Butler and Duke put on a show in Indianapolis. But does their game deserve a place among the most memorable contests in NCAA history?
Jeff Newton
Monday night’s national championship game defied expectations for all the right reasons. Despite the noticeable absence of lottery level names, offensive creativity or transition buckets, Butler and Duke squeezed a tournament’s worth of drama into one, forty minute bare knuckle brawl. In a final matchup few anticipated, the intriguing moments and storylines slowly stacked up, one right after the other. Butler forward Avery Jukes ignited the underdog Bulldogs with two quick threes off the bench. Duke center Brian Zoubek, the oft injured but utterly resilient senior, put his stamp on the contest with a slew of must have rebounds. And of course, the moment that will stand the test of time, Gordon Hayward’s half court heave that missed the bottom of the net, and an immediate place in NCAA immortality, by this much. All in all, an absolute treat of a college basketball game.
The big bully Blue Devils own another championship yet this time, Goliath was a good guy too. Butler lost in front of millions, but gained a level of admiration reserved for the most loveable of underdogs. Mike Krzyzewski placed a marathon’s distance between himself and everyone else in the debate of “best college coach not named Wooden.” Some argue he even put a 5K between himself and the Wizard of Westwood. CBS received a golden goose from a 1 seed no one trusted and a 5 seed everyone overlooked. Butler showed up, Duke showed up, and the momentum rarely shifted in either direction. If the NCAA operated like a pick up game, where a team has to win by two buckets, they’d still be playing well into next week. This thing was more even than the number zero. There’s a mountain of good to take away from such a positive outcome, especially when initial expectations called for a lopsided, lifeless blowout. We’ll remember the Bulldogs playing up to the elite competition and the good basketball played by good college players and we’ll even forgive Hayward for not calling bank while his desperation shot arced toward the hoop. Before we file “Duke 61- Butler 59” away as the greatest college basketball atmosphere of all time, however, let’s set the record straight on some important details.
For starters, this game deserves all the superlatives due to the off the charts energy, the consistent tension and the big moments. The praise heaped on both teams comes from the competitive nature of Monday’s night performance. Duke and Butler both displayed blue collar, half court, defense above all else efforts that played out surprisingly well on television. At times, though, both teams functioned without fluidity. The Bulldogs mustered just one field goal in the last ten minutes of regulation. Duke finished a mere 10 for 16 from the free throw line and 5 for 17 from three. Only Singler consistently got to his spots and delivered the big shots. Hayward finished just 2-11 from the floor and Matt Howard, Butler’s other big name, fought the foul trouble bug from tip off to the final horn. It seemed wherever he moved on the floor, a referee’s whistle was sure to follow. Down by just one, with the ball in the final fifteen seconds, Brad Steven’s team could only manage a contested baseline fall away from Hayward with seven seconds left. The shot nearly fell, but the look was dicey at best. While never sloppy, the workmanlike pace provided few “WOW!” moments or You Tube worthy highlights. While that may be just the way Coach K and Stevens like it, the showdown lacked the “poetry in motion” factor. Finesse quickly faded as grittiness took over. The drama was always there, just not the beauty.
Then there’s the Cinderella performance, which the Bulldogs nailed. Still, it’s a role they didn’t deserve to play. Butler, a Horizon League program from Indianapolis, simply owns too great a track record to deserve such a label. Unlike George Mason, who essentially came out of nowhere in their 2003 final four run, Butler has been on the national radar for quite some time. The Bulldogs have made four consecutive tournament appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen in 2007. They drew a 5 seed this year that many pundits criticized as too low. Hayward’s name appears on plenty of first round NBA mock drafts and Stevens has been a hot commodity for almost every big conference program with a vacant coaching position. They’re a good team; we know this. They weren’t the favorites, but the “Hoosiers” comparisons are way over the top. Had Hayward scored from forty five feet out, the miracle on hardwood would have been unwarranted; partly because Butler’s too damn good and partly because Duke lacked a dominant pedigree.
From November to selection day, Duke couldn’t shake their reputation. They were a good team, better than most and far from the best, destined to play just well enough to lose in the sweet sixteen or the elite eight. Even with an ACC championship and top 5 national ranking to their name, many critics gawked when the tournament committee granted the Blue Devils a number one seed. They weren’t the strongest team in the dance, even their big names like Jon Scheyer, Singler or Nolan Smith will likely miss out on the NBA’s first round, yet for the past three weeks, no one could touch them. They played the best team basketball, hands down. The crunch time plays came from everyone. Their focus and discipline never wavered. Little hints, such as the smooth way they switch on defense or the way the big men help the perimeter guys on the baseline, indicated just how well they function as a unit. As always, the credit should go to Coach K.
Krzyzewski took a team of decent talent and molded it into a deserving champion. Whether it was Zoubek wrestling in the paint, Singler aggressively maneuvering from the wing or Scheyer relishing his role as the lead distributer, every Duke play demonstrated Krzyzewski’s masterful basketball touch. He strangled every ounce of potential out of this year’s Blue Devil lineup. His fourth title is, without a doubt, his sweetest one to date. He’s the best in the college business; let’s lay the argument to rest.
As a sports culture, we never exhibit the proper foresight and perspective. Our minds automatically deem good championship games, like this year’s Super Bowl or last night’s battle, as the GREATEST OF ALL TIME. Let’s take a few weeks and see if Butler/ Duke 2010 still deserves the accolades it’s already received. The ranking may drop but the good feelings shouldn’t shift. What a magical ending to another spectacular NCAA tournament. See, I’m just as guilty as the next guy.
Zoubek’s Goubeks