The Making of a Coaching Legend – Brad Stevens

“I couldn’t have asked them to do anything more.” Brad Stevens

The Making of a Coaching Legend: Brad Stevens –  Head Coach of the Butler Bulldogs

My first memory of Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens has him soaring sky-high to chest bump a player after a big win in last season’s tournament. It would be easy to drop a lot of stats about Stevens, the second youngest coach to make it to the NCAA Championship game, but stats don’t make the man. This article is about desire – having the conviction to chase that big dream deep inside you, the one you should never give up on.

Brad Stevens worked for the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, a great job, but not his dream. In one bold move, he changed everything, and in doing so, he changed his destiny. Stevens quit his great paying job, took a job at Applebee’s restaurant and planned to move into a friend’s basement. Why? Because he was offered the opportunity to volunteer in the Butler basketball office: Yep – Volunteer. That’s how bad he wanted it, he was willing to sacrifice everything, and demonstrate the conviction needed to capture those distant dreams hearts can only whisper about. Coach Stevens met his destiny halfway and the forces of the universe responded with a series of fortunate events that led to him to his dream.

What a Legend looks like in the Making: Brad Stevens has arrived

You hear a lot of shop talk about Stevens as an emerging coach, the truth is, he has already arrived. Stevens has drawn many comparisons to the late great John Wooden, for his stoic nature on the sidelines. He is an image of calm, like Wooden, never up or down, always keeping his cool. He believes in his players and knows they will be there in the 4^th. In last year’s tournament, both Syracuse and Kansas State went on big runs against Butler. Butler’s Willie Veasley explained: “Coach called a timeout and said a few calm words. Then he said he believes in us, he loves us and we’re going to win the game.” And of course they did.

Coach Stevens knows his players as well as any coach in the tournament. The rapport he has built with his team is reflected in the play of Butler’s bench players. Stevens always knows the right timing to unleash his backups, trusting freshman like Khyle Marshall to give Butler a necessary spark that triggered a comeback against Florida in Saturday’s match-up. Butler’s reserves outscored their Florida counterparts 23-2.

With Coach Brad Stevens signing a long term deal with the Bulldogs, extending his contract through the 2021–22 season, we can kiss Cinderella’s glass slipper good-bye and expect the emergence of a new dynasty.  A dynasty founded on team play, bold conviction, and Championship dreams. “First and foremost, I’m loyal to Butler,” Stevens said.  When asked if he would ever leave Butler, Stevens replied “I guess if they kicked me out.”

With a winning record of 116-24 over 4 years, something tells me they’re going to let him stay as long as he likes. When someone asked him if his second consecutive trip to the Final Four was “unbelievable”: “Believable is a better term,” Stevens said. “It’s a more positive term. It makes you live life a little bit better. It makes you more thankful for the opportunities.”

If Stevens can win on Saturday and Monday – Butler might as well just put up a statue right now….

Hail Coach Stevens… Go Bulldogs!