Butler Part III?

Butler gave us a thrilling ride once again, even without top play maker Gordon Hayward, who left for the NBA after last year's run. This year's team once again showed the toughness and mentality Butler brings and shows going into every tournament game: We can play with and beat anyone. Even though coming up a win short in two straight tournaments has to be unbearable to the B-Town players, they will be back, rest assure. But back how far? Losing key players like Senior leaders Matt Howard, Vanzant, Hahn, and possibly Shelvin Mack will hurt Butler for next year. The youth, however, on this team has to excite any fan dreaming of another Butler run in a couple of years. We saw Andrew Smith step up and show he can rebound against some of the country's elite. Khyle Marshall and Chrishawn Hopkins really have loads of potential. Marshall was an offensive rebounding machine while Hopkins provided tons of energy off the bench. You will hear their names in the tourney down the road, guaranteed. Returning role players like Stigall and Nored give the Bulldogs still that hard nosed personality heading into next year. Plus, the future looks promising with recruiting. Brad Stevens has built Butler into a program that can now take away in state recruits from IU, Purdue and ND. Next year Butler doesn't haven't the talent to go as far as this year, but a future with Hopkins and Marshall, plus pipeline recruits coming in equals an underdog powerhouse growing in B-Town. But hey, every March Madness needs some Bulldog Fever.