INDIANAPOLIS — Not much was expected of the youthful Butler men’s basketball team when it was predicted to finish fifth in October’s Horizon League preseason poll.
But four months and many wins later, the No. 16 Bulldogs (18-1) are off to the best start in school history. And they’ve done it with three freshman starters, no seniors, and a 31-year-old coach who worked a desk job as a marketing associate just seven years ago.
Brownsburg grad Gordon Hayward and the Butler Bulldogs are 18-1, No. 16 in the country.
“It’s a real challenge every night when you’re suiting up in this league,” said Butler coach Brad Stevens, who now owns a 48-5 record in two seasons. “We’ve been playing good teams that are ready to play, and we also have guys that have never played against these teams. They’re learning on the fly.”
One freshman who’s proven to be a fast learner is Gordon Hayward, who last March capped his high school career at Brownsburg with a last-second shot that lifted the Bulldogs to their first-ever Class 4A state championship.
Hayward — now a collegiate starter — is still hitting plenty of big shots.
The first-year guard/forward averages 12.7 points per game, and leads the Horizon League in three-point shooting percentage (.462). Hayward was named the league’s player of the week on Jan. 2 for posting his first career double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) during Butler’s 74-65 win at nationally-ranked Xavier.
Despite his deadly three-point accuracy, the 6-foot-8 Hayward posesses the size to be more than just a perimeter player.
“I just kind of take what the defense gives me,” Hayward said. “It’s really easy when you have teammates that are so good and can create for you. There have been so many contributions from so many different people. We’ve got so much depth on the team this year, it’s
great.”
Hayward has contributed with tough defense lately, as he posted four steals and a block during the Bulldogs’ latest win — a 78-48 destruction of Milwaukee on Saturday.
“It (defense) has always been a Butler principle,” Hayward said. “No matter what happens on the offensive end, we’re just going to come down and guard, and really try defensively to put teams out of what they want to do.”
Saturday’s home win over Milwaukee also drew 9,418 fans to Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was the largest crowd this season and the largest for a league game in six years. Hayward, who played in front of thousands of fans at Conseco Fieldhouse in last season’s high school state finals, is no stranger to big crowds.
“The atmosphere here was ridiculous,” Hayward said. “It was really great. I’ve got to give it up to our fans who came out here today and really supported us.”
Hayward himself is still a fan of Brownsburg basketball.
His high school days may be over — his No. 10 Indiana All-Star jersey now hangs in the Brownsburg gym — but Hayward still finds time to take in a game as often as possible.
“I was actually at the game last night,” Hayward said. “I still follow my team, for sure. I definitely go back as much as I can.”
