Saying Goodbye: Matt Howard

In this world of NBA Draft early entry and one-and-done freshman, it is difficult to become attached to a college star. They simply don't hang around long enough. But when they do, that player becomes the fan favorite. There is nothing like watching a kid develop from a overwhelmed freshman into star as a senior. Those are the players that the fans connect with.

We reached out to some of the blogosphere's best, and over the next couple of weeks we will be running a series of posts saying goodbye to some of the country's best seniors.

Our third installment of "Saying Goodbye" is on Butler's workhorse Matt Howard. It is being provided by Dave McConnell from the fantastic Butler blog Victory Firelight. You can hit them up on twitter at @ButlerVictory

When the name Matt Howard gets tossed around, it can tend to sometimes be a bit of a polarizing topic for those around the Horizon League – and even around the country. Yet for the Butler faithful, the name Matt Howard embodies everything that is exceptional and unique about the Bulldog program, its players and the way it goes about its business.

Sure, plenty of opponents have had their frustrations with Howard. You’ve heard him called a flop. You’ve heard that he plays dirty. He’s everything opponents love to hate about a guy who goes hard for a full 40 minutes and beyond. And that’s just one reason why Butler fans adore and appreciate him perhaps more than any other figure in the school’s history.

Even for those who put Howard on a pedestal, there were some trying times during his career. Most notably, an absurdly frustrating penchant for committing dumb and unnecessary fouls. The kind of fouls that had no affect on a play, the kind that only resulted in putting him on the bench when his value in being on the floor was of utmost importance. But this year more than any other, Howard grew up and grew out of that. He proved everybody wrong, just like he had done in different ways throughout his four years as a Bulldog.

It has been noted time and time again what a quirky, and even odd, individual that Howard is. From riding his bike around campus in sub-freezing temperatures to not giving a damn about his socks that Goodwill wouldn’t put on its shelves, Howard marched to the beat of his own drummer. But for all of his supposed pitfalls, those are exactly what helped him be a cut above the rest. It’s about more than basketball for Howard – part of the embodiment of everything good about the Butler program – evidenced by his three-time honor as an Academic All-America. And that was capped of this season by being named the 2010-11 NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year.

On the court, Howard was just as decorated. He arrived on campus as a freshman as a top-100 recruit by several scouting services and joined a senior-laden team while earning the recognition of Horizon League Newcomer of the Year. As a sophomore, Howard blossomed into a star – named the league’s Player of the Year, midseason top-30 for the John R. Wooden Award and first team Mid-Major All-American by FoxSports.com while leading Butler in scoring, field goal percentage, rebounding and blocked shots.

Howard’s junior year was maybe his toughest individually, although the team had arguably its most success during his four-year run, and he was still named first team All-Horizon. The aforementioned foul troubled plagued him as he sometimes struggled to fit in as suddenly the third offensive option behind budding studs Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack.

As a senior, and with perhaps lowered expectations by some, Howard showed his value to the team in ways that will never show up on the stat sheet. Simply put, with the team muddling away at 14-9 and gone from the nation’s conscience, Howard put the Bulldogs on his back and willed the team to a highly improbable run to a second consecutive national title game appearance. He was all the guts with little glory. And he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
The experts thought Butler would be crippled by the loss of Hayward to the NBA after the 2009-10 season. They weren’t entirely wrong, but the real test from the program will come next year when No. 54 is no longer in uniform.


More from "Saying Goodbye"
2011: Keith Benson, Oakland
2011:Preston Knowles, Louisville