"duke of the midwest"

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TJames

The JSW Level
as I was driving around the west side of Indianapolis on Friday morning, I was listening to the Dan Dakich Show on the car radio...imagine the look on my face....when I hear a caller actually ask Dan about Butler being...and I kid you not...."the Duke of the Midwest".....lol.....

I laughed when I heard that...since I have been taking some good-natured heat from some of the posters here for using that term last year and this year.....I had initially read that term a year ago on a Butler fan website.....and I thought it was funny then...just as I do now....lol....I know that some people probably thought that I had made it up....lol....or was exaggerating....lol.....
 

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All I gotta say is :censored: Butler. Congrats, you get lucky and make the Final Four. It was a fluke. They will be lucky to make it out of the first round next year. :censored: Butler!
 
Duke of the Midwest.....I don't see how it doesn't happen. Stevens no longer (like ISU) has to look for the best two star players. The sky is the limit for him. If he doesn't get Cody Zeller, then he'll get another Blue Chip player, and then another Blue Chip player after that.

His recruiting classes from here on out will resemble the best recruiting classes in the country for schools that graduate 80 - 90% of their players.

Stevens won't go after Kentucky one-and-done players, but the best of the rest that can play ball, and go to class with class.

Have blinders on all you want, and hate the Bulldogs...but success builds success.....especially with a genius coach like Stevens. Players want to play at a winner and players want to play for the best coaches. Period..

The bitter and tragic part of this story that I hear is our total failure to not have had a coach like Stevens and a AD like Collier in 1979.

And if you want to talk about flukes, how do you get to the Championship game with a rinkydink coach like Hodges? There's your fluke.
 
Gotta Hav said:
Duke of the Midwest.....I don't see how it doesn't happen. Stevens no longer (like ISU) has to look for the best two star players. The sky is the limit for him. If he doesn't get Cody Zeller, then he'll get another Blue Chip player, and then another Blue Chip player after that.

His recruiting classes from here on out will resemble the best recruiting classes in the country for schools that graduate 80 - 90% of their players.

Stevens won't go after Kentucky one-and-done players, but the best of the rest that can play ball, and go to class with class.

Have blinders on all you want, and hate the Bulldogs...but success builds success.....especially with a genius coach like Stevens. Players want to play at a winner and players want to play for the best coaches. Period..

The bitter and tragic part of this story that I hear is our total failure to not have had a coach like Stevens and a AD like Collier in 1979.

And if you want to talk about flukes, how do you get to the Championship game with a rinkydink coach like Hodges? There's your fluke.
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Don't forget, it was only four years ago that the whole world thought SIU was taking the step to being an "elite" program. We've all watched them swirl down the drain.

Point is, there is nothing even close to guaranteed at the mid-major level of college basketball. And yes, Butler will still be a mid-major. These things tend to be cyclical, and our friends to the east will probably end up in the crapper again. That's just the nature of the beast.

Frankly, I truly admire them for what they've accomplished. I hope that's us in a few years. We've got the coach to do it, with a couple of the right players, we could be there. But you just have to give Butler credit for a job well done in building a program, not just a team.

I still hate them, though...:violent::bigsmile:
 

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You guys sound Like Dickie V, oh Butler won't get out of the first round against UTEP. Well they made it to the National Championship game beating 3 of the best teams in college basketball. They only lose 3 players, and which 1 didn't really play, plus the talent they have coming in. Butler will make another run at the Final Four next year. The way that I see it, that every that Butler has Stevens, Butler has a chance to win it all.
 
Yeah 28, this is retarded lol...I am thinking maybe you, as a more of a fan of the big time schools, should probably start rooting for at this website....
http://www.wildcatnation.net/forum/
Stop getting mad that your beloved wildcats lost to a team without one of their best players lol...This is ridiculous the people who hate Butler are the ones talking about how much they hate Butler than people who say they are awesome...people who keep talking about are whiney little women...get over it...
 
Why the hate on Hodges?

Gotta Hav said:
Duke of the Midwest.....I don't see how it doesn't happen. Stevens no longer (like ISU) has to look for the best two star players. The sky is the limit for him. If he doesn't get Cody Zeller, then he'll get another Blue Chip player, and then another Blue Chip player after that.

His recruiting classes from here on out will resemble the best recruiting classes in the country for schools that graduate 80 - 90% of their players.

Stevens won't go after Kentucky one-and-done players, but the best of the rest that can play ball, and go to class with class.

Have blinders on all you want, and hate the Bulldogs...but success builds success.....especially with a genius coach like Stevens. Players want to play at a winner and players want to play for the best coaches. Period..

The bitter and tragic part of this story that I hear is our total failure to not have had a coach like Stevens and a AD like Collier in 1979.

And if you want to talk about flukes, how do you get to the Championship game with a rinkydink coach like Hodges? There's your fluke.
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Was he in over his head? Probably; why didn't the 'powers that be' increase the MBB budget to hire an ass't to recruit.

In some ways, I'd put Hodges in the same class as Steve Lavin at UCLA; Lavin (like Hodges) was the junior guy on the staff, no? Harrick is forced out (along w/ 1-2 more experienced Ass'ts) King was 'forced out' by a medical issue; the top ass't (help me out on the name TJ...) was p**sed that King passed him over to give the job to Hodges (mainly because King felt he would return to coaching); King couldn't return, Hodges kept the job; recruits didn't pan out; Landini clamped down on transfers because of Billy ***ker's carping, 2-3 years later, Hodges is out.

I blame the ENTIRE State community for not building on the success of the Bird-era; it certainly wasn't solely Hodges' fault.

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of Hodges' BUT I understand enough of the situation, that I refuse to simply blame him -- it's a cop out.
 
Rest easy TJ

TJames said:
as I was driving around the west side of Indianapolis on Friday morning, I was listening to the Dan Dakich Show on the car radio...imagine the look on my face....when I hear a caller actually ask Dan about Butler being...and I kid you not...."the Duke of the Midwest".....lol.....

I laughed when I heard that...since I have been taking some good-natured heat from some of the posters here for using that term last year and this year.....I had initially read that term a year ago on a Butler fan website.....and I thought it was funny then...just as I do now....lol....I know that some people probably thought that I had made it up....lol....or was exaggerating....lol.....
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that caller to the dikich show was likely a butler fan!
 
4Q_iu said:
King was 'forced out' by a medical issue; the top ass't (help me out on the name TJ...) was p**sed that King passed him over to give the job to Hodges (mainly because King felt he would return to coaching); King couldn't return, Hodges kept the job; recruits didn't pan out; Landini clamped down on transfers because of Billy ***ker's carping, 2-3 years later, Hodges is out.

I blame the ENTIRE State community for not building on the success of the Bird-era; it certainly wasn't solely Hodges' fault.

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of Hodges' BUT I understand enough of the situation, that I refuse to simply blame him -- it's a cop out.
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Pretty decent take on that situation, 4Q! There was lots of blame to go around...
 

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IndyTreeFan said:
Pretty decent take on that situation, 4Q! There was lots of blame to go around...
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well, to me, it's just a damn shame that there wasn't a 10-20 year VISION of what those 3 years with Bird COULD have meant; naturally, it today's environment, LB would have been well known by the middle of his Soph season; today, his SR season may have been this 3rd trip to the NCAA, not his first.

Landini should have been camped out at Lu Meis' and Max Gibson's tables working on a plan to build, build, build (more pub., $$$ and enrollment than physical infrastructure)

Still think the est. of iupui more than isue did more to hamper State.
 
i agree that indiana state didn't take advantage of the 1979 season....

hodges was chosen for the job over an assistant by the name of stan evans....and, yes, he was pissed that he didn't get the head coaching job...and quit...walked out on the team...which left isu without any fulltime assistant coaches....who could go out and recruit during the 1978-79 season....they had mel daniels, who was a volunteer coach...they had danny king and terry thimlar, who were both graduate assistants.....

when they did finally hire a full time assistant after the season, earl diddle, he was in charge of recruiting.....supposedly....and he went hard after junior college players.....when they did go after high school talent.....they more often than not went after blue chippers instead of sticking to the kind of players who had gotten them to the great season.....they got away from their recruiting base....and when they did get back to kids after the fact, those kids had already comitted or signed with the likes of butler, ball state, evansville or eastern illinois....

and then there was also the kevin thompson tragedy...a top-notch local player from th south...a 6-9 kid who was an all-stater...an indiana all-star....isu's hayward potentially...who never played a game for isu due to cancer....he died within a few months....the cancer was discovered during his freshman year pre-season physical.....

and, finally, i just wish that since that this is an indiana state athletics website, we can actually support indiana state teams...its not blinders....its called loyalty to the school...and loyalty to the program......

in some ways, butler got lucky in recruiting hayward and howard....just like isu got lucky in getting bird.....hayward reportedly was headed to purdue...until purdue said he would be redshirted....and wouldn't be able to major in engineering.....he wanted to play right away...and he wanted to major in engineering.....as for howard, he was supposedly headed to indiana.....but that was right smack dab in the middle of the kelvin sampson mess....

so butler was in the right place at the right time....and got two kids who have helped to elevate their program.....and before we crown the butler coach as king for a day...lol.....we must remember that he took over a program that was already pretty darn good.....through the hard work of barry collier, thad matta and todd lickliter....he took over a proven winner....
 
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TJames said:
hodges was chosen for the job over an assistant by the name of stan evans....and, yes, he was pissed that he didn't get the head coaching job...and quit...walked out on the team...which left isu without any fulltime assistant coaches....who could go out and recruit during the 1978-79 season....they had mel daniels, who was a volunteer coach...they had danny king and terry thimlar, who were both graduate assistants.....

when they did finally hire a full time assistant after the season, earl diddle, he was in charge of recruiting.....supposedly....and he went hard after junior college players.....when they did go after high school talent.....they more often than not went after blue chippers instead of sticking to the kind of players who had gotten them to the great season.....they got away from their recruiting base....and when they did get back to kids after the fact, those kids had already comitted or signed with the likes of butler, ball state, evansville or eastern illinois....

and then there was also the kevin thompson tragedy...a top-notch local player from th south...a 6-9 kid who was an all-stater...an indiana all-star....isu's hayward potentially...who never played a game for isu due to cancer....he died within a few months....the cancer was discovered during his freshman year pre-season physical.....

and, finally, i just wish that since that this is an indiana state athletics website, we can actually support indiana state teams...its not blinders....its called loyalty to the school...and loyalty to the program......

in some ways, butler got lucky in recruiting hayward and howard....just like isu got lucky in getting bird.....hayward reportedly was headed to purdue...until purdue said he would be redshirted....and wouldn't be able to major in engineering.....he wanted to play right away...and he wanted to major in engineering.....as for howard, he was supposedly headed to indiana.....but that was right smack dab in the middle of the kelvin sampson mess....

so butler was in the right place at the right time....and got two kids who have helped to elevate their program.....and before we crown the butler coach as king for a day...lol.....we must remember that he took over a program that was already pretty darn good.....through the hard work of barry collier, thad matta and todd lickliter....he took over a proven winner....
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believe me when i say matt howard was never headed to indiana. it pretty much came down to miami and butler and i don't think he was ever headed to miami
 
ok dr....was just going by what brad stephens said on the dan dakich show last week..

and dakich agreed. maybe the butler coach doesnt know everything. lol....
 

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yeah...the good doctor even knows more than the butler coach himself...lol...

and he was the guy that i initially heard it from...on dakich's show....dan must have drugged him or something....lol....from the doctor's little black bag.....lol....
 
Either way, I love that there are more posts on hereabout "complaining about Butler topics" than there are about ISU sports and they are started by the people who are complaining about the Dawgs and also say, "Let's get back to talking about ISU sports...." LOL
 
TJames said:
and he was the guy that i initially heard it from...on dakich's show....dan must have drugged him or something....lol....from the doctor's little black bag.....lol....
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TJ,

I was an FHSAA hoop official during the '82-83 season in Brevard, FL...and you're on the money re: Diddle's pursuit of Blue Chip players. I personally phoned and spoke w/ him re: Merritt Island's 7'0" WILL PERDUE (who ultimately signed w/ Vanderbilt), and Diddle was having communication with Perdue re: ISU! By the way...ISU hoop & Bird was still very visible throughout America during this time period!
 
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