The descent back to basketball Earth finally came last season at Butler University when the Bulldogs posted their first losing record in 12 seasons. The losses didn’t just come in the record column either, four players transferred out of the program as well. All hope is not lost as the Bulldogs return all five starters from a season ago. That starting five is experienced as well, with three seniors, a junior and a sophomore. All in all it would look like a recipe for success. However, this group hasn’t exactly been successful in their time. Last season’s 13-15 performance followed a 16-14 performance in 2003-04. Add to that, not very much depth on the bench and the Bulldogs may struggle once again.
The Bulldogs most pressing issues of depth hit in the frontcourt. Just five forwards on the roster are eligible to play this season and beyond the starters of senior Brandon Polk and junior Brandon Crone the experience levels drops.
Polk was named to the league’s pre-season first team after a season in which he averaged better than 13 points and nearly five rebounds a contest. The 6’6” 210 pounder was a second team Horizon League performer a season ago and was also named to the league’s all-newcomer squad. Polk led the conference in field goal percentage hitting on 59% of his shots. He closed out last year strong, too, scoring better than 24 points in the Bulldogs last three games. With an injured shoulder all healed as well, Polk could be set for a breakout season. Head coach Todd Lickliter certainly has high hopes for his senior forward. “He had a good first year with us, and at the end of the season, he was probably playing as well as any player in our league,” said Lickliter, who enters his fifth season as the Bulldogs head coach. “He’s capable of having a very big year.”
Crone is another undersized forward at 6’6” and 225 pounds. He was second on the club to Polk in rebounding, grabbing 4.5 boards per game while chipping in just over seven points. Unlike Polk, Crone can step out and hit a three. He shot 38% from beyond the arc, hitting 22 threes on the season.
Junior forward Brian Ligon averaged 11 minutes a contest last season getting roughly two points and two rebounds per game. He will have to step up significantly this season for the Bulldogs. Sophomore wingman Drew Streicher will also be called upon to give important minutes in what is sure to be an overworked frontcourt for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs strength lies in a trio of sharp shooting guards in the backcourt. Seniors Avery Sheets and Bruce Horan are the Bulldogs heart and soul. Sheets will be a three-year starter and is a tenacious competitor. Last season he tallied 9.7 points a game while dishing out a team high four assists per contest and maintaining the top assist to turnover ratio in the league. Sheets was also an excellent three-point shooter, knocking down 43 threes at a 34.4% clip.
No one in the league was a better long distance threat than Horan, though. The 6’3” guard hit 84 threes last season at a league best 41%. Horan only attempted six shots from inside the three-point arc all of last season, hitting four of them.
The third cog in the Bulldogs three-guard attack is sophomore A.J. Graves. As a freshman Graves quickly moved into the starting line-up, leading all Horizon League freshmen in scoring at 11.1 points per game. He also led the league in free-throw shooting and was the team leader in steals. Graves also dished out nearly three assists per contest.
Junior college transfer Marcus Nellems will also see plenty of minutes as he is the biggest of the Butler guards. At 6’4” and 200 pounds he will most likely draw some tougher defensive assignments against some of the Horizon League’s bigger, more physical guards. He will see plenty of time at the three spot for the Bulldogs. Senior wingman Julian Betko is overcoming knee problems that had him out all of last season. He last played significantly in 2002-03 as a freshman at Clemson.
Coach Lickliter hopes to give the trio of Sheets, Horan, and Graves a bit more rest this season. Each of them played better than 31 minutes a contest a year ago and fatigued showed at times. That’s where Nellems and Betko come in. “It wouldn’t be my preference to play Avery, Bruce and A.J as much as we did last year,” says Lickliter, “if things stay as they are now…the addition of those two will help us spread the backcourt minutes over more players.” Which for three-point shooters like the Bulldogs have could spell trouble for opponents.
Only ten players on the Bulldogs roster are eligible to play this coming season, and that includes one walk-on. The Bulldogs are thin once they get past the starting line-up and it will show. The Bulldogs are also small. They were last in the league in just about every manner in which rebounding statistics are kept. That certainly doesn’t look to change much. The Bulldogs will win some games with Polk capable of scoring in bunches on the inside and any or all of the guards being able to knock down a three-pointer at any given time. However, Polk won’t be able to do everything by himself on the inside. Without rebounding, if the guards aren’t hitting their threes it could make for some long nights for an undersized and outmanned Butler squad.
--this article is reprinted with permission of the author
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