Rebirth

It's been a while. Been a while since I wrote about the team. Been a while since I was this excited for a season. It's also been a while since this much chatter was happening around the team, positive or negative. 

Thad Matta came into this offseason and knew exactly what every fan that suffered through the season saw, we needed a change. He came in last season and didn't have time to form his own roster which led to an effort to coach players who came in under a different coach and had established roles in a system that, didn't work, but was in place for their entire tenure as Bulldogs. Unsurprisingly that led to a Butler team without any direction and with a culture that just didn't work. 

Coach Matta himself admitted that he didn't know how to motivate players that, at some times, didn't seem to fight to stay competitive. The necessary overhaul was met with disparaging comments online from other Big East fanbases as player after player entered the transfer portal. On March 9th the team  started to form as they added Landon Moore, Camren Hunter, and Pierre Brooks after each took a visit on campus. Vibes were high in the Butler community as we saw new faces coming in and some momentum was building for the team. That was halted days later as Camren de-committed and decided to return to UCA. Looking back that was a good thing, but in the moment it added another joke to be thrown at, admittedly, an easy target. 

From that moment on our Dawgs have added 3 assumed starters and have addressed each glaring issue we have all desired for years. 

Coming into the offseason I was fed up. Fed up with losing, not being competitive, and watching the same predictable offense every game. I needed something new and can accept that it may work and it may not but it's going to be different. Respect to every player on the team the last few years but it just didn't work. People were calling for Butler to be relegated to a different conference and Butler media members were claiming the sky was falling but in reality there is one question that I kept thinking about. The team was abysmal for 3 years so why not just restart and give Thad a chance to coach a team of guys he recruited. It can't get much worse right? 

As I look at the team I'm not going to be the fan that complains or whines that they don't all fit. Posh Alexander is an elite Point Guard who tortured us for years. DJ Davis is the type of confident volume shooter that we have been missing since Pauly J left. Pierre Brooks was an elite high school prospect and I trust that Thad will max out that potential. Telfort is a proven scorer and will add physicality that we have been asking for. Landon and Finley are the future of an exciting backcourt that I can't wait to watch develop. 

I'm allowed to be excited and I'm not letting anyone tell me otherwise.