”

A couple of seniors will be graduating this spring with out a great run in their senior season in the NCT like last seasons team.

“This is not the way we (seniors) wanted to go out,” Senior SG Michael Henry said. “I know we are better than what we showed the last couple of weeks of the season. The worst part about this year was the fact that we were just as good, if not better than last year’s team.”

Butler has a lot to prove next season after this disappointing end of the year. Next season should be a very good year for the Butler Bulldogs.

[INDalltheway]

End of Season Report (2004)

Top Performers

We had several players that fit into this category. Several seniors showed the leadership that deserves this "Top Performer" award. We also had some Freshman have some great seasons for us. Michael Henry did everything I asked of him this season. Just look at his numbers from last season to this season. The kid worked hard, and it definitely paid off for him in his senior year. Going from 2.7 PPG to 16.7 PPG is quite an improvment in one year.

Other players deserving of the award are Freshman Keith Johnson and LeRoy Robertson. Our man in the middle, Willie Philips, also had a great season. He was our only man that averaged a double-double. All three of these guys are coming back next season.

Graduating Players

SF- Antwan Leonard- 28 Games

Antwan finished the season averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG in limited action this season. Antwan was a great guy to have around in the locker room. Antwan's best game came against Cleveland St. when he scored 11 points off the bench.

PF- Tim Madsen 14 Games

Tim could not make a move without getting hurt this season. Tim suffered two different injuries this season, but nevertheless he let his pressence be known to the team. Tim ended the season averaging 11.2 PPG and 4.0 RPG. Tim's best game this season came against UNC Greensboro when he scored 22 points.

PF- Robbie Dowling 31 Games

Robbie played very well when he got his chance this season. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.7 RPG in only 15.9 MPG. Robbie's best game came against Wright St. when he scored 17 points against them.

SF- Michael Henry 31 Games

Michael was our hardest worker our most vocal leader on the team. Michael averaged 16.7 PPG on the season. Michael had a great game against my former team, Purdue. He scored 37 points on them in one of the biggest wins of the year.

NBA Draft Results

No Butler boys were drafted. :)

Job Offers

I have recieved offers from 2 Conference USA teams, 1 Big Twelve team, and 1 Big Ten team. I am staying here for a while though.

Staff

ASSISTANT COACH

We decided to bring in a veteran assistant to help run things around here. Ronald Dye, Western Illinois alum, will begin work with us in a couple of weeks.

My Coaching Reputation is "Respected."

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #1

Non Conference Schedule

11/18/2004 - - - @Illinois State
11/20/2004 25 25 - Providence
11/25/2004 - - - @Northern Iowa
11/27/2004 - - - Ball State

12/2/2004 - - - Howard
12/4/2004 - - - @Arkansas LR
12/8/2004 - - - @Wake Forest
12/11/2004 - - - Clemson
12/15/2004 - - - Jacksonville
12/19/2004 - - - @Arkansas
12/23/2004 18 18 - @Texas
12/26/2004 - - - Georgia

2/19/2005 - - - Alcorn St.

This is a pretty solid schedule. We have two preseason top 25 teams in Providence and Texas. Purdue did not want to play us this year. I am not sure if they are scared our if they were really telling us the truth that they have a game they 'really want to play that night.' Nevertheless we have a good schedule.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #2

The Media Guide

PG Cory Bradford (6-0, 176) So- As a Freshman Cory did not get very much playing time at all. The same will probably hold true for him this season. Cory did not put very much effort into his offseason workouts.

PG Javier Abel (5-11, 158) FR- Javier looks to be the second best PG on the team. Javier should be a solid solution as the backup for this team.

PG LeRoy Robertson (6-0, 156) So- LeRoy is the clear-cut starter at PG this season. LeRoy had a good offseason, and is looking to improve on his already impressive numbers he put up last season.

SG Bryen Richardson (6-2, 174) Fr- Bryen is a very solid Freshman player. Bryen may get his chance to play several minutes this year, but if he expects to play more he will have to play well in the time he is given.

SG Frasser Walker (6-4, 185) Sr- Frasser is our most consistent deep threat on the roster. Last season he shot 41.7% from three point land. Frasser could find himself starting this season or being the 1st man off the bench.

SG Aaron Hyle (6-3, 173) Jr- This offseason Aaron took his training very carefully after the previous season he did not come to a single training session. This year he is competing for his starting spot once again.

SF Mick Cherry (6-3, 208) Sr- Mick Cherry gets the "Michael Henry Award" for most improved player from offseason workouts. Mick gave it his all in the offseason very much like Michael Henry did last year. For that reason he has become one of the better players on this team.

SF Keith Johnson (6-4, 168) So- Keith had a great offseason. He has stepped his game up quite a bit since last year. Keith has a spot in the starting five.

PF Duane Mouring (6-5, 180) Fr- Duane will find himself on the bench for most of his Freshman season. He mind mop up some minutes every once in a while, but most likely he will not be in very often.

PF Glendon McCrary (6-10, 249) Jr- Glendon may find some time off the bench this year. He will not be a regular player though.

PF Joey Kirkland (6-7, 279) Fr- Joey may find himself in the game when it is crunch time. Joey has turned out to be the player I thought he could be under my direction. He should be a solid contributor.

C Jared Anderson (6-6, 212) Sr- Jared will only find himself in the game when some other guys are too tired to participate. Which that shouldn't be too much of the time considering the offseason program they all participate in.

C Willie Philips (6-9, 246) Jr- Willie should have a great season this year. He has the tools every center dreams of. He has the hands, athletic ability, and the knowledge of the game to be a great one.

Projected Starters

PG- LeRoy Robertson
SG- Aaron Hyle
SF- Mick Cherry
PF- Keith Johnson
C- Willie Philips

2004-2005 Outlook

Our talent level is at the highest it has been since I have been coach here. That does not mean it will translate into a 30 win season. We will have to see how this team comes together as a "team" before it will become obvious how we will play.

My expectations are high for this team. We should sweep through the conference this season, and hopefully enter the NCT Tournament. Only time will tell.

[INDalltheway]

Week #1

Hawaii Classic

Duke (2 seed) was on a tear in Maui this week. The first seed, Alabama, was not even close to playing with Duke in the final game. Duke looked like a team that couldn't be beat when they won 104-66 to win the Hawaii Classic. A side note is that Providence lost to UCLA in the first round. We will be playing Providence in a week.

Preseason ACT

Last season National Champs, Iowa State, could not get past the first round of the Preseason ACT. They lost to Vanderbilt 72-63. Second seeded Syracuse took advantage of the situation and one the Preseason ACT Tournament against Texas Tech in the Finals 73-61.

Alaska Challenge

Fifth seeded Texas advanced to the finals to play the eventual tournament champs Wisconsin. We will be playing Texas in a couple of weeks.

[INDalltheway]

Week #2 (0-0)

Weekly Preview

We kick off our season against the Illinois State Redbirds. We have the upper hand at every position for this game. That does not mean we will beat them though. Both teams have very similar height. We are very small this year and so are they.

Providence will be coming to Butler later on in this opening week of play for us. They are currently 0-2, but are a very good team. The have the advantage at every position over us. This will be a good game for us to play.

Butler (0-0) @ Illinois St. (0-0)

Aaron Hyle was our lead man scoring 19 points and Willie Philips was right behind him with 18. This was a solid first game of the season. 86-67, Win.

Providence (0-2) @ Butler (1-0)

We played a great first half with the score tied at 35, but the second half was a different story. It went the way all the experts believed it would go. We did not have anyone step it up and score consistently. Our leading scorer(s) had 10 points apiece. 85-63, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week #3 (1-1)

Weekly Preview

Northern Iowa has a lot of solid starters that can play very good ball at times. They are young though, so at other times they play their age. Sophomore center, Rashaan Seek, leads his club averaging 16 PPG and 9 RPG. Willie should be able to have his way with the srowny sophomore though.

Our first "big game" of the year will take place in our second game of the week. Ball State will be coming to our place to see which 'mid-major' rules Indiana. We have a lot of advantages, but in a game like this anything can happen.

Butler (1-1) @ Northern Iowa (1-1)

It took overtime, but we will take it nonetheless. We had a great offensive output from our starting five tonight. LeRoy Robertson led the way with 23 points and 8 assists. Keith Johnson was not too far behind scoring 18 points. This was a solid victory to jumpstart us through the rest of our non-conference schedule. 91-85, Win.

Ball State (2-1) @ Butler (2-1)

It took everything we had in that second half to come away with this victory tonight. Willie Philips showed why he was a preseason 1st team all-conference player tonight. He was on throughout the game on both ends. He finished the game with 19 points and 15 rebounds. We continued our solid play tonight. 73-71, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Duke 7-0 3,065 2
2. Wisconsin 7-0 2,870 1
3. Syracuse 7-0 2,655 3
4. Texas Tech 6-1 2,313 4
5. Alabama 5-1 2,009 6
6. Texas 5-2 1,882 12
7. Missouri 5-1 1,778 8
8. UCLA 5-1 1,612 7
9. Kansas 4-0 1,541 15
10. Florida 4-1 1,430 23
11. Maryland 4-0 1,332 16
12. Georgetown 5-1 1,270 13
13. Michigan State 4-0 1,209 9
14. Iowa 4-0 1,111 10
15. Boston College 4-0 1,005 18
16. Ohio State 4-0 938 19
17. Oklahoma 4-0 877 25
18. Connecticut 4-2 725 24
19. Iowa State 4-1 638 28
20. Seton Hall 4-0 521 17
21. Villanova 4-0 422 27
22. Indiana 3-0 335 11
23. Tennessee 3-0 278 41
24. Washington 4-0 248 31
25. Kansas State 4-0 219 44

Others Receiving Votes: Illinois 203, Georgia 189, Mississippi St. 161, Utah 134, Stanford 106, North Carolina 80, Arkansas 53, Memphis 26, Arizona 10, Wake Forest 5, LSU 5, Providence 4, Michigan 4, South Florida 3, Virginia 3, Notre Dame 2, Cincinnati 2, Georgia Tech 1, Oklahoma State 1, Morehead State 1, Howard 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 5 Illinois, No. 20 Michigan, No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 22 Cincinnati

[INDalltheway]

Week #4 (3-1)

Weekly Preview

Hot-starting Howard University is our first oppenent on the schedule for week four. Howard is 4-0 overall this year. This team may be playing better than what some people think they can consistently play, but I think this is a pretty good team. They are lead offensively by 6 foot 2 inch sophomore, Grant Lockhart. He is averaging just over 19 points per game. We will be keying on him all night.

We have our chance for revenge in our second game of this week. Do you remember when we lost to Arkansas Little Rock late last season? I sure do, that loss started what was a horrible losing streak that would end our season earlier than what we expected. This trojan ballclub is 1-3 on the season, and is struggling after losing some key seniors.

Howard (4-0) @ Butler (3-1)

Howard plays a good brand of basketball. They play at their tempo and they do not let the other team dictate the pace they play at. They continued on their winning ways tonight, but we did not let them leave town without a fight. We battled and battled all night long just waiting for our break to come. There is not much to say rather than that we played pretty well, but they played very well. 71-69, Loss.

Butler (3-2) @ Arkansas LR (1-4)

Tonight was truely embarassing. I will not say anything else because I may say something I shoudln't. 94-66, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #3

This season has been the most disappointing start to a season in my coaching career. I have had several teams start off with worse records, but none of those teams have the talent that this team does have. Excuses can be made like ‘Butler is a young team’ and ‘they don’t have any leadership,’ but in all honesty that is bull crap. This team may be young, but every single player has plentiful experience. I am going to be mixing it up after our recent losses. We are adding some height to the starting lineup by starting PF Glendon McCrary. Aaron Hyle will now be coming off the bench like he did last season. With these moves our defense should be a little better, and offensively more potent. I will give this starting 5 a couple of games to see what they can do. If they can’t put “W’s” on the board then I will make more changes.

[INDalltheway]

Week #5 (3-3)

Weekly Preview

I am putting this team in a tough spot this week when we travel to 4-2 Wake Forest. They have three guys that average 14 points per game. We have a height advantage at every starting spot. We will try to take advantage of that early and see what happens.

We have another tough game against 4-2 Clemson in our second contest of the week. We will once again need to bring our "A" game to win this one. Clemson's backcourt will be our main priority when it comes to the defensive end.

Butler (3-3) @ Wake Forest (4-2)

The changes made this week paid off in a big way today! We came out and beat up on an upper tier team. Senior Mick Cherry came to play today. He scored 20 points, which led all scorers. Willie Philips added 16 points and 14 revounds. 89-79, Win.

Clemson (5-2) @ Butler (4-3)

We are playing with the ACC's middle tiered teams. And we are playing them very well. This is the best ball I have seen this team play. After playing so poorly against Arkansas LR, how can we come out and beat two ACC teams? Your guess is as good as mine. Keith Johnson scored 18 tonight in very good game for himself. 87-76, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Duke 11-0 2,082 1
2. Michigan State 8-0 1,938 4
3. Kansas 7-0 1,859 2
4. Wisconsin 11-0 1,729 3
5. Indiana 7-0 1,591 5
6. Tennessee 7-0 1,509 6
7. Maryland 8-0 1,425 7
8. Florida 8-1 1,308 12
9. Georgia 7-0 1,251 9
10. Syracuse 11-0 1,173 13
11. Stanford 7-0 1,095 8
12. Ohio State 8-0 1,044 11
13. Seton Hall 8-0 980 15
14. Texas Tech 9-1 904 17
15. Arizona 7-1 823 19
16. Iowa State 7-1 765 22
17. Missouri 8-1 716 20
18. Iowa 7-1 593 23
19. North Carolina 7-1 521 25
20. Washington 8-0 423 21
21. Alabama 8-2 351 16
22. Boston College 7-1 280 10
23. Texas 8-2 233 24
24. Notre Dame 7-1 208 28
25. Illinois 6-2 185 18

Others Receiving Votes: Connecticut 173, Mississippi 161, Mississippi St. 138, Georgetown 114, Oklahoma 91, Kentucky 68, South Carolina 45, Temple 23, Cincinnati 10, Michigan 6, Xavier 2, Miami 2, UCLA 1, Kansas State 1, Georgia Tech 1, Utah 1, Providence 1, USC 1, Arkansas 1, Purdue 1, Oklahoma State 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 14 Mississippi St.

[INDalltheway]

Week #6 (5-3)

Weekly Preview

Jacksonville will be our first opponent this week. They are 3-4 on the season and 2-4 on the road. They are led by Auramis Loughton, who averages just over 18 PPG. We will put the clamps on him, and try to make other people score for them.

We are traveling to SEC country for our second game. We get our shot at revenge even though it isn't Arkasas Little Rock, it is Arkansas. They have two guys averaging 18 points a game. Our hands will be full, but don't doubt our effort.

Jacksonville (3-4) @ Butler (5-3)

We played an awesome first half of ball, and I thought the lead would be too much for the visiting team. We were winning by 15 at the break, and this Jacksonville team forced us to play overtime. We eventually pulled away in the overtime, but it took a lot of effort to do so. Keith Johnson scored 29 points. 94-86, Win.

Butler (6-3) @ Arkansas (6-2)

We keep playing with the big boys, but today Arkansas was just a little too much. Keith Johnson is playing his best ball lately. He scored 22 points today to lead all scorers. 90-69, Loss.

Recruiting Commitments

3 Star SG Maurice McClintock commited to come here next fall.

[INDalltheway]

Week #7 (6-4)

Weekly Preview

We continue on with our very difficult schedule this week. We travel to Texas to take on the Longhorns in the first game. Texas is 10-2 and ranked 15 in the latest IP Poll. It will take a great effort by everybody to come away with a victory.

7-2 Georgia will be our next opponent. This team is absoulutey huge! They tower over us at nearly every position. It will take another great effort to win this one.

Butler (6-4) @ #15 Texas (10-2)

I hope we can win another game this season. After this pitiful performance I don't think we can. 102-47, Loss.

Georgia (8-2) @ Butler (6-5)

We continue on in our losing ways today. I know we are playing good teams, but it doesn't seem like we even have a chance. Mick Cherry scored 19 points tonight. 88-69, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week #8 Conference Season (6-6)

Weekly Preview

We kick off conference play this week at Wright St. Wright St. is 4-8 on the season. We matchup well with them, and we have an advantage at every position. LaVall Crosby is averaging 15.9 ppg for Wright St. Keith Johnson will be matched up with him.

Butler (6-6, 0-0) @ Wright St. (4-8, 0-0)

We came out like there was no tomorrow. Wright State could not do anything offensively for the first 10 minutes. They could only muster 12 points in that time period. At the break we led Wright State 48-31. Mick Cherry scored 25 points and was the high man. Willie Philips added 16 points and 11 rebounds. 96-63, Win.

Individual Stats

SF Keith Johnson- 13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg

SG Mick Cherry- 12.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg

C Willie Philips- 11.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg

PG LeRoy Robertson- 10.7 ppg, 4.8 apg

SG Aaron Hyle- 8.0 ppg

PF Glendon McCrary- 7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg

[INDalltheway]

Week #9 (7-6, 1-0)

Weekly Preview

Our conference season continues against Youngstown State this week. They are 4-10 on the season and 0-2 in the Horizon Conference. This team is led by senior power forward Sean Paige. Glendon McCrary will be responsible for keeping him off the glass and out of the scoring column.

Our second game sees us playing Wisc. Millwaukee. They are 4-10 overall and 2-0 in the conference. Wisc. Millwaukee is a solid team that could give us fits this season. We need to start off with a good conference record because we know our reputation at the end of the regular season.

Youngstown St. (4-10, 0-2) @ Butler (7-6, 1-0)

Thankfully Willie Philips brought his "A" game today. He helped lead us to a big victory by scoring 22 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. We got off to a nice first half lead and managed to hold off Youngstown State in the second half. 94-86, Win. Mick Cherry was injured this game. He will be out 1 MONTH.

Butler (8-6, 2-0) @ Wisc. Millwaukee (5-10, 3-0)

Our victorious play continues tonight, but it came with another loss. For the second straight game we have lost a starting player. Willie Philips was injured severely tonight. It was a sad night after beating such a solid team pretty easily. 77-64, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 3 0

Loyola Chicago 3 1

Wisc. Milwaukee 3 1

Cleveland St. 2 1

Illinois-Chicago 2 2

Detroit 1 2

Wisc. Green Bay 1 3

Wright St. 1 3

Youngstown St. 0 3

Recruit Commitments

7 foot 1 inch Center Todd Akins has signed to play basketball at Butler. We welcome Todd next fall!

[INDalltheway]

Week #10 (9-6, 3-0)

Weekly Preview

We play Illinois-Chicago in the first game this week. The Flames are 9-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They are led by junior PF Dion Bryson who averages 17.1 ppg. Glendon McCrary has a tough matchup with him. We expect Glendon to hold him off the boards, and hold him under 15 points.

We travel to Detroit in our second game. The titans are 3-12 and 1-2 in the conference. They have a couple guys in their backcourt that can score, but they cannot score on a consistent basis. Keith Johnson has an advantage over Ron Dunkley in this game.

Illinois-Chicago (9-7, 2-2) @ Butler (9-6, 3-0)

You could tell there was something different about our ball club tonight. You could tell that our big man in the middle was missing, and that is where we struggled. Keith Johnson did all he could tonight trying to pick up the slack from Willie Philips and Mick Cherry's absence. His 16 points were not enough. 80-77, Loss.

Butler (9-7, 3-1) @ Detroit (3-13, 1-3)

Keith Johnson was the man tonight! He scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds tonight. LeRoy Robertson scored 14 tonight and had 4 assists. 88-77, Win.

Injury Update

Willie Philips will be out 1 more month
Mick Cherry will be out 2-3 more weeks

Recruit Commitments

3-star PF Donte Smith will be attending Butler next fall! Welcome aboard Donte.

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Butler Showcases Next Years Freshman

Butler Coach Ross Wheeler was all-smiles today after his teams’ morning workout. He was happy to finally round out his recruiting class by bringing in his last recruit, Donte Smith.

“It was nice to finally give out that last scholarship,” Coach Wheeler said, “I was surprised that Donte was still around to sign with us. I have to thank my coaching staff and especially Ronald Dye for all the time they put in watching potential recruits for me.”

Coach Wheeler saw his fair share of high school games this winter, but he said that his staff probably watched twice as many games as he did. He went on to say that ‘he didn’t know how they did it.’

This Butler recruiting class is the most diverse, and the biggest (in terms of height) that Coach Wheeler has brought here in his short tenure at Butler.

“We recruited some big boys this year,” Wheeler chuckled. “A seven-footer and a six foot nine incher is pretty big.”

Butler’s first recruit is shooting guard Maurice McClintock. Maurice is a 3-star recruit from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended Pioneer High school in Ann Arbor.

Todd Akins is Butler’s second recruit. Todd is a 7 foot 1 inch Center from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Todd attended Lawrenceburg High school. BasketBytes rates Todd Akins as a 3-star center.

Donte Smith is Butler’s last recruit. Donte is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Bishop McGuiness High school in Oklahoma City. BasketBytes rates Donte as a 3-star PF.

“I am happy with the class my staff and I have recruited,” Wheeler said. “I have seen them all play in person, and they are all worth the scholarship I have given them.”

We will see just how good these players are in a few years when they are put into the starting lineup for the Butler Bulldogs. In the meantime Butler is trying for their third straight regular season Conference championship.

[INDalltheway]

Week #11 (10-7, 4-1)

Weekly Preview

Cleveland State is our first game on the agenda this week. We will be traveling to take on the Vikings at their home in our first game this week. Cleveland State is 7-10 overall and 4-1 in Horizon Conference play. This is a huge game that will heavily determine the Horizon standings.

Wisc. Green Bay is our second opponent this week. They are 5-12 and 1-4 in the conference. Harvey Dixon is averaging 16 ppg for the Phoenix. We can't take this team lightly or we will have one more loss in that column.

Butler (10-7, 4-1) @ Cleveland St. (7-10, 4-1)

Look who is atop the Horizon standings after this victory. Even though we are not alone we are still at the top of the standings! This was one of the best games I have been apart of here at Butler. This game came down to who got the last defensive stop. The one thing I have been preaching ever since I got here. Keith Johnson and LeRoy Robertson led our potent offense. The pair of sophomore studs combined for 40 points and 16 assists. LeRoy Robertson scored 16 points and had 11 assists. While Keith Johnson scored 24 points and had 5 assists. 97-95, Win.

[B]Wisc. Green Bay (6-12, 2-4) @ Butler (11-7, 5-1)

Our hometown crowd cameout to support us tonight, and we needed every single fan we could get. After the second half buzzer sounded and the score was still 75-75, we knew that our crowd could be the difference. The overtime period was an offensive struggle for both teams, but it finally ended when LeRoy Robertson hit a 3 pointer that gave us the lead by one. After a 3 pointer of their own we were left trailing the Phoenix by 2. We had to give the ball to our leading scorer all year, Keith Johnson. Even though he had struggled and only could muster 6 points through the first 40 minutes we gave him a shot. With the time running down to half a minute Keith attempted his 6th three of the night. He missed his first five, but would not miss this one. The shot ended up being the game winner after a huge defensive stop. 81-80, OT Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 6 1

Loyola Chicago 5 2

Cleveland St. 5 2

Illinois-Chicago 4 3

Wisc. Milwaukee 3 4

Detroit 3 4

Wisc. Green Bay 2 5

Youngstown St. 2 5

Wright St. 2 6

[INDalltheway]

Week #12 (12-7, 6-1)

Weekly Preview

We play Cleveland State again this week. In the first matchup last week we beat Cleveland State 97-95. It was a tough game last time so we expect the same on our homecourt. This is a big game.

Detroit is coming to town for the second game this week. Two weeks ago we beat the Titans 88-77. This team will be after us after we beat them pretty handily on their homecourt.

Cleveland St. (8-11, 5-2) @ Butler (12-7, 6-1)

It took a huge second half outburst after our poor first half performance, but we did it. We outscored the Vikings in the second half 43-23 to achieve the comeback victory. LeRoy Robertson led the comeback with 22 points. 77-68, Win.

Detroit (6-14, 4-4) @ Butler (13-7, 7-1)

We continue on with our winning ways tonight when we beat up on Detroit. LeRoy Robertson scored 17 points and had 10 assists. We had five guys in double figures tonight, which is a good sign. 85-74, Win.

Injury Update
Mick Cherry is ready to enter the starting lineup again.
Willie Philips is out 2-3 more weeks.

Conference Standings

Butler 8 1

Loyola Chicago 6 2

Cleveland St. 6 3

Illinois-Chicago 5 3

Wisc. Milwaukee 4 5

Detroit 4 5

Wisc. Green Bay 3 6

Youngstown St. 2 7

Wright St. 2 8

[INDalltheway]

Week #13 (14-7, 8-1)

Weekly Preview

We travel to Wisc. Green Bay for our first game this week. We escaped with a 1 point overtime victory in that contest. We are looking to beat them by a lot more this time around. Also Mick Cherry will be making his return to the starting lineup.

In our second game we travel to Illinois-Chicago. They are our only conference loss this season. They beat us 80-77 on January 13th. That game was our first game without both Mick Cherry and Willie Philips.

Butler (14-7, 8-1) @ Wisc. Green Bay (7-14, 3-6)

Mick Cherry came back and played the way he left off. The only problem is the final score was in favor of the home team Phoenix. Mick scored 19 points and Keith Johnson added 18, but those two alone were not enough. 80-72, Loss.

Butler (14-8, 8-2)@ Illinois-Chicago (13-9, 6-3)

In our second game in as many days we were tired like we should be. Whoever scheduled these two games back-to-back should be kicked in the head multiple times. I think my team and myself should protest this loss because of the stupid idiot who scheduled it. That may be a bit extreme, but having 2 games in as many days is just stupid. 86-84, Loss.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Duke 25-2 1,992 1
2. Florida 22-2 1,846 3
3. Syracuse 25-1 1,752 2
4. Arizona 20-3 1,594 4
5. Indiana 19-3 1,457 5
6. Kansas 18-4 1,355 10
7. Iowa State 19-4 1,285 9
8. Michigan State 19-4 1,193 7
9. Texas 21-5 1,142 6
10. Wisconsin 21-5 1,063 8
11. Texas Tech 20-5 993 13
12. Ohio State 20-3 947 12
13. Cincinnati 19-3 891 15
14. Connecticut 19-6 823 14
15. Alabama 19-6 751 16
16. Oklahoma 18-4 704 18
17. Maryland 17-6 656 11
18. USC 17-6 546 23
19. Notre Dame 18-5 476 17
20. UCLA 18-7 389 26
21. Mississippi 16-7 322 19
22. Providence 17-7 257 27
23. Temple 17-5 214 20
24. Iowa 17-6 192 29
25. Seton Hall 18-6 170 22

Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee 159, North Carolina 148, Utah 126, Boston College 105, Missouri 84, Mississippi St. 62, Washington 41, Georgetown 21, Stanford 10, Fresno State 6, St. Josephs 2, Georgia Tech 2, Miami 1, Illinois 1, Georgia 1, Kentucky 1, South Carolina 1, Xavier 1, Massachusetts 1, Michigan 1, George Washington 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 24 Tennessee, No. 25 North Carolina, No. 21 Missouri

[INDalltheway]

Week #14 (14-9, 8-3)

Weekly Preview

Wright State is our first game this week. We played them back on December 28th when we murdered them 96-63. At that time we did have a full team with Willie Philips in the middle though. This game could be different.

We travel to play the Rambler of Loyola Chicago in our second game. They are led by senior PF Billy Wright. He averages 15.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg. This is a good team and we will need a good effort.

Wright St. (7-17, 3-9) @ Butler (14-9, 8-3)

LeRoy Robertson was the man today. He scored 20 points, had 8 rebounds, and had 8 assists from the point guard position. Those are Jason Kidd numbers. More importantly he led us to a 84-73 Win.

Butler (15-9, 9-3) @ Loyola Chicago (11-12, 6-5)

Keith Johnson was ready to play today. He scored 27 points to be the second highest scorer of the game, only to be outdone by Joe Sullivan of Loyola Chicago. 86-80, Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 10 3

Illinois-Chicago 8 4

Cleveland St. 8 5

Loyola Chicago 6 6

Wisc. Milwaukee 6 6

Wisc. Green Bay 5 7

Detroit 5 7

Youngstown St. 5 8

Wright St. 3 10

[INDalltheway]

Week #15 (16-9, 10-3)

Weekly Preview

We continue conference play this week against Youngstown State. Willie Philips will be making his comeback against them this week. In our first matchup we won 94-86.

We get a break from conference play in our second game of week 15. Alcorn State is coming to town with their 9-16 record. They are lacking a main scorer, and do not get a consistent scorer each night. We should have our way with them this week.

Butler (16-9, 10-3) @ Youngstown St. (9-16, 5-8)

Willie Philips had a great return to the lineup tonight when he went for 16 points and 10 rebounds. We have missed that consistency ever since he went down with the fractured arm. Keith Johnson also scored 16 points tonight. 93-63, Win.

Alcorn St. (9-17) @ Butler (17-9)

We hung on versus this gritty Alcorn State team. They were scrappers, and forced us to make many personel changes throughout the game. Willie Philips was too much for them. He scored 19 points and had 15 rebounds. 90-86, Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 11 3

Illinois-Chicago 9 5

Cleveland St. 9 5

Wisc. Green Bay 7 7

Wisc. Milwaukee 7 7

Loyola Chicago 6 8

Detroit 6 8

Youngstown St. 5 10

Wright St. 4 11

[INDalltheway]

Week #16 (18-9, 11-3)

Weekly Preview

We need to start off with a victory over Wisc. Milwaukee to reach our goal of 20 regular season wins. In our first matchup we won 77-64. We need to take advantage of their 2 starting Freshman.

Loyola Chicago is coming to town to spoil our chance for 20 wins. A victory over us would make their season, but we cannot let that happen. In our first matchup with Loyola Chicago we won 86-80.

Wisc. Millwaukee (9-18, 7-7) @ Butler (18-9, 11-3)

Mick Cherry and Keith Johnson combined to score 40 points tonight on our way to an easy victory over Wisc. Milwaukee. Mick Cherry scored 21 points and Keith Johnson added 19. 87-79, WIn.

Loyola Chicago (11-16, 6-9) @ Butler (19-9, 12-3)

A furious second half comeback by the Ramblers of Loyola was stopped short. Keith Johnson had a game that he will remember for the rest of his life. Keith scored 38 points tonight and he had 6 rebounds too. Willie Philips scored 11 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. We reached our goal tonight getting our 20th win. 75-72, Win.

Final Conference Standings

Butler 13 3

Illinois-Chicago 10 6

Cleveland St. 10 6

Wisc. Green Bay 8 8

Wisc. Milwaukee 8 8

Detroit 7 9

Loyola Chicago 6 10

Wright St. 5 11

Youngstown St. 5 11

Regular Season Individual Stats

SG Keith Johnson- 15.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg

SF Mick Cherry- 13.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg

C Willie Philips- 12.2 ppg, 11.6 rpg

PF LeRoy Robertson- 11.1 ppg, 5.0 apg

PF Glendon McCrary- 9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg

[INDalltheway]

Week #17 (20-9, 13-3)

March 3, 2005
HORIZON QUALIFYING ROUND
(9) Youngstown State @ (8) Wright State

The conference tournament kicked off with a very exciting first game. Wright State came away with the victory 82-78. We will be taking on Wright State in the next round.

March 4, 2005
HORIZON TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Wright St. (11-19, 6-11) @ Butler (20-9, 13-3)

We played a pretty good game today against Wright State. They would not go down easily, but we proved to be too much for them today. LeRoy Robertson led the offense today with 26 points and 7 assists. 90-79, Win.

In other Horizon games today...

(2) Illinois-Chicago squeeked past (7) Loyola Chicago 81-77
(3) Cleveland State destroyed (6) Detroit 92-64
(4) Wisc. Green Bay beat in-state rival (5) Wisc. Milwaukee 80-76

March 5, 2005
HORIZON TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
(4) Wisc. Green Bay (13-17, 9-8) @ (1) Butler (21-9, 14-3)

Whooo! What a game! Once again the game came down to who made the last defensive stop, and once again it was my team that made that last stop. After last years horrible late season breakdown, we would not let that happen again this year. We had 5 guys score in double figures. We did not have one main high scorer again. 75-73, Win.

In other Horizon games today...

(3) Cleveland State clobbers (2) Illinois-Chicago 95-69

March 6, 2005
HORIZON TOURNAMENT FINALS
(3) Cleveland St. (15-15, 12-6) @ (1) Butler (22-9, 15-3)

What a week! This was a little bit different from when we won the Conference Tournament a couple of years ago. We won our 3 games by a combined 20 points. It seemed like every game could have gone either way! We are fortunate to come away with this victory tonight. Mick Cherry scored 20 points, and Keith Johnson added 17. 89-82, WIn.

[INDalltheway]

Postseason Status

Congratulations! We made the NCT! Your expert coaching has landed us the 11th seed in the Midwest Region. We will face Stanford in the first round on Friday.

John Turner
Assistant Coach

[INDalltheway]

Week #18 (23-9)

March 11, 2005
1ST ROUND OF NCT TOURNAMENT
(11) Butler (23-9) @ (6) Stanford (21-9)

We started this game with a bang. We jumped out to an early 10 point lead. We maintained the lead into the end of the first half. We had a 41-32 lead. They came out hot though in the second half. They took the lead for the first time with 90 seconds left in the game. With the game on the line we gave it to Mick Cherry. Mick had a night that he will forever remember. Mick tied the game on an easy lay up after he made an amzing move to the bucket. With the score tied, and they had the last shot it came down to that "last defensive stop." We made the stop and forced an Overtime. In overtime we came up short, but we did not go down without a fight. 85-83, Loss. Mick Cherry scored 35 points in his last collegiate game.

ACT Final Four

Virginia and Michigan advanced to play each other in the final four of the ACT Tournament. Virginia won and played Baylor, who beat Xavier to make it to the ACT Championship. In the championship game Virginia won 80-75. Virginia won the ACT Tournament

NCT Final Four

Connecticut beat Texas Tech to prevent and "All-Texas" final. Texas beat Ohio State to advance to the NCT Championship game. Connecticut went on to win in a blow out 97-73. Connecticut is the NCT Champions.

[INDalltheway]

End of Season Report 2005

Top Performers

Keith Johnson led the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg. Mick Cherry was not far behind averaging 14.3 ppg. Willie Philips led the team in rebounding with 11.7 rpg. LeRoy Robertson led the team in assists this year with 4.9 apg.

Graduating Players

C Jared Anderson 66 Games
Jared had limited action in his career here at Butler. In his senior year he averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg.

SG Frasser Walker 68 Games
Frasser was our first guy off of the bench in his sophomore and junior season, but this year he was our 8th man. Consiquently his minutes per game dropped. In his senior year he averaged 3.9 ppg.

SF Mick Cherry 81 Games
Mick missed some games this season, but that did not hurt his numbers. When Mick was in the lineup he was one of our most consistent players. He averaged 14.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg.

NBA Draft Results

No one was drafted.

Staff Hirings

We are going to keep this staff together.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #1

Non-conference Schedule

11/10/2005 2 2 - @Florida
11/16/2005 - - - Monmouth
11/20/2005 - - - Delaware St.
11/24/2005 - - - Akron
11/26/2005 - - - TCU
11/30/2005 - - - UC Riverside

12/4/2005 2 2 - @Florida
12/5/2005 - - - @Ark. Pine Bluff
12/9/2005 - - - @Fresno State
12/12/2005 - - - Georgetown
12/17/2005 - - - @Portland State
12/22/2005 - - - Notre Dame
12/24/2005 - - - Murray State

We will end up playing Florida twice because we have had them scheduled for 3 years, and now we are matchup with them in the Hawaii Classic. We play some pretty good teams this non-conference season.

[Nyarlahotep]

As much as I hate to say it...GO BULLDOGS!!!

[INDalltheway]

:) Thanks for the support. I am looking to continue on tomorrow night/evening.

[John Galt]

I'm enjoying the dynasty, but I seem to have dislexia because I always read your name as INThehallway. Or I'm not that smart. Or both. Good dynasty, though.

[INDalltheway]

Originally posted by John Galt
I'm enjoying the dynasty, but I seem to have dislexia because I always read your name as INThehallway. Or I'm not that smart. Or both. Good dynasty, though.
Everyone gets my named mixed up. It is supposed to mean IND= (Indianpolis) and alltheway= all the way. :)Indianapolis Colts all the way. Thanks for the reply. I will try to update it tomorrow if I can fit it into my tight schedule!

[Nyarlahotep]

BOO COLTS (unless by all the way you mean all the way out of town)!!!! But if you start a dynasty I would probably end up cheering for them.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #2

The Team

PG Cory Bradford (6-0, 169) Jr
Cory will get more minutes than last season's 1 minute per game. Therefore he will need to pick up his game, and be able to come into the game and contribute.

PG Javier Abel (5-11, 147) So
Javier got some playing time last year and took advantage of it. He had his best game against Clemson. We are looking for that type of play this season out of him.

PF LeRoy Robertson (6-0, 172) Jr
LeRoy is a top player on this team. We need him to have a good season if we want to meet the goals this team has made. This will be LeRoy's 3 season as a starter.

SG Bryen Richardson (6-2, 160) So
Bryen was our primary scorer off the bench last year as a Freshman. When our offense was not clicking he would check in and attempt to get the team on track. We will need that again this season.

SG Maurice McClintock (6-1, 159) Fr
Maurice will not see much action this year. He simply doesn't have the skills to play at a high level in a Division I game yet. He may enter a blowout on ocassion.

SG Aaron Hyle (6-3, 200) Sr
Aaron has bulked up since last season, and has made himself the best player he can be. His hard work will payoff this season. He is looking to get back to the numbers he produced as a Freshman this year.

SF Keith Johnson (6-4, 173) Jr
Keith is our best scorer by far. He is a tremendous talent, and he needs to have a season he is capable if this team were to make it far in the NCT Tournament. In his first two season, Keith has averaged 15 points per game.

PF Joey Kirkland (6-7, 273) So
Joey recieved limited time last year as a Freshman, and it appears it will be the same this year. Joey is a consistent free-throw shooter, and that may get him into a couple of games.

PF Donte Smith (6-9, 210) Fr
Donte has some pretty good skills as a freshman. He will find some time this year.

PF Duane Mouring (6-5, 212) So
Duane played several minutes per game last season. He will play a lot this season too. We need him to produce consistentely for our team to have sucess.

PF Glendon McCrary (6-10, 234) Sr
Glendon was a starter last year, bt it is not certain he will this season. We will see who produces at the PF position before we select the player who will fill that spot. He has an advantage because he has proved he can play.

C Todd Akins (7-1, 220) Fr
Todd has some basic skills, but is not ready to play on a regular basis. He has a great guy ahead of him to learn from, so he should be a decent player in the future.

C Willie Phillips (6-9, 272)
Willie has totally filled out this offseason. He is in great shape, and appears like an NBA quality player. He should lead this team in PPG and RPG. He needs to have a huge season for us to go places.

Projected Starters
PG- LeRoy Robertson
SG- Keith Johnson
SF- Bryen Richardson
PF- Glendon McCrary
C- Willie Phillips

2005-2006 Outlook

This team is by far the best team I have ever coached. We may be lacking some depth on the bench, but our starters are far and away the most solid they have ever been. We have 3 guys that could lead this team in scoring.

In order for us to win we will need great senior leadership from Willie Phillips and Aaron Hyle. We are looking for those two lead us to one of the best seasons in school history.

[INDalltheway]

Week 1(0-0)

Hawaii Classic
November 10, 2005
1st ROUND OF HAWAII CLASSIC
(8) Butler (0-0) @ (1) Florida (0-0)

The game went as expected. Florida is ranked #2 in the preseason IP Poll. I can see why too. They had way too many weapons for our group of kids. Keith Johnson struggled, but got his 12 points and 10 rebounds. He was our high man and only guy in double figures. They are probably the best team we will play this year.

Results from the rest of the Tournament...
(1) Florida and (2) Arizona went on to meet in the final of the Hawaii Classic. Arizona won the final game in low scoring affair.

Preseason ACT

(4) Syracuse upset (1) UCLA to advance to the championship game where they defeated (2) Missouri. Syracuse beat Texas, UCLA, and Missouri on their way to capturing the Preseason ACT Tournament championship.

Alaska Challeng

(6) Minnesota played their best ball this week when the advanced to the championship game against (1) Mississippi. Minnesota beat (3) Standford and (7) Georgia Tech on their way to the final game of the Alaska Challenge. Mississippi came away with the Alaska Challenge Championship over the Gophers 67-54.

[INDalltheway]

Week 2 (0-1)

Weekly Preview

Our competition will go down dramatically this week. In our first game we play host to the Monmouth Hawks. This will be Monmouth's first game of the year. We will just need to play good defense to get this win.

Deleware State is our second team we host this week. They currently haven't played a game, but will have one under their belt when we play them. This team is very similar to Monmouth. Good defense will win this game for us easily.

Monmouth (0-0) @ Butler (0-1)

We controlled both halves of this game, and there was no question on who was going to win this one. Keith Johnson came ready to play tonight, he scored 22 points. Willie Phillips had 14 rebounds for game high honors. 89-74, Win.

Deleware St (1-0) @ Butler (1-1)

We sucked against a sucky team! It was a very embarrassing game. I should have gotten myself kicked out of this one early so I didn't have to watch my team play like crap. They had two guys put up 20-plus points on us. That is pathetic! 88-58, LOSS.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Arizona 5-0 2,708 1
2. Mississippi 5-0 2,427 2
3. Syracuse 5-0 2,328 3
4. Florida 4-1 1,996 4
5. Missouri 4-1 1,793 5
6. UCLA 3-1 1,625 6
7. USC 3-1 1,486 7
8. Wisconsin 3-1 1,364 9
9. Michigan State 3-1 1,300 8
10. Michigan 3-1 1,199 11
11. Boston College 2-0 1,120 26
12. Maryland 2-0 1,067 24
13. Georgia Tech 3-1 1,010 12
14. Illinois 2-0 930 14
15. Tennessee 2-0 852 23
16. Virginia 2-0 799 21
17. North Carolina 2-0 748 22
18. Wake Forest 2-0 620 29
19. Kentucky 2-0 546 18
20. Kansas 2-0 446 15
21. Connecticut 2-0 371 27
22. Providence 2-0 297 30
23. Iowa State 2-0 246 16
24. Duke 2-1 221 13
25. Notre Dame 2-0 193 42

Others Receiving Votes: Seton Hall 181, Iowa 168, California 143, Ohio State 118, Minnesota 94, St. Johns 70, Vanderbilt 47, Miami 23, Cincinnati 10, Fresno State 6, Purdue 2, Oregon 2, Oregon State 1, Hawaii 1, West Virginia 1, Texas 1, LSU 1, Southern Utah 1, San Jose State 1, Northern Arizona 1, Ball State 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 10 Minnesota, No. 25 Texas

[INDalltheway]

Week 3 (1-2)

Weekly Preview

We play host again to the Akron Zips in our first game. Akron is very solid team with a great backcourt tandom. They average a combined 33 points. We have to play some big defense to have a chance against this team.

TCU is our next opponent. They too are a solid but not spectacular. Jermaine Billit will be matching up with our Willie Phillips. Jermaine has the better numbers, (17.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg) but Willie should be able to handle him.

Akron (1-1) @ Butler (1-2)

Willie Phillips was a man among boys tonight. He was unstoppable on the glass and at times on offense. Willie scored 14 points and had 24 rebounds tonight. Keith Johnson was our top scorer tonight with 19 points. We put together to solid halves to win this one. 74-61, Win.

TCU (1-2) @ Butler (2-2)

Willie Philips was intrigued by his matchup with the younger Jermaine Billit. He showed that sophomore how to play the center tonight. Willie Phillips scored 25 points and had 15 rebounds. We had a nice first half, and outscored them by the same amount in the second half. 83-59, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Week 4 (3-2)

Weekly Preview

We are still at home again this week for our first game against UC Riverside. They are 2-2 this year and are led by a gigantic center, Quentin Branson. Branson averages 16.8 ppg and 14.5 rpg. This will be a big matchup for Willie Phillips.

We are traveling to Gainsville for our second game. The Gators of Florida will play host to us. They are a good team. When you look at our last game you can tell how good they are. It will take near-perfect ball, but it can be done.

UC Riverside (2-2) @ Butler (3-2)

Quentin Branson and Willie Phillips had a nice matchup tonight, but the younger Branson was a little better tonight. There is not much you can say as to how we played, it just wasn't good. 78-55, Loss.

Butler (3-3) @ #3 Florida (7-1)

They got us again. Once again there is not too much I can say. We just didn't play well, and it appeared that we were scared out there. 111-60, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Indianapolis Star

Butler Not Playing to Standards

The start of this season has been tough for the boys at Butler. In what was supposed to be one of Butler’s best teams in recent history, they have soon turned into one of the worst in Coach Ross Wheeler’s short term.

“We have played some pretty good teams, and then at times we are playing pretty bad against bad teams,” Coach Ross Wheeler said. “We just need to quit concentrating on being the best team in school history and just play.”

Butler has started off the season with a dismal 3-4 record. Two of the four losses have come against below average programs.

“With the schedule we have played, we should have only lost 2 games at the most,” Coach Wheeler said. “When we lose to teams like Delaware State and UC Riverside, we are putting this program in jeopardy.”

Two of the losses have come to the hands of the Florida Gators. Butler lost to Florida in the first round of the Hawaii Classic and in a regular season contest. Florida is currently number-eight in the most recent IP Poll.

“When we have played them, they have been ranked second and third respectively,” Coach Wheeler stated. “They are a good team!”

Butler is looking to turn the corner for the second half of the conference season. It will not be easy for the Bulldogs because they play Fresno State, Georgetown, and #15 Notre Dame.

[INDalltheway]

Week 5 (3-4)

Weekly Preview

In our first game we go play Arkansas Pine Bluff. They are 2-4 and have one good player. That is PF Marcus Royten. He averages 19.8 ppg and 12.7 rpg. We will need to shut him down in order to win this one.

We continue our road play when we play Fresno State at their place. They are "better" than us a 4 out of the 5 spots, but we are still the favorite in this game. Does that make sense to you guys? Me neither. :)

Butler (3-4) @ Ark. Pine Bluff (2-4)

We were down six at the half, and I didn't have a voice for the whole second half. That is how loud and long I yelled at my boys. They were playing like crap, and I had to have that come to an end. Keith Johnson and Glendon McCrary were our offensive leaders tonight. They scored 26 and 22 points respectively. 86-74, Win.

Butler (4-4) @ Fresno St. (5-2)

We did not play well early and often in this contest. They were better. We played without the services of PF LeRoy Robertson who is now ready to reenter the starting lineup. 93-64, Loss.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Arizona 11-0 2,138 1
2. Illinois 8-0 1,953 2
3. North Carolina 8-0 1,870 4
4. Virginia 8-0 1,734 3
5. Wake Forest 8-0 1,589 6
6. Florida 10-1 1,478 8
7. UCLA 9-1 1,400 7
8. Indiana 7-1 1,285 17
9. Syracuse 11-0 1,235 9
10. Maryland 7-1 1,155 16
11. USC 9-1 1,075 15
12. California 8-0 1,024 11
13. Seton Hall 8-0 974 13
14. Missouri 9-1 900 12
15. Notre Dame 8-0 826 14
16. Duke 7-2 777 24
17. Michigan 9-1 728 20
18. Kansas 6-1 605 18
19. Georgia Tech 9-1 528 19
20. Kentucky 7-1 432 5
21. Iowa State 6-1 359 21
22. Michigan State 8-2 285 10
23. Iowa 7-1 237 28
24. Mississippi 9-2 213 25
25. Texas 7-1 188 23

Others Receiving Votes: Alabama 176, Boston College 164, Clemson 141, Wisconsin 117, Ohio State 93, Cincinnati 70, Connecticut 46, Arkansas 23, Stanford 10, Temple 6, Tennessee 2, Purdue 2, Penn State 1, Providence 1, Georgia 1, Mississippi St. 1, Massachusetts 1, Oklahoma 1, South Carolina 1, Minnesota 1, N.C. State 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 22 Cincinnati

[INDalltheway]

Week 6 (4-5)

Weekly Preview

We are the host of Georgtown in our first game this week. This is a pretty solid team we are facing this week. We will need to play one of our better games to win it. If the way we have played this year against good competition shows anything, it shows how we are not mentally tough enough to compete with the good teams.

We go out West to play Portland State in game number two. They are a decent team, but we should be able to play beat them. We just need to go out and play ball.

Georgtown (5-3) @ Butler (4-5)

Wow, was this weird! We came out ready to play. LeRoy came back to the lineup and really got us going. he was our high man tonight with 24 points. He also had 7 assists, most of them going to Keith Johnson. Keith added 23 points tonight. Willie is struggling, and we really need him to break out of his little slump. 94-74, Win.

Butler (5-5) @ Portland St. (3-5)

It wasn't easy, but we played consistent in both halves tonight. All five starters were in double figures with both LeRoy Robertson and Glendon McCrary leading the way with 16. 79-66, Win.

Individual Stats

SF Keith Johnson- 16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg

PG LeRoy Robertson- 14.4 ppg, 5.0 apg

PF Glendon McCrary- 11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg

C Willie Phillips- 11.2 ppg, 11.9 rpg

[INDalltheway]

Week 7 (6-5)

Weekly Preview

We have our first big game this season against #18 Notre Dame. This game is a measuring stick for us. We should fare well against them, as we control 3 out of the 5 head-to-head matchups. Thornton Johnson will be a tough matchup for Keith Johnson, but I believe Keith can take advantage of the younger Thornton.

In our second game this week, we take on a 6-3 Murray State team. They are having a good year, but have not played many good teams. They are a low scoring team that relies on their defense.

#18 Notre Dame (10-0) @ Butler (6-5)

It was three days before Christmas, and we acted like we wanted to be on Christmas break. We did not play very well tonight... At the half we only trailed the Irish by 4 points. Then we let them run away with the game in the second half. We will have to be a lot tougher if we want to make it anywhere this season. 78-63, Loss.

Murray St. (6-4) @ Butler (6-6)

It took a huge second half performance to win this game. And I mean a Huge second half performance. We trailed by 10 at the break, and we did not want to lose to this team. We came out with fire in our eyes in that second half and outscored Murray State by 28. Keith Johnson led the charge with 30 points tonight. 84-66, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Week 8 Conference Play (7-6, 0-0)

Weekly Preview

We kick off conference play this seasn against the Panthers of Wisconsin Millwaukee. They were 4-8 in non conference games this season. They have 2 Freshman starting in the frontcourt. We will look to take advantage of them this week.

Our second game is against Illinois-Chicago. They are a pretty good team this year, and it will take a good game to beat this team. It will not be as easy as previous years in the conference.

Butler (7-6, 0-0) @ Illinois-Chicago (4-8, 0-0)

What a great start to the conference season. We were hot from the opening tip throughout the final buzzer. Glendon McCrary scored 26 points, Bryen Richardson had 17 points, and Keith Johnson added 16 points of his own. Keith Johnson also had 14 rebounds. 78-53, Win.

Illinois-Chicago (4-9, 0-1) @ Butler (8-6, 1-0)

Everyone has to come ready to play in order to win ball games. Keith Johnson has performed well nearly every night, but he never gets any help. The same was true for tonight. He scored 25 points. Willie Phillips is really playing bad. I think I may sit him down for one game to see if that jumpstarts him. 88-77, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week 9 (8-7, 1-1)

Weekly Preview

We have a pretty easy week this week. We only have one game, but it is against Wisconsin Green Bay. They are a pretty good team that many compare to us. We are starting Freshman Todd Akins in front of Willie Phillips this week.

Wisc. Green Bay (7-8, 1-2) @ Butler (8-7, 1-1)

We shook things up, and it worked pretty well. LeRoy Robertson scored 21 points despite breaking his nose. Keith Johnson was right behind him with 17 points. 82-63, Win.

Conference Standings

Youngstown St. 4 0

Butler 2 1

Detroit 2 1

Illinois-Chicago 2 1

Wright St. 2 2

Loyola Chicago 2 2

Cleveland St. 1 2

Wisc. Green Bay 1 3

Wisc. Milwaukee 0 4

[INDalltheway]

Whoohooo! 500 posts! :)

[INDalltheway]

Week 10 (9-7, 2-1)

Weekly Preview

Our conference season continues this week with our first game being played at Loyola Chicago. They are 6-10 overall and 2-2 in the Horizon Conference. Willie Phillips is back in the lineup after having a great week of practise. We are looking to fire on all cylinders after an easy week last week.

In our second game, Wright State is coming to town. They are 7-9 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Wright State will be a good test to see how good we are this year. This week we must pick up two wins.

Butler (9-7, 2-1) @ Loyola Chicago (6-10, 2-2)

Anytime a team takes 16 more shots than their opponent you have a great chance of making more shots and therefore winning. That was the case tonight for us. We attempted 16 more shots and made 16 more shots. Those two things equaled a huge game for us. Keith Johnson was on it again. He scored 31 points. 97-66, Win.

Wright St () @ Butler (10-7, 3-1)

Keith Johnson is playing the best game of basketball this school has ever seen. He continued playing the way he has played all year tonight. He scored 29 points and had 11 boards on our way to a 3-point victory over Wright State. 71-68, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Youngstown St. 5 1

Butler 4 1

Cleveland St. 3 2

Illinois-Chicago 3 2

Wisc. Green Bay 3 3

Wright St. 2 3

Detroit 2 3

Loyola Chicago 2 4

Wisc. Milwaukee 0 5

We have a huge matchup with Youngstown State next week to see who is the best team in the Horizon Conference.

[INDalltheway]

Week 11 (11-7, 4-1)

Weekly Preview

Cleveland State is our first game for week 11. Their starters are all consistent when it comes to the scoring department. We need a win against this team to have us ready to take on Youngstown State in our second game this week.

Youngstown State is 10-8 overall and 5-1 in the conference. They are a similar team to Cleveland State. They are consistent scorers.We will see who is the top team in the Horizon Conference. I think it will be us...

Cleveland St. (8-9, 3-2) @ Butler (11-7, 4-1)

We were thinking ahead to our big matchup with Youngstown State and it bit us in the butt. It was tied at the half, but we let them take an early second half lead that we couldn't catch up to. Keith Johnson scored 17 points, but it was not enough. 83-78, Loss.

Butler (11-8, 4-2) @ Youngstown St. (10-8, 5-1)

We could not lose two games in one week. That was what I was yelling at my kids all week. They responded well to that, and would not lose to Youngstown State. Five guys were in double figures tonight. 94-86, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 5 2

Youngstown St. 5 2

Illinois-Chicago 5 2

Wright St. 4 3

Cleveland St. 4 3

Wisc. Green Bay 4 4

Loyola Chicago 2 5

Detroit 2 5

Wisc. Milwaukee 1 6

[INDalltheway]

Week 12 (12-8, 5-2)

Weekly Preview

We play two very similar conference teams this week. In our first game we will travel to play at Cleveland State. They are 9-10 overall and 4-3 in Horizon Conference play. Consistent scoring is what gets this team wins. We will not have to shut down one praticular player to win this one.

In our second game we travel to play at Wright State. They are 9-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play. This team is solid, but we hold the advantage at every position on the floor.

Butler (12-8, 5-2) @ Cleveland St. (9-10, 4-3)

Keith Johnson and Bryen Richardson were the leading scorers for us tonight. Keith scored 21 points and Bryen chipped in 19. Despite a concusion Willie Phillips scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds. 80-69, Win.

Butler (13-8, 6-2) @ Wright St. (9-11, 4-4)

Without Willie Phillips for tonights game we needed someone to step up at the Center position. Joey Kirkland got the start, and did not dissappoint us with his effort. He was on fire on the offensive end with 22 points. Keith Johnson also scored 22 points for us. 78-72, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 7 2

Illinois-Chicago 6 3

Youngstown St. 5 3

Cleveland St. 5 4

Wisc. Green Bay 5 5

Wright St. 4 5

Loyola Chicago 3 6

Detroit 3 6

Wisc. Milwaukee 2 6

[INDalltheway]

Week 13 (14-8, 7-2)

Weekly Preview

The Penguins of Youngstown State are our next opponents on the schedule. They are 10-10 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Every starter for the Penguins averages over 10 points per game.

Loyola Chicago is the second team we play in week 13. They are 7-14 overall and 3-6 in Horizon play. Keith Johnson has a big advantage at the SG position for this game.

Youngstown St. (10-10, 5-3) @ Butler (14-8, 7-2)

Wow, what a game!!! This one came down to the wire even though we held a comfortable 10-point halftime lead. Keith Johnson took care of business again tonight with 24 points. 80-77, Win.

Loyola Chicago (7-15, 3-6) @ Butler (15-8, 8-2)

Keith Johnson is becoming the scorer we knew we recruited 3 years ago. He was on fire from the start, and there was no way the Ramblers were going to stop him. Keith ended up with 27 points and Bryen Richardson added 19. 88-73, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Week 14 (16-8, 9-2)

Wisconsin Milwaukee is coming here to play us in a key conference game. The Panthers are 7-16 overall and 3-7 in conference play. They are led by Sophomore SG Delvin Long.

The Titans from the University of Detroit will be our second opponent for week 14. We hold the advantage at every position on the floor.

Wisc. Milwaukee (7-16, 3-7)@ Butler (16-8, 9-2

The younger Delvin Long came ready to play for the Panthers. Not only did he put up 25 points against us he also shut Keith Johnson down. Keith only managed 9 points on the night. From that stat alone you could tell we were in trouble. Our 5-game wining streak was snapped tonight. 72-69, Loss.

Detroit (8-16, 4-7) @ Butler (16-9, 9-3)

Keith Johnson's struggles continued tonight, but fellow classmate LeRoy Robertson picked up the slack. Tonight he poured in 25 points from everywhere on the floor. LeRoy also dished out 9 assists for us. 88-71, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 10 3

Wisc. Green Bay 8 5

Illinois-Chicago 8 5

Cleveland St. 7 6

Youngstown St. 6 6

Wright St. 5 7

Loyola Chicago 4 8

Detroit 4 8

Wisc. Milwaukee 4 8

[INDalltheway]

Week 15 (17-9, 10-3)

Weekly Preview

We get a break from conference action when we travel to Akron, Ohio to play the Zips. Akron is currently 11-13 overall and 8-7 in MAC play. This team is led by a Sophomore SG Jamison Green.

We are traveling to Illinois-Chicago in a huge conference showdown. They are 12-13 overall and 8-5 in Horizon play. This team is very solid, and have improved to be one of the upper tier teams in the Horizon conference. We lost to this team in our first matchup.

Butler (17-9, 10-3) @ Akron (11-13, 8-7)

We showed the boys from the MAC conference who plays better ball. We put it to them early and very often. Our Junior combo of Keith Johnson and LeRoy Robertson was hitting on all cylinders throughout the game. LeRoy ended the game with 18 points and 11 assits. Keith Johnson also scored 18 points. 88-66, Win.

Butler (18-9, 10-3) @ Illinois-Chicago (13-13, 9-5)

Illinois-Chicago had our number this year. Hopefully we get a shot at them at the Conference tournament this year. 75-64, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week 16 (18-10, 10-4)

Weekly Preview

We are wraping up the regular season this week with two critical conference games. In our first game we will be playing at Wisconsin Green Bay. They are 15-12 overall and 9-6 in conference play. We beat this team last time pretty easily. It will take another good effort like that one to win this one.

Our second game is a Detroit. They are currently 9-18 overall and 5-9 in conference play. We beat this team 2 weeks ago fairly handidly.

Butler (18-10, 10-4) @ Wisc. Green Bay (15-12, 9-6)

We played another great game against this Wisconsin Green Bay team. They looked like they were ready to play, but their play quickly went straight south against our killer defense. LeRoy Robertson led the offense with 17 points and 4 assists. 79-57, Win.

Butler (19-10, 11-4) @ Detroit (9-19, 5-10)

We knew coming into the game we could clinch the regular season conference title and number one seed to the conference tournament with a win. We are one game up on Illinois-Chicago, who is playing Wright State.

The first half was a struggle for us tonight. We only held a one point halftime lead against the Titans. In the second half we wouldn't let this game get close. Keith Johnson got back to his usual form after several poor performances. He scored 19 points. We are the number one seed in the conference tourny once again. 91-73, Win.

Final Conference Standings

Butler 12 4

Illinois-Chicago 11 5

Wisc. Green Bay 9 7

Youngstown St. 9 7

Wisc. Milwaukee 8 8

Cleveland St. 7 9

Wright St. 6 10

Loyola Chicago 5 11

Detroit 5 11

Individual Stats

Keith Johnson- 17.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg

Glendon McCrary- 12.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg

LeRoy Robertson- 11.4 ppg, 5.5 apg

Willie Phillips- 11.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg

Bryen Richardson- 7.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg

[INDalltheway]

1. Arizona 29-3 1,982 1
2. Florida 29-3 1,847 2
3. USC 27-4 1,693 3
4. Mississippi 27-5 1,557 4
5. Cincinnati 27-2 1,434 6
6. Syracuse 27-4 1,355 7
7. UCLA 24-7 1,285 8
8. Duke 23-7 1,187 5
9. Maryland 23-6 1,122 10
10. Utah 26-2 1,050 13
11. Texas Tech 22-7 972 9
12. Kansas 20-7 925 11
13. Michigan State 22-9 878 12
14. Indiana 21-8 810 16
15. Wake Forest 22-7 743 19
16. Texas 21-7 696 20
17. Wisconsin 23-8 652 21
18. Temple 23-6 543 22
19. Michigan 23-8 476 23
20. Illinois 20-9 389 15
21. Missouri 22-8 323 24
22. Stanford 21-9 258 17
23. Arkansas 23-6 215 25
24. Iowa State 20-8 193 18
25. Georgia Tech 24-7 171 26

Others Receiving Votes: Boston College 160, Providence 147, St. Josephs 125, Kentucky 104, California 83, Seton Hall 62, Connecticut 41, Virginia 20, Minnesota 10, North Carolina 6, Notre Dame 2, Oklahoma 2, Memphis 1, Clemson 1, Gonzaga 1, Miami 1, Tennessee 1, Fresno State 1, Oklahoma State 1, Massachusetts 1, Georgetown 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 14 Boston College

[INDalltheway]

Week 17 (20-10, 12-4)

March 2, 2006
HORIZON QUALIFYING ROUND
(9) Detroit falls to (8) Loyola Chicago 86-82.

March 3, 2006
HORIZON TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
(8) Loyola Chicago @ (1) Butler

We came out as ready as I have seen this team. Everyone was ready to roll tonight, and you could tell by our halftime lead of 54-36. Willie Phillips played his best game of the year with 21 points and 22 rebounds. Keith Johnson was also on fire with 22 points. 93-71, Win.

Other Horizon Tournament Games...

(2) Illinois-Chicago destroyed (7) Wright State 100-66.
(6) Cleveland State fell to (3) Wisconsin Green Bay 73-66.
(4) Youngstown State flew by (5) Wisconsin Milwaukee 75-65.

March 4, 2006
HORIZON TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
(4) Youngstown St. @ (1) Butler

The senior led Penguins were not going to be denied by us tonight. They proved to be too much for us after we beat them 2 times in the regular season. Willie Phillips played great once again with 20 points and 18 rebounds. 91-76, Loss.

Other Horizon Games....

(3) Wisconsin Green Bay exploded past (2) Illinois-Chicago 87-72.

March 5, 2006
HORIZON TOURNAMENT FINAL
(3) Wisconsin Green Bay @ (4) Youngstown State

Wisconsin Green Bay played two very consistent halves to come away with the Horiozon Tournament Championship, and an automatic bid to the NCT Tournament.

[INDalltheway]

Postseason Status

While not our first choice, we have made the ACT Tournament. We will square off against Tulane in the first round on Wednesday.

John Turner
Assistant Coach

[INDalltheway]

Week 18 (21-11)

March 8, 2006
1ST ROUND OF ACT TOURNAMENT
Tulane (18-12) @ Butler (21-11)

We played an allright game versus a pretty decent team. I didn't think we were going to pull it out, but we ended up playing well down the stretch. We are taking on Northwestern in our Regional game. 74-69, Win.

March 14, 2006
REGIONAL OF ACT TOURNAMENT
Northwestern (17-12) @ Butler (22-11)

Our season is continuing on in this ACT Tournament. We are hungry for this tournament victory! 81-71, Win.

March 16, 2006
SEMI-FINALS OF ACT TOURNAMENT
Butler (23-11) @ Xavier (17-14)

Our season is over, but we did not go down without a fight. We were so close to advancing to the final four of the ACT Tournament. We will be coming back next as strong as ever. 89-70, Loss.

ACT Final Four

Xavier had a matchup with Washington to advance to the ACT Championship Game. They did not come out of the gates well, and fell behind early. A late serge was not enough for the Musketeers.

Washing took on Vanderbilt in ACT Championship. Vandy beat George Washington to advance to the finals. In the championship game, Vanderbilt started hot and never looked back. Vanderbilt won the ACT Tournament

NCT Final Four

The Florida Gators beat us twice this year, and now have found themselves in the NCT Championship game. They pulled out a close game against the Syracuse Orangemen to advance to the finals. Arizona is also in the championship game. The Wildcats are looking for their second NCT Title since 2003.

Arizona finds themselves on top again. Mostly due to the play of Power Forward Dominik Howard, who was the Tournament MVP. Arizona won the NCT Tournament.

[INDalltheway]

End of Season Report 2006

Top Performers

Keith Johnson once again led this team in scoring with 17.1 points per game. Willie Phillips averaged 12.5 points per game and 12.8 rebounds per game. LeRoy Robertson averaged 5.4 assits per game on the season.

Graduatiing Players

SG Aaron Hyle 115 games
Aaron Hyle had a tremendous Freshman season. He averaged 15.5 ppg in that season, but never averaged over 5 points per game after that year. Aaron's playing time gradually went down as his career went on.

PF Glendon McCrary 88 games
Glendon became a solid starter in his Junior season. This year he became a solid 3rd or 4th scorer for us. He ended his career averaging 9.0 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game.

C Willie Phillips 122 games
Willie Phillips started for us for 3 years, and also played as a Freshman. Willie is probably one of the most well rounded players to come through this program in my era. Willie never averaged the bigtime points, but he consistently averaged around 12 points in his career. Willie's caeer averages were 10.0 ppg and 9.8 rpg.

NBA Draft Results

No one was drafted

Staff Hirings

Keepin' that staff together

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #1

Non-Conference Schedule

11/15/2006 - - - UNC Asheville
11/19/2006 - 25 - @Iowa
11/23/2006 - - - @Pittsburgh
11/25/2006 - - - Ball State
11/30/2006 - - - @Miami

12/3/2006 15 18 - @Kentucky
12/7/2006 - - - Western Illinois
12/10/2006 - - - @LSU
12/14/2006 - - - Army
12/16/2006 - - - Stephen F. Austin
12/21/2006 - - - Tulane
12/23/2006 - - - @Florida State

2/15/2007 - - - Ohio

Wow! I got some pretty good teams to play us. Even though we have to travel to most of their places we are glad to have the good competition. We get a taste of SEC play with Kentucky and LSU on the schedule. Then we have other solid teams like Iowa, Pitt, Miami, and Florida State. I am happy, but once again Purdue would not schedule us.

[INDalltheway]

Journal Entry #2

The Team

PG LeRoy Robertson (6-0, 176) Sr
LeRoy Robertson is now a 4-year starter hear at Butler, and he is in total control of the offense. He is the guy that decides the way we are playing. If he speeds up, we all speed up. LeRoy is looking for a monster Senior year so he can go out right.

PG Cory Bradford (6-0, 167) Sr
Cory got some pretty good minutes off the bench last year, and in a couple of starts. He is a solid contributor off the bench. He is looking at a similar role as to the one he had last season.

PG Javier Abel (5-11, 144) Jr
Javier is a decent guy coming off the bench. He is our third option this year at the Point Guard position. Javier's strong point is his ball handling.

PG Andrew Messy (5-11, 142) Fr
Andrew may enter a couple of games this year. He is just not ready for the big time. In fact he may never be ready.

SG Keith Johnson (6-4, 182) Sr
Keith improved his game even more this offseason. He has been our leading scorer for the past 2 years, and is looking to help this team even more this season. We need his best year to come this year for this team to go where they have set their goals.

SG Maurice Mclintock (6-1, 152) So
Maruice isn't a good option off the bench yet. He may become a solid bench contributor, but that wont be this year. He was enter into just 12 games last year, and I can see it being a very similar year for him.

SF Charlie Nicholson (6-4, 177) Fr
Charlie looks like the most ready to play Freshman in his class. Charlie has as much potential as anyone here, but it will take work for him to reach his potnential. Charlie could get some time in this year, or he could ride the pine.

SF Bryen Richardson (6-2, 164) Jr
Bryen may just be our number 2 option on the offensive end. Bryen has improved himself into a good scoring threat. Bryen started last year, but did not recieve the minutes he wanted. This year will be a different story.

PF Joey Kirkland (6-7, 263) Jr
Joey keeps on getting bigger, and keeps on getting better basketball wise. Joey should get more playing time this year because of his hard offseason work.

PF Duane Mouring (6-5, 204) Jr
Duane was our 7th man last year. He was always ready to come off the bench and play an agressive inside post position. His hard work should payoff this season. He looks to be a starter.

C Donte Smith (6-9, 194) So
Donte has slimmed down a little bit from last year, but has gained lots of muscle he lacked. Donte will get more playing time this year, but he will have to play defense to get the playing time he wants.

C Brett Jones (6-8, 251) Fr
Brett should get some playing time because of his defensive presence alone. Brett is as strong as an ox, and lets people know about his presence.

C Todd Akins (7-1, 249) So
Todd is the tallest player I have ever coached, and he is one of the most raw players I have ever coached. He could be starting this year at the center position if he plays the way he is capable.

Projected Starters
PG- LeRoy Robertson
SG- Keith Johnson
SF- Bryen Richardson
PF- Duane Mourning
C- Todd Akins

2006-2007 Outlook

We are a senior led team, and we will need our senior to step it up bigtime this year. This team could be a great one if everyone comes together for the season. I am looking for 20+ victories this year, like every other season. We need a good start to our non-conference schedule to achieve the goals we have set. I am really looking forward to the season that lies ahead of us.

[INDalltheway]

Week 2 (0-0)

Weekly Preview

This is UNC Asheville and our first game of the year. We will see what kind of team we are with the way we start off our season. Their best player is at the PF position. We will need a big defensive day for Duane Mouring.

In our second game we travel to Iowa. Iowa will be a good measuring stick to see how good we are. I am glad we get to play a team like Iowa early so we can get ready for our upcoming schedule.

UNC Asheville (0-0) @ Butler (0-0)

What a 1-2 punch we showed today against UNC Asheville! LeRoy Robertson played an amaing game. He scored 28 points, and Keith Johnson added 19 to that. It is nice to see we started off the season the right way. 83-74, Win.

Butler (1-0) @ Iowa (0-1)

What kind of team are we going to be this year? This game should answer several questions about this team.

I cannot believe it! We did not get a great offensive output by one single player, but everyone chipped in. LeRoy Robertson was in foul trouble the whole game, but Cory Bradford came in and stepped it up. This is a great win for this team and the program. 90-73, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Florida 5-0 2,662 1
2. Michigan State 5-0 2,460 2
3. Boston College 4-1 2,097 3
4. Michigan 4-1 1,915 5
5. Texas 4-1 1,736 4
6. Oklahoma State 4-1 1,585 7
7. Indiana 3-1 1,489 8
8. UCLA 3-1 1,360 6
9. Arizona 2-0 1,254 12
10. Missouri 2-0 1,167 24
11. Temple 3-1 1,081 10
12. Providence 2-0 1,027 26
13. Tennessee 2-0 971 27
14. Syracuse 2-0 896 31
15. Iowa State 2-0 816 18
16. Georgia 2-0 767 39
17. Georgetown 2-0 715 38
18. California 2-0 595 33
19. Notre Dame 2-0 523 40
20. Maryland 2-0 424 30
21. Mississippi St. 2-0 352 41
22. South Carolina 2-0 281 53
23. Washington 2-0 233 44
24. Purdue 2-0 208 45
25. Miami 2-0 185 63

Others Receiving Votes: Ohio State 173, Texas Tech 160, Illinois 137, Stanford 113, Utah 88, Gonzaga 66, Memphis 44, Rutgers 22, Kansas State 10, Arkansas 6, Virginia Tech 2, Southern Utah 2, Penn State 1, Hawaii 1, Clemson 1, N.C. State 1, Wyoming 1, Auburn 1, Fresno State 1, Fordham 1, Austin Peay 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 20 Illinois, No. 19 Stanford, No. 11 Utah, No. 9 Arkansas

[INDalltheway]

Week 3 (2-0)

Weekly Preview

This week is a big week for us. We have two games against two decent teams, but we are better than both of them. Our first game we play the Pitt Panthers. They are currently 1-1 on the season.

In our second game Ball State is traveling here to play us in a big inner-state game. They are 0-2 so far this year. They start two freshman, which we will try to take advantage of them.

Butler (2-0) @ Pittsburgh (1-1)

We lost LeRoy Robertson, and we lost the game. LeRoy will be out for 1 Month... That is a tough loss, and so was the game we just played. 88-65, Loss.

Ball State (0-3) @ Butler (2-1)

Keith Johnson played a great game, and he would not let this team lose to Ball State. Keith scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds. 81-73, Win.

[INDalltheway]

Week 4 (3-1)

Weekly Preview

Miami is our first team we play this week. We will not be enjoying the beaches while down in south Florida. We are all business. Miami is 3-0, and we would love to put that first blemish on thier record. Dee Hart and Nate Holland are Miami's big scorers. We will have to shut them down to win.

Our second game is at Lexington where we take on 3-2 Kentucky. It will take a great game for us to come away with the win against the Wildcats.

Butler (3-1) @ Miami (3-0)

We played in a great environment tonight. The fans were wild and crazy, but Miami's players weren't as enthuised about the game as their fans were. That was a good thing for us. Keith Johnson took it to 'em early. He ended the game with 24 points and 13 rebounds. 82-71, Win.

Butler (4-1) @ Kentucky (4-2)

SEC ball isn't too much different from what we are used to. We played with this Kentucky team the whole game. Keith Johnson led us once again with 26 points and 13 rebounds. We played pretty well, but I hope we get to play this team down the road. 74-69, Loss.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Michigan State 9-0 2,065 2
2. Florida 9-0 1,929 1
3. Arizona 6-0 1,848 8
4. Iowa State 6-0 1,663 9
5. Georgetown 5-0 1,496 21
6. Michigan 8-1 1,405 4
7. Mississippi 5-1 1,305 22
8. Maryland 5-1 1,195 33
9. Rutgers 5-0 1,137 48
10. Tennessee 5-1 1,067 34
11. Temple 6-1 996 15
12. UCLA 6-2 950 6
13. Wake Forest 5-1 901 41
14. California 5-1 833 10
15. Clemson 6-1 760 17
16. Providence 4-1 714 18
17. Connecticut 4-1 669 62
18. Texas 7-2 557 3
19. Kansas 5-2 486 32
20. Ohio State 5-1 397 56
21. Notre Dame 4-1 330 19
22. South Carolina 5-1 263 14
23. Kentucky 5-2 219 28
24. Boston College 6-2 197 7
25. Alabama St. 5-0 175 64

Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 163, Syracuse 153, Texas Tech 131, Illinois 109, Virginia 87, Houston 65, Evansville 43, South Florida 22, Indiana 10, North Carolina 6, Texas Arlington 2, Iowa 2, Oklahoma State 1, St. Josephs 1, VA Commonwealth 1, Missouri 1, Penn State 1, N.C. State 1, Alabama 1, Memphis 1, New Orleans 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 20 Syracuse, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 13 Illinois, No. 11 Indiana, No. 25 North Carolina, No. 5 Oklahoma State

[INDalltheway]

Week 5 (4-2)

Weekly Preview

Our first game is against Western Illinois this week. They are 3-3 on the season. This team is pretty well balanaced and it will take a nice effort to win this one.

In our second game we take on another solid opponent in LSU. They also are currently 3-3 on the season. This team is very good, and it will take one of our best efforts to pull it out.

Western Illinois (3-3) @ Butler (4-2)

Cory Bradford, Duane Mouring, Keith Johnson, and Bryen Richardson scored 15, 16, 17, and 18 points respectively. That was all it took to beat this Western Illinois team. 86-60, Win.

Butler (5-2) @ LSU (4-3)

Our effort was there even though it may have been lacking in the first 5 minutes. We hustled up and down the floor, but it wasn't enough against this club. Keith Johnson scored 26 points for us tonight. 93-78, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week 6 (5-3)

Weekly Preview

This week will be a breeze compared to last week. It will still take a solid effort to come away with two victories though. Our first game is against the Army. They will be traveling here with their 2-5 record.

Our second game is against 1-7 Stephen F. Austin. This team is a lot below us when it comes to talent, but we still need to play the way we are capable of playing. We cannont drop down to the level they play at.

Army (2-5) @ Butler (5-3)

We didn't play our best ball today, and that was apparent. We sunk down to the level of our opponent. It luckily did not cost us the game, but it did allow Army to get some confidence. Keith Johnson threw in 20 points. 78-70, Win.

Stephen F. Austin (2-7) @ Butler (6-3)

This is the effort I wanted against Army. We came out and played our game. We did not sink to the level of our opponent. Bryen Richardson played a game of a lifetime. Not every night can you go out and score 39 points. Keith Johnson added 12 points and 12 boards. 89-54, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Florida 13-0 2,062 2
2. Michigan State 13-0 1,928 3
3. Arizona 9-1 1,790 1
4. Michigan 12-1 1,627 4
5. UCLA 10-2 1,491 5
6. Tennessee 9-1 1,401 7
7. Wake Forest 9-1 1,322 9
8. California 9-1 1,226 8
9. Stanford 9-2 1,166 13
10. Kansas 9-2 1,094 11
11. Virginia 9-2 1,023 16
12. Clemson 10-1 974 12
13. Texas Tech 9-2 927 14
14. Illinois 9-2 853 19
15. Iowa State 8-2 774 6
16. Texas 10-3 718 10
17. Kentucky 8-3 666 27
18. Mississippi 7-3 553 15
19. N.C. State 9-1 486 24
20. Providence 7-2 396 30
21. USC 7-3 330 35
22. North Carolina 7-3 263 20
23. St. Josephs 8-1 219 26
24. Indiana 8-4 196 39
25. Boston College 9-3 174 33

Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina 163, Ohio State 152, Nebraska 130, Maryland 108, Houston 86, Syracuse 64, Georgetown 43, Evansville 21, Notre Dame 10, Utah 6, Georgia Tech 2, Washington 2, Oklahoma State 1, Arkansas 1, Oregon State 1, Mississippi St. 1, Penn State 1, Missouri 1, Iowa 1, Cincinnati 1, Alabama St. 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 21 Maryland, No. 25 Houston, No. 17 Syracuse, No. 18 Georgetown, No. 22 Washington

[INDalltheway]

Week 7 (7-3)

Weekly Preview

The Green Wave of Tulane is coming to town for our first game. They are coming into the game with a solid 6-4 record. Tulane has a deep bench with several different scorers.

Our second game is at Florida State. They currently hold a 5-5 record. This is a pretty good club, and it will take a good effort to come away with a victory.

Tulane (6-4) @ Bulter (7-3)

We are playing some great ball. LeRoy Robertson is back, and he hasn't lost a step. Keith Johnson was our main supplier of offensive firepower tonight with 21 points. This is a good victory for us. 78-52, Win.

Butler (8-3) @ Florida St. (6-5)

We didn't bring it tonight. We played at a level too low for our opponent. This loss sucks, but hopefully we can learn from it. 93-70, Loss.

[INDalltheway]

Week 8 (8-4, 0-0)

Weekly Preview

The conference season is here once again. We kick off the conference play at Wisconsin Milwaukee. They are currently 4-8 on the season. This is a pretty good team, and with this game we will see where we stand in the conference.

Illinois-Chicago comes to town for our second game of the week and of the conference season. They are 7-5 this year. Keith Johnson will be matched up with another high scoring senior, Damien Clayton.

Butler (8-4, 0-0) @ Wisc. Milwaukee (4-8, 0-0)

We kicked off conference play on fire. Keith Johnson was the man tonight scoring 35 points and pulling down 18 rebounds. Joey Kirkland added 17 points off the bench tonight. 83-64, Win.

Illinois-Chicago (8-5, 1-0) @ Bulter (8-4, 1-0)

Where will we stand after the first week of conference play? This game will determine if we will be at the top or just a middle team. We played a very good game tonight. LeRoy Robertson was feeling it all night long. He ended the game with 27 points. This is a great victory, and a great start for us. 79-66, Win.

Conference Standings

Butler 2 0

Wright St. 1 1

Illinois-Chicago 1 1

Loyola Chicago 1 1

Wisc. Green Bay 1 1

Wisc. Milwaukee 1 1

Youngstown St. 1 1

Cleveland St. 0 1

Detroit 0 1

[INDalltheway]

Week9 (10-4, 2-0)

Weekly Preview

We've got it easy this week with only one game this week. Our game is against Wisconsin Green Bay. They are 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the conference. This should be a good matchup.

Wisconsin Green Bay (5-10, 1-2) @ Butler (10-4, 2-0)

One man can't win you ball games. That was the case for us tonight. Keith Johnson was ready to play, but no one else seemed to care. Keith scored 19 points. 66-59, Loss.

Horizon Conference Standings

Wright St. 3 1

Loyola Chicago 3 1

Wisc. Milwaukee 3 1

Butler 2 1

Illinois-Chicago 2 1

Wisc. Green Bay 2 2

Youngstown St. 1 3

Cleveland St. 0 3

Detroit 0 3

[INDalltheway]

Week 10 (10-5, 2-1)

Weekly Preview

We travel to Loyola Chicago to play the Ramblers in our first game. They are 9-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play. This is a good team, but we are a better team. They get consistent scoring.

Wright State is coming to town for our second game. They are currently 12-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Many columnists say they are the top team in the Horizon Conference. This is our time to show them who the best team really is.

Butler (10-5, 2-1) @ Loyola Chicago (9-7, 3-1)

Nice win tonight. There is not much to say. We just shut them down, and scored when we needed to. LeRoy Robertson scored 19 points. 73-59, Win.

Wright St. (12-4, 3-1) @ Butler (11-5, 3-1)

This game may be one of the best games this conference will see in a couple of years. I have never coached such a tested, but well played game in all my years of coaching. Luckily we were the team that came out on top. LeRoy Robertson scored 18 points tonight. Keith Johnson added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. 90-87, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 4 1

Illinois-Chicago 4 1

Wisc. Milwaukee 4 1

Loyola Chicago 4 2

Wright St. 3 2

Wisc. Green Bay 2 4

Youngstown St. 2 4

Detroit 1 4

Cleveland St. 0 5

[INDalltheway]

Week 11 (12-5, 4-1)

Weekly Preview

Cleveland State is our first team we play in week 11. They are 6-11 overall and 0-5 in the conference. This team lacks a couple of players from being a very respectible team. We need to take advantage of their holes.

We travel to play the Penguins of Youngstown State for our second game. They are 5-13 and 2-4 in conference play. We should have the upper hand in this contest.

Cleveland St. (5-11, 0-5)@ Butler (12-5, 4-1)

Keith Johnson was unstoppable on both ends. He would not be denied of anything tonight. He ended the game with 22 points and 21 rebounds. We got out to a huge 21-point halftime lead. It proved to be enough for us. 77-63, Win.


Butler (13-5, 5-1) @ Youngstown St. (5-13, 2-4)

Keith Johnson and Bryen Richardson provided an unbeatable 1-2 combonation tonight. Those two were in charge of the offense, and their numbers at the nights end showed they were in charge. Keith Johnson ended the game with 29 points and Bryen Richardson ended it with 20 points. 84-71, Win.

Horizon Conference Standings

Butler 6 1

Illinois-Chicago 6 1

Loyola Chicago 5 2

Wisc. Milwaukee 4 3

Wisc. Green Bay 4 4

Wright St. 3 4

Youngstown St. 2 5

Cleveland St. 1 6

Detroit 1 6

[INDalltheway]

Week 12 (14-5, 6-1)

Weekly Preview

In our first game we get to play at Cleveland State. Just last week we beat them 77-63. We need another great game from Keith Johnson to win this one.

Our second game is against Wright State. We have already beat this team, but they are probably the second best team in the conference behind us. We will need a good effort on both ends of the floor.

Butler (14-5, 6-1) @ Cleveland St. (7-12, 1-6)

Keith Johnson was the best player on the floor once again tonight. He showed what it takes to be a top tier player. He ended up the game with 25 points and 16 rebounds. LeRoy Robertson added 20 points. 72-66, Win.

Butler (15-5, 7-1) @ Wright St. (12-8, 3-5)

Wright State was no competition for us tonight. We were just too strong starting with Keith Johnson. This guy is turning himself into an elite Division I basketball player. He scored 29 points and had 16 rebounds. 82-58, Win.

IP Top 25 Poll

1. Michigan State 22-2 1,950 2
2. Florida 21-3 1,801 1
3. Michigan 22-2 1,715 3
4. Texas Tech 20-3 1,564 4
5. Providence 18-2 1,440 5
6. Arizona 17-5 1,349 7
7. Utah 20-3 1,257 9
8. Virginia 17-5 1,159 6
9. Mississippi 16-5 1,114 10
10. Wake Forest 17-4 1,042 13
11. Kansas 16-6 970 16
12. Indiana 17-7 915 20
13. St. Josephs 17-3 868 21
14. USC 15-6 802 24
15. Iowa State 16-6 736 14
16. Texas 17-7 693 8
17. Tennessee 16-5 649 11
18. Georgia Tech 17-5 540 23
19. Notre Dame 15-4 473 26
20. California 16-5 387 15
21. UCLA 15-8 322 17
22. Boston College 16-6 256 19
23. Illinois 15-7 213 22
24. Stanford 15-7 191 12
25. N.C. State 18-3 169 18

Others Receiving Votes: Syracuse 157, South Carolina 146, Washington 124, Missouri 101, Kentucky 81, Iowa 60, Brigham Young 40, Clemson 20, Evansville 10, Cincinnati 6, Auburn 2, Minnesota 2, Memphis 1, Butler 1, North Carolina 1, Alabama St. 1, Nebraska 1, Arizona State 1, Houston 1, Georgetown 1, UC Riverside 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 25 Syracuse