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Underdawgs: How Brad Stevens and Butler University Built the Bulldogs for March Madness
“In the best John Feinstein tradition” ( Booklist ) the greatest college basketball story in decades—the Butler Bulldogs and their improbable run to two straight NCAA National Championship games—now updated in paperback.
Butler University in Indianapolis became the smallest school in forty years to reach the NCAA championship game. Calculated as a 200-to-1 shot to win, Butler came this close to beating the heavily favored, perennial leaders of college the Duke Blue Devils in 2010. And in 2011, Butler advanced again to the finals, ultimately losing to UConn—but accomplishing so much. Underdawgs tells the incredible and uplifting story.
Butler’s coach, thirty-three-year-old Brad Stevens, looked so young he was often mistaken for one of the players, but he had quickly become one of the best coaches in the nation by employing the Butler Way. This philosophy of basketball and life, adopted by the program, is based on five humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness. Even the most casual observer could see this in every player, on the court and off, from 2010 NBA first-round draft pick Gordon Hayward to the last guy on the bench.
Much more than a sports story, Underdawgs is the consummate David vs. Goliath tale—the Bulldogs proved they belonged in the spotlight and, in the process, won the hearts of sports fans everywhere.
Butler University in Indianapolis became the smallest school in forty years to reach the NCAA championship game. Calculated as a 200-to-1 shot to win, Butler came this close to beating the heavily favored, perennial leaders of college the Duke Blue Devils in 2010. And in 2011, Butler advanced again to the finals, ultimately losing to UConn—but accomplishing so much. Underdawgs tells the incredible and uplifting story.
Butler’s coach, thirty-three-year-old Brad Stevens, looked so young he was often mistaken for one of the players, but he had quickly become one of the best coaches in the nation by employing the Butler Way. This philosophy of basketball and life, adopted by the program, is based on five humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness. Even the most casual observer could see this in every player, on the court and off, from 2010 NBA first-round draft pick Gordon Hayward to the last guy on the bench.
Much more than a sports story, Underdawgs is the consummate David vs. Goliath tale—the Bulldogs proved they belonged in the spotlight and, in the process, won the hearts of sports fans everywhere.
328 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2010
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May 31, 2018
Here are some quotes from the book:
When I passed through Butler's locker room last October, before the start of the 2010-11 season, I saw a sign in each player's locker with the heading, "How We Prepare." It challenged them on points of precision, instructing them to "engage yourself in deep practice," and on points of character, asking, "If you couldn't play at all, would you be a valuable teammate every day?" It challenged them to be the best preparation team in the country. (ix)
The Bulldogs' coaches took it upon themselves to match the level of preparedness they demanded from their players, combining data analysis-Stevens talked about using www.kenpom.com statistics to help figure out the "puzzle" of an opponent-with old-school scouting to create comprehensive game plans. (x)
Tradition is difficult to revive when it's been gone so long. Late in the 20th century, Butler University leaders reasoned that its basketball program could be restored and perhaps have a positive influence on the entire campus. But some suspected Butler was deluded. (6)
[Can I get alumni from the BISAC Champs from 2010 to meet with current players?]
Bill Bradley's Values of the Game-champions have a bond "that selflessness forges"-and has been influenced by As a Man Thinketh, the classic by James Allen published in 1902. (38)
[See also the book: QBT! The Question Behind the Question, a book by John G. Miller about personal accountability. (38)
[Article: Battier Effect]: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/ma...
(103)
In the first half, Butler had 17 defensive rebounds and Cleveland State no offensive rebounds… a statistic almost never seen in the sport. (113)
"As long as you have season left, then the best moments should not be behind you," Stevens said. You need to keep getting better and striving for better." (114)
[See Matt White's web site:] www.cureals.org
Using a special headset, White tapped out each letter on the computer with tiny facial movements. His address began:
Thank you for letting me be a part of your day. It's nice to see many of you again, and great to meet the rest of you.
One of my favorite characters from history is polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. An amazing man, his selfless acts of courage are better known and marveled at today than when they occurred almost 100 years ago. I like Shackleton because he repeatedly overcame impossible odds in a hopeless situation.
In 1914, two years after losing the race to the South Pole, Ernest Shackleton set out to cross the entire continent of Antarctica, a trip of almost 2,000 miles. He and his crew of 27 men left Buenos Aires, Argentina, in (178)
mid-December, late spring in the Southern Hemisphere. On approaching land, Shackleton and crew encountered much more ice than they thought they would. Soon their ship, the Endurance, was hopelessly stuck in the ice pack. The crew spent the rest of that Antarctic summer in a futile attempt to dig themselves free.
Finally, efforts were abandoned and preparations made to winter on the ship. Locked within the ice, the Endurance drifted, all the while being crushed by the moving ice. The ship was sinking. As it did, the men left the relative comfort of their ship behind. With three small lifeboats and all the provisions they could carry, the men set off across the ice in search of navigable water or land. With little food and meager shelter, the men faced near-certain death in the hostile environment.
Against all odds and with another winter upon them, they finally made it to the northern edge of the pack. Encountering open water, the men sailed the three small lifeboats to a remote and barren island called Elephant Island. There was no hope for rescue, so Shackleton chose five men to accompany him on a desperate mission. The closest inhabited island was South Georgia Island, 800 miles away. In a 22-foot lifeboat, they accomplished the impossible, surviving a 17-day journey in the dead of winter, through the world's worst seas. Unbelievably, they made it to South Georgia Island. From there, Shackleton commandeered a larger ship to rescue the men he'd left behind.
Throughout the entire two-year ordeal, not one man was lost.
Much has been written and said about Shackleton and his men. How did they do it? Facing certain death time and again, how did they all survive? I think it was their tremendous resolve to survive. To keep moving on, regardless of the obstacles they faced. They also lived in the moment, never looking back or too far forward. They dealt with only what was in front of them and moved on. They never panicked, either. Regardless of the situation, they trusted in Shackleton and in each other completely. They were a tremendously courageous group of men.
So why am I here, and why did I tell that story? Quite simply, I'm here because you're going to win a national championship, and I want to be here to see it. And the story? The story is all about you, and maybe a little about me. (178-79)
See Hoosiers movie with the team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYon-...
[1:30:00]
"So you have to shoot a contested shot every time you shoot it. Every time there's any degree of penetration, there are at least two people ready to help out against you." [Butler was similar to Bob Knight in that regard.] (184)
Stephens believed in two maxims: (1) You're never as good as you think you are, nor as bad as you think you are, and (2) A good team in your league is going to play better against you than a team that has never seen you before. (246)
The reasons [why Butler is SO successful] were cultural, analytical, tactical, and psychological.
Cultural: "We-over-me" mentality passed on from seniors to freshmen/underclassmen. The five principles as posted in the Men's Basketball locker-room are as follows:
1. Humility - know who we are, strengths and weaknesses
2. Passion - do not be lukewarm, commit to excellence
3. Unity - do not divide our house, team first
4. Servanthood - make teammates better, lead by giving
5. Thankfulness - learn from every circumstance
As far as his Christian faith, Stevens responded: "Don't talk about it. Do it. Be it." (292)
Analytical: Assess various stats. [Think of the +/-, or Points per possession.]
Tactical: Defense first!
Psychological: Always hopeful!
https://www.nba.com/thunder/community...
When I passed through Butler's locker room last October, before the start of the 2010-11 season, I saw a sign in each player's locker with the heading, "How We Prepare." It challenged them on points of precision, instructing them to "engage yourself in deep practice," and on points of character, asking, "If you couldn't play at all, would you be a valuable teammate every day?" It challenged them to be the best preparation team in the country. (ix)
The Bulldogs' coaches took it upon themselves to match the level of preparedness they demanded from their players, combining data analysis-Stevens talked about using www.kenpom.com statistics to help figure out the "puzzle" of an opponent-with old-school scouting to create comprehensive game plans. (x)
Tradition is difficult to revive when it's been gone so long. Late in the 20th century, Butler University leaders reasoned that its basketball program could be restored and perhaps have a positive influence on the entire campus. But some suspected Butler was deluded. (6)
[Can I get alumni from the BISAC Champs from 2010 to meet with current players?]
Bill Bradley's Values of the Game-champions have a bond "that selflessness forges"-and has been influenced by As a Man Thinketh, the classic by James Allen published in 1902. (38)
[See also the book: QBT! The Question Behind the Question, a book by John G. Miller about personal accountability. (38)
[Article: Battier Effect]: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/ma...
(103)
In the first half, Butler had 17 defensive rebounds and Cleveland State no offensive rebounds… a statistic almost never seen in the sport. (113)
"As long as you have season left, then the best moments should not be behind you," Stevens said. You need to keep getting better and striving for better." (114)
[See Matt White's web site:] www.cureals.org
Using a special headset, White tapped out each letter on the computer with tiny facial movements. His address began:
Thank you for letting me be a part of your day. It's nice to see many of you again, and great to meet the rest of you.
One of my favorite characters from history is polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. An amazing man, his selfless acts of courage are better known and marveled at today than when they occurred almost 100 years ago. I like Shackleton because he repeatedly overcame impossible odds in a hopeless situation.
In 1914, two years after losing the race to the South Pole, Ernest Shackleton set out to cross the entire continent of Antarctica, a trip of almost 2,000 miles. He and his crew of 27 men left Buenos Aires, Argentina, in (178)
mid-December, late spring in the Southern Hemisphere. On approaching land, Shackleton and crew encountered much more ice than they thought they would. Soon their ship, the Endurance, was hopelessly stuck in the ice pack. The crew spent the rest of that Antarctic summer in a futile attempt to dig themselves free.
Finally, efforts were abandoned and preparations made to winter on the ship. Locked within the ice, the Endurance drifted, all the while being crushed by the moving ice. The ship was sinking. As it did, the men left the relative comfort of their ship behind. With three small lifeboats and all the provisions they could carry, the men set off across the ice in search of navigable water or land. With little food and meager shelter, the men faced near-certain death in the hostile environment.
Against all odds and with another winter upon them, they finally made it to the northern edge of the pack. Encountering open water, the men sailed the three small lifeboats to a remote and barren island called Elephant Island. There was no hope for rescue, so Shackleton chose five men to accompany him on a desperate mission. The closest inhabited island was South Georgia Island, 800 miles away. In a 22-foot lifeboat, they accomplished the impossible, surviving a 17-day journey in the dead of winter, through the world's worst seas. Unbelievably, they made it to South Georgia Island. From there, Shackleton commandeered a larger ship to rescue the men he'd left behind.
Throughout the entire two-year ordeal, not one man was lost.
Much has been written and said about Shackleton and his men. How did they do it? Facing certain death time and again, how did they all survive? I think it was their tremendous resolve to survive. To keep moving on, regardless of the obstacles they faced. They also lived in the moment, never looking back or too far forward. They dealt with only what was in front of them and moved on. They never panicked, either. Regardless of the situation, they trusted in Shackleton and in each other completely. They were a tremendously courageous group of men.
So why am I here, and why did I tell that story? Quite simply, I'm here because you're going to win a national championship, and I want to be here to see it. And the story? The story is all about you, and maybe a little about me. (178-79)
See Hoosiers movie with the team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYon-...
[1:30:00]
"So you have to shoot a contested shot every time you shoot it. Every time there's any degree of penetration, there are at least two people ready to help out against you." [Butler was similar to Bob Knight in that regard.] (184)
Stephens believed in two maxims: (1) You're never as good as you think you are, nor as bad as you think you are, and (2) A good team in your league is going to play better against you than a team that has never seen you before. (246)
The reasons [why Butler is SO successful] were cultural, analytical, tactical, and psychological.
Cultural: "We-over-me" mentality passed on from seniors to freshmen/underclassmen. The five principles as posted in the Men's Basketball locker-room are as follows:
1. Humility - know who we are, strengths and weaknesses
2. Passion - do not be lukewarm, commit to excellence
3. Unity - do not divide our house, team first
4. Servanthood - make teammates better, lead by giving
5. Thankfulness - learn from every circumstance
As far as his Christian faith, Stevens responded: "Don't talk about it. Do it. Be it." (292)
Analytical: Assess various stats. [Think of the +/-, or Points per possession.]
Tactical: Defense first!
Psychological: Always hopeful!
https://www.nba.com/thunder/community...
April 8, 2024
A storybook season of the Butler Bulldogs first run at a national title game appearance. Great insight to how Brad Stevens runs a program and the types of players he recruits.
December 26, 2016
La Crosse Public Library has a book about the 2010 Butler run, of course I had to read it! The author had a lot of access, and this book does a good job providing the behind the scenes story of the run to the finals. Woods also wrote a book about Butler basketball history, so that is on my list too.
May 30, 2013
This book highlights the miracle journey of the Butler Bulldogs basketball team. From being one of the biggest underdogs in college basketball, the bulldogs used team work to become one of the best teams in the country. A school that has less than 5,000 people (which is less than some high schools) competed with schools up to 25 times larger. They were almost unknown in college sports for a very long time; they couldn’t rely on talent to win basketball games. They had to get under rated players, who had been rejected by bigger schools. And they would need to practice at high intensity very often. This is their only option if they want to competitively compete at the Division 1 level. They used this technique to rally through the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament. They eventually reached the championship game against the number one team in the country, the Duke Blue Devils. The Blue devils have about five times as many students that Butler, and have been known to be a basketball powerhouse for the past several decades. Butler went in the Underdog against the best college coach of all time. They went into that game, and played their hearts out, they left everything they had right there on the basketball court, and in the end only lost by two points. They lost by two when Butler missed a game winning three pointer as time expired. The shot was less than 6 inches away from going in. The only thing that stood in their way from a National tile is six inches!
December 12, 2012
Before 2010 many people didn't even know who Butler was, much less where they're from. But in 2010, every sporing fan was searching Butler on google. These underdogs against over 100 to 1 odds cracked into the final four, and made the NCAA Divisions 1 college basketball championship. Not only did they do this in 2010, but in 2011 as well. Everybody thought that they would lose one game after another. Yet these men just kept on winning with a passion. Not only did Butler defy odds, but they did it under unfavorable circumstances. They have one of the smallest budgets in Division 1, and many recruits have never even heard of Butler. This book shows how Butler, led by 30 year old coach Brad Stevens defied all the odds of being an underdog.
February 22, 2013
Coach Stevens is one of the best coaches in the country. He's an excellent motivator who knows how to push his kids to their limits, knows the game and reacts accordingly with an unbelievable composure and gentleness. He showed his loyalty when signed a 12 year contract with the Dawgs and he'll continue to recruit nice kids without big recruiting budget, orchestrate menacing defenses and battle fiercely college behemoths like Duke, Kentyky, Kansas and Michigan State.
This book is a thorough look into the deep 2010 run, presents interesting stories on how Stevens took his current job, how he recruits kids and how big of an achievement was Butler's run for the fans, media and of course the community.
This book is a thorough look into the deep 2010 run, presents interesting stories on how Stevens took his current job, how he recruits kids and how big of an achievement was Butler's run for the fans, media and of course the community.
November 16, 2015
Trying to chronicle a season of basketball can be a daunting assignment but this was an interesting account of Butler's miracle season that took them all the way to the championship game. Included in the almost play-by-play recap of games were background asides on the players, the coach and Butler history. That kept the game summaries from becoming too boring. The highlight was of course the Bulldogs run through the NCAA tournament ending in the final game against Duke. Here the author does a great job describing not only the game but also the reactions of people who were part of the Butler family. In the end it was all about "the Butler way."
June 20, 2011
As I sort of expected, more promotional than investigative. I feel like Brad Stevens could have killed a few people and it would have been overlooked in this book. That being said, I learned a lot, though there was a little too much play-by-play for my liking (then again, I have a good sports memory and simply didn’t need it as much as others probably would). It became even more fun for me when Butler, a week after I finished reading, began their second straight run to the Final Four; truly amazing.
October 14, 2013
I let a lot of time pass before I read this for some reason. I think it gave me time for me to get over the loss.
It was nice to be transported to the past when the Bulldogs were in the first of their two NCAA finals appearances by David's compelling book. I was teaching on campus both years and the mood on campus was electric.
Any fan of the Bulldogs would love this book.
It was nice to be transported to the past when the Bulldogs were in the first of their two NCAA finals appearances by David's compelling book. I was teaching on campus both years and the mood on campus was electric.
Any fan of the Bulldogs would love this book.
June 30, 2014
This book primarily focused on the 2010 Butler Bulldogs basketball season. I really liked when it provided background on the people and the program. I liked it less when it provided play-by-play of several games. This is a fantastic sports (and life) story, and I am very lucky to have watched them play their regional games in Salt Lake City. This book gave me a chance to relive the excitement.
June 19, 2012
fun to see what the small school get to go through on their cinderella run through the NCAA national tournament
October 14, 2012
Great sports book about a great team. Excellent description of "The Butler Way."
March 21, 2014
Very well researched book about a truly great team & coach. Butler is a perfect example of the good side of college sports.
November 1, 2014
Love this story (and Brad Stevens). Wasn't a huge fan of this book, the writing or the structure.
March 13, 2015
Great way to relive that amazing basketball season! I'll never forget being at that game and watching the confetti fall. Proud to be a Bulldog!!
March 28, 2017
Good book if you want Butler basketball history and recent success. Very dry though. Felt like a textbook at times.
March 21, 2018
If you read The Butler Way, this is almost the same. Still an enjoyable read about a very good coach.
February 6, 2019
Must read for college basketball fans and butler fans
The butler way
The butler way
March 2, 2019
Heavier on game recaps than a look into Stevens' leadership or program building, but still enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews