Brad Stevens’ sanity was questioned a year ago when the baby-faced Butler coach spurned Nike czar Phil Knight and Oregon in order to sign a long-term contract to remain at little old Butler University.
Stevens could have had unlimited resources at his disposal, a brand-new arena and the opportunity to play in a high-major conference.
Everything that mid-major coaches yearn to achieve.
But Stevens is a rare breed.
Much like Gonzaga’s Mark Few.
These are two guys who “get it,” who understand the lure of the big bucks and the supposed glamour of a big-time league isn’t necessarily right for them.
Don’t just bolt for the green stuff.
“Maybe we know our limitations,” Few said.
Or maybe they just aren’t greedy — and appreciate what they have.
All the talk has been about Butler becoming the next Gonzaga, but no one truly felt as though the small school just blocks from downtown Indianapolis would be able to sustain its success in the same manner that the ’Zags have done in Spokane, Wash.
But Stevens already has one improbable Final Four under his belt — and another one sits just two wins away.
“He’s a superstar in this profession,” Few said Wednesday, a day before Butler will face Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. “He’s got a bright future whatever direction he goes.”
Butler has gone to the NCAA tournament five consecutive seasons — including all four with Stevens at the helm.
Stevens, in his first four years, has won more games than anyone in D-1 history. The 34-year-old boasts a staggering 114-24 overall mark.
Stevens won’t make the same mistake as the guy he replaced, Todd Lickliter, who took a bad Iowa job and was out of work after just three seasons. Or the one Greg McDermott made when he left Northern Iowa for Iowa State only to return to the Missouri Valley conference.
That’s not to say Stevens will remain at Butler forever. Few has had numerous, more lucrative opportunities, but has opted to stay in Spokane.
“I can’t speak for him, but I’d hesitate to say, ‘Never,’” Few said. “You never know.”
“It’s not like my cell phone is blowing up,” Stevens said Wednesday.
The demand for Stevens began last offseason, though, prior to inking a 12-year extension that will pay him in excess of $1 million per season.
And his cell phone will blow up in the days after Butler’s season concludes.
Let’s hypothetically say the Indiana job opens up a year from now if Tom Crean doesn’t get the Hoosiers heading in the right direction soon. There’ll be no shortage of speculation pushing Stevens to the best job in the state.
But for now, Stevens has Butler inching closer to the dream of all mid-majors: the ’Zags.
“I’m happy at Butler,” Stevens has reiterated to me over the past year. “I love it here.”
Usually I’m skeptical when I hear that line. It went in one ear and out the other when Missouri’s Mike Anderson basically uttered those words last week after being knocked out of the NCAA tournament.
Now, less than a week later, Anderson is headed back to Arkansas.
But Stevens?
He’s unique — and maybe the conversations and texts with Few over the past year will continue to reinforce that he doesn’t need to leave Butler.
“Gonzaga has made it just as good of a job for me as any of the other places,” Few said. “Butler did the same for him.”
Few and Stevens are both low-key. They don’t welcome the limelight like so many of their peers, aren’t self-promoters and are able to live their lives without the circus that surrounds Crean in Bloomington or John Calipari at Kentucky.
Neither has the intense pressure of having to deal with the excess of media and speaking obligations — or both are able to coach a bunch of kids who aren’t jaded by outside influences such as agents and runners.
Stevens will lose his cornerstone, senior big man Matt Howard, who is the ideal example of what Butler basketball is all about — a legitimate student-athlete. If he also loses junior guard Shelvin Mack early to the NBA, the Bulldogs will struggle to maintain.
But Stevens doesn’t get wrapped up in all the speculation.
“I think we are very fortunate to have really green grass at Butler University,” he said.
Stevens doesn’t need to be told that it’s not always greener on the other side. He already knows.
