INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Matthew Graves has had a tough week.
He’s working those crazy hours, trying to do his job as a Butler assistant coach and still stay out of the spotlight during the Bulldogs’ stirring run to Monday night’s NCAA championship game against Duke.
His task? Come up with a perfect game plan to take down the Blue Devils. Figure out a way to stop 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek, along with the sharp-shooting Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler.
“I got about four hours of sleep last night,” Graves said Sunday. “Probably, conservatively, I’ve watched 20 to 25 hours of Duke film this week. What I’ve noticed is that the teams that have had success against them is that they take care of the basketball.”
At Butler, nobody is better at finding a path to victory than Graves.
f the biggest upset in this year’s wacky tournament. One more win would put Butler in a class with Villanova and North Carolina State as the biggest surprise champions ever.
Not surprisingly, 33-year-old head coach Brad Stevens credits his assistants with having a big – albeit low-profile – role in Butler’s 25-game winning streak.
“You know, we’ve only lost four games, so they (the three assistants) all have great records and they’ve all done a great job,” Stevens said. “Matthew is always well-prepared and he’s very organized.”
Graves has been so successful with game-planning that he’s lost track of his personal winning streak. His last loss: Dec. 8 against Georgetown.
“It’s like everything: you remember the losses more than the wins,” he said.
Around Hinkle Fieldhouse, the contributions of Butler’s scouts are well documented.
Assistant Micah Shrewsberry drew up the plans that beat Ohio State and Kansas State. Terry Johnson took care of Siena. And each of three was assigned one Final Four team – Shrewsberry had Michigan State, Johnson got West Virginia and Graves, with his near-perfect record, wound up with Duke.
What separates Graves from Butler’s other assistants is his deep knowledge of Butler’s offensive and defensive systems.
rs later, he came back as director of basketball operations – the launching pad for each of Butler’s last three coaches.
Graves was promoted to assistant coach in 2003, coaching his brother A.J. until 2008, and has developed the ability to take what he sees on film and translate it into terms that 18-year-olds can relate to.
Players believe the combination of visualization and communication is the reason the Bulldogs are playing Monday night as the first NCAA finalist in the shot-clock era to hold all five opponents to fewer than 60 points.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re able to defend so well,” sophomore Gordon Hayward said. “Knowing the players and tendencies is something they (scouts) give us, and it’s a big key for us. All that goes back to what the assistants do.”
For Graves, it’s a regular routine.
He spends about 70 percent of his film work looking for tendencies and trends that will help the Bulldogs. He uses the rest of the time to determine which part of the Butler offense should be emphasized.
The process, Graves said, requires about two hours to get through the first two or three games. After that, as Graves becomes more familiar with an opponent, it becomes less time-consuming.
He’ll prepare a written report and a 10- to 15-minute highlight reel to show the players. But the hardest part is figuring out how the Bulldogs will match up on defense.
Graves still prefers simplicity.
“It’s Butler basketball,” he said. “We know our guys will be prepared to go out and execute and rotate and finish plays.”
Even against Duke.
That’s how the Bulldogs have played basketball all season, and Graves’ ability to get it right is the reason Stevens now lobbies for his assistants to get better jobs.
“I hope one of the things that comes out of this whole thing is that if people are looking for different people (coaches), I hope they’re looking at the guys at Butler,” Stevens said.
One more win and everybody will be looking at the guys at Butler.
“You know, there’s nothing to get nervous about,” Graves said. “Our game plan has been in all year, really. We might do something different from team to team, but our offensive and defensive systems are still the same thing.”
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