Sports Poets Society

AP - Jan 15, 2016 at 12:52p ET  Even after Andrew Smith's basketball career at Butler ended in 2013 , he remained an influential part of the program right up until his death from cancer this week .  Looking to halt their early Big East woes, the No. 23 Bulldogs can use Smith's legacy as inspiration Saturday while trying to extend a school-record losing streak for visiting St. John's to 9 games.  A member of Butler's national runner-up teams in 2010 and 2011, the 6-foot-11 (2,09 m) Smith started 103 games and scored 1,147 points in his 4 seasons with the Bulldogs. Smith was diagnosed with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma early in 2014 , but still spent time with the Bulldogs (12-4, 1-3) last season and was in attendance for their 74-68 win over then-No. 9 Purdue on Dec. 19 at nearby Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  "It meant so much to our players (for him to be at that game), those who played with him and those who got to know him through this...

STARTERS #1 TYLER LEWIS  - G, 5-11, 170, R-Jr.  Statesville, N.C./Oak Hill Academy  North Carolina State Transfer from North Carolina State 2012 McDonald’s All-American Eighth in NCAA in Asst/TO Ratio (4.06)  His .860 FT% is sixth in BIG EAST #24 KELLEN DUNHAM - G, 6-6, 200, Sr.  Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights Five 20-point games this season  Led the Bulldogs in scoring in 6 games  Tenth in nation in FT%  Leads team at 15.3ppg  #21 ROOSEVELT JONES - G/F, 6-4, 225, R-Sr. O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon Top 10 in five BIG EAST stat categories  Six double-doubles this season  Top 10 in Butler career assists & rebounds  Started 117 consecutive games #45 ANDREW CHRABASCZ - F, 6-7, 235, Jr. Portsmouth, R.I./Cushing Academy 4th on team in both scoring and rebounding  First career double-double against Temple  Season-high 19 pts vs. Indiana State #4 TYLER WIDEMAN - F, 6-8, 245, So....

#AndrewSmithStrong:  Butler stand-out Andrew Smith passed away Tuesday (Jan. 12) morning after a two-year battle with cancer. Smith was a member of Butler’s basketball teams from the 2009-10 through 2012-13 seasons. He was a member of both national championship game teams (2010, 2011) and an Academic All-American . He is one of three players in program history to record both 100 wins and 1,000 career points. A memorial service is planned for Sunday. Butler will wear a uniform patch in tribute to Andrew for the remainder of the season. At Saturday’s game, a video tribute and moment of silence are planned.  Saturday’s game is also the third annual Stay Positive game, which is an organization founded by cancer survivor Eric Day. Proceeds from several in-game fundraisers will benefit the Smith Family.  ‘ROSE’ TO THE OCCASION:  Roosevelt Jones scored the final 10 points of the game for Butler in Saturday’s narrow defeat to Villanova . He finished the game with...

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/2016/01/15/heavy-hearts-butler-take-st-johns/78800878/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin= Scholarship Fund . His widow, Samantha , posted on Twitter: “Andrew LOVED Butler. I am so honored and proud that this will be established in his name; it's a wonderful tribute.” Players from Covenant Christian, where Smith played in high school, were to wear jerseys from his senior season in Friday’s game against Plainfield – including No. 33, which had not been worn since Smith graduated. It has been the delicate task of Chris Holtmann, who did not coach Andrew Smith , to honor Smith’s memory while at the same time managing emotions of Butler players and preparing them for a Big East schedule. Players, who will wear “AS44” patches for the rest of the season , gathered after practice Wednesday to share and hear stories of the former Bulldog center. The Butler coach has an ally in Curt Smith, father of Andrew . ...

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2016/1/15/10774342/game-preview-st-johns-at-butler Johnnies Storm into Hinkle Fieldhouse in search of their first Big East Win. By Sam Gutnik  @sam_gutnik on Jan 15, 2016, 8:52a Both the Johnnies and the Butler Bulldogs will be desperate for a Big East win when they meet this upcoming Saturday. The Johnnies come into this game 7-11 overall (0-5) in Big East play. Johnnies seek to get on the win column in the Big East and snap an 8 game losing streak which is the longest in their basketball program's history . Coach Chris Mullin understands where his team stands and preaches experience as an important factor in the teams development. "We knew this was going to be a tough year. Just look at our roster, that's what it's going to be. When we get more experience, then all these things are gonna come back and be valuable to us. We'll look back on it and say it was worth it," said Mullin via the New York...

http://www.coxhub.com/articles/ranking-the-big-east-teams-in-two-sentences-or-less By Daniel James — 12/29/15 2:07 PM The names on the front don't change, but the names on the back certainly do, and with the way things have shaken out in the OOC, there's even more to consider than what was thought in the original preseason predictions. But while anyone could spend eons talking about the in's and out's of each team, how many can do this ranking with a minimalist style? Here's how I'm ranking the Big East teams, in two sentences or less. 1. Xavier:  Way underrated in the preseason , which is scary because they were not that underrated to begin with. Five guys averaging double digits, a deep (DEEP) bench, and a top-level coach has me very scared of the Musketeers. 2. Villanova:  A solid team that, despite a few early losses, is terrifying-good when their game is clicking , and still better than most when it's not. I don't need to go ...

Butler Bulldongs' A.J. Graves, left, passes the ball off against Tennessee Volunteers' JaJuan Smith during the second half during the semifinals of the NIT basketball competition Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Butler won 56-44. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (Photo: AP) http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/butler-insider/2015/12/09/revisiting-butler-vs-tennessee-4-games-mattered/77059766/ by  David Woods ,  david.woods@indystar.com 5:52 p.m. EST December 9, 2015 Butler and Tennessee are not natural rivals in college basketball , and their series consists of just four games . But all four have been consequential. The teams meet again at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Fox Sports 1). Recapping the Dawgs/Vols games: Dec. 20, 1958: Butler 81, Tennessee 66 (Excerpted from The Butler Way .) This was supposed to be a homecoming for Tennessee coach Emmett Lowery , an Indianapolis native who had st...

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/butler-insider/2015/12/09/revisiting-butler-vs-tennessee-4-games-mattered/77059766/ Butler Bulldongs' A.J. Graves , left, passes the ball off against Tennessee Volunteers' JaJuan Smith during the second half during the semifinals of the NIT basketball competition Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Butler won 56-44 .  by  David Woods , david.woods@indystar.com  5:15 p.m. EST December 11, 2015 Former Butler coach Brad Stevens grew up cheering for Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers , who played man-to-man defense exclusively . There were four-letter words uttered during IU basketball practices, but “zone” was not one of them. Coach Chris Holtmann unashamedly has borrowed on Butler traditions developed by Stevens, who in turn built on the legacies of Todd Lickliter, Thad Matta and Barry Collier . There has been one deviation: It is OK to use the Z-word. So when the Te...

AP - Dec 11, 2015 at 6:17p ET  Butler had last season's promising start ended with an upset at Tennessee , but the Volunteers are visiting Indianapolis this time and under new leadership.  Vols coach Rick Barnes will face the 18th-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday for the first time since they ended his lengthy tenure at Texas , but his new team might have trouble keeping up with one of its leading scorers out.  Butler (7-1) heads into this rematch in fine form after a 93-66 rout of VMI on Monday . The Bulldogs hit a season-high 10 three-pointers while nudging their scoring average up to 91.4 .  Bulldogs' Kelan Martin had 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench . The sophomore forward has totaled 44 points and made 18 of 24 shots in the past two games.  Butler also had its best scoring performance and most assists (19) in the last six games.  "We have some versatility and when we're playing well, we...

http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/basketball/lineups-tennessee-at-butler_80659347 Records:  Tennessee 4-3, Butler 7-1 Coaches:  Butler, Chris Holtmann (47-54, 30-12 at Butler);  Tennessee, Rick Barnes (608-317, 4-3 at UT). Series: Tied, 2-2 BUTLER TENNESSEE Player Yr. Ht. Key stats Pos. Player Yr. Ht. Key stats 1 Tyler Lewis RsJr. 5-11 9.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg  ---   G   --- 0 Kevin Punter Jr. Sr. 6-2 22.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg  24 Kellen Dunham Sr. 6-6 20.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg --- G --- 15 Detrick Mostella So. 6-1 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg 21 Roosevelt Jones RsSr 6-4 12.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg - G - 34 Devon Baulkman Sr. 6-4 10.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg  4 Tyler Wideman So. 6-8 9.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg --- F --- 4 Armani Moore Sr. 6-4 15.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg 45 Andrew Chrabascz Jr. 6-7 13.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg --- F --- 23 Derek Reese Sr. 6-7 3.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg The Skinny:  Tennessee spent much of its two-week break between games focusing on improved de...

http://www.rockytoptalk.com/2015/12/11/9888302/tennessee-vs-butler-preview The Vols return to action to face a Top 20 team on the road By Will Shelton @wshelton2 on Dec 11, 2015, 8:00a After a two week break for final exams the basketball Vols are back in action tomorrow at #18 Butler . The break was made especially long by Tennessee's outcome in Brooklyn: a close call against now 8-1 George Washington , then an 11 point loss to Nebraska . The Vols' weaknesses in the interior were exposed in both games , and in the interim pseudo-post Jabari McGhee transferred out of the program.  George Washington's only loss came in the Brooklyn final to #23 Cincinnati, and Cincinnati's only loss came against #18 Butler. The Bulldogs' only loss came to #17 Miami ; Butler is currently 27th in KenPom and running the nation's eighth best offense by their metrics.  Last year the Bulldogs came into Knoxville ranked 15th , but Donnie Tyndall's Vols u...

"The Butler Way". Alla mitica Hinkle Fieldhouse, quella del film Hoosiers, nello spogliatoio dei Bulldogs c'è un cartello con quella scritta. E' il "sistema", di basket e di vita, creato alla Butler da "Tony Hinkle", leggendario coach a cui l'arena è intitolata. E quale miglior tributo al basket di college che aprire lì, contro i Volunteers di Tennessee, la stagione della NCAA - live in italiano - su Fox Sports. La squadra al secondo anno con coach Chris Holtmann contro i ragazzi alla prima stagione con Rick Barnes, che si è lasciato sbattendo la porta dopo 17 stagioni con Texas, dove per questioni di budget volevano ridurgli lo staff tecnico. Butler è una potenza della Big East conference, e squadra molto interessante. Tennessee, un programma che riparte dal terzo allenatore in tre stagioni e può essere la sorpresa nella SouthEastern Conference. Potrebbe finire tanti a pochi, ma anche no: mai sottovalutare le squadre di coach Barnes, uno ch...

Butler University was founded as North Western Christian by Ovid Butler in 1855 .  He choose "Christians" as the school mascot.  Sometime after the school had been rename in honor of its founder, Butler was suffering a poor football season in 1919 . As losses mounted, people grew wary of the "Christians" nickname. Before a big game against the rival Franklin "Baptists", the Butler Collegian was trying to conceive of a way to fire people up when "Shimmy", a bulldog owned by one of the fraternities, wandered into their office. Shimmy inspired cartoonist George Dickson to draw a bulldog labeled "Butler" taking a bite out of John The Baptist . Butler lost the game, but the nickname "Bulldogs" stuck.  Eventually, the bulldog was selected as the official mascot of the university. For many years, Butler had unofficial live bulldog mascots that kept by various fraternities .  In 2000, Butler Blue became the school'...

Height:                 6-4 Weight:               225 Year:     RS Senior Hometown:       O'Fallon, Ill. High School:       O'Fallon Position:              G/F *Named Second Team All-BIG EAST in 2014-15. Quick Hits: •Named one of 15 finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation’s best small forward. •Honorable mention preseason All-BIG EAST. •Named to the 2014-15 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 8, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26. •Sat out the 2013-14 season as a medical red-shirt (wrist injury suffered during team’s summer trip to Australia). •Lone Butler player to start all 36 games in 2012-13. •Named to the 2012-13 Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive Team. •Picked to the 2012-...

Height:                 6-8 Weight:               246 Year:     Sophomore Hometown:       Schererville, Ind. High School:       Lake Central Position:              F Quick Hits: • First recruit signed by Butler head coach Brandon Miller. •Member of the 2014 Indiana All-Star Team. •Northwest Indiana Times Player of the Year •2014 First Team All-State. 2014-15 Highlights:  Played in all 34 games, including five as a starter...scored eight points in 14 minutes against Maine in his first collegiate game...had four rebounds and career-highs of two blocked shots and two steals against Loyola Maryland...came off the bench with six points and three rebounds in seven minutes against Georgetow...