Butler had two of the best players at the Under-19 U.S. trials last week in Colorado Springs.
But it didn't have its own top talent on display.
Matt Howard wasn't even invited.
Howard led the Bulldogs with 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and was the driving force behind Butler's quick turnaround in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the departures of A.J. Graves and Mike Green.
Howard was the lone holdover on last season's team from the Graves-Green machine that lost to Tennessee in the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament.
The 6-foot-8 Howard couldn't have been on the U-19 team, but he should have at least been given an invite to the accompanying World University Games team that was conducting trials on neighboring courts.
"It was just one of those things -- I mean he was player of the year in our league," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "Obviously he's a really good player."
So, too, are Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack. The 6-8 Hayward is a prototypical face-up forward. He was shooting extremely well during the trials and will be counted on by Jamie Dixon, the coach of the U-19 team, to be a matchup problem for opposing teams. The staff will expect Hayward to make shots from the elbow-extended.
Mack wasn't a standout during the trials, but Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who heads the junior national team selection committee, said Mack was better than what he showed. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Howard (14.8 ppg), Hayward (13.1) and Mack (11.9) were Butler's 1-2-3 scorers and only double-figure scorers last season.
Stevens said both Hayward and Mack will be key members of the U.S. team that will head to New Zealand next week. To win in an event like the World Championships, you need solid team guys.
But the New Zealand experience isn't the only foreign jaunt for Mack and Hayward. Butler has already booked a trip to Italy, where it will compete in Lake Como, Venice and Rome on Aug. 4-13. Hayward said they were anticipating -- in a good way -- that this will be a long summer.
Stevens has already spoken to a sports physiologist about how Hayward and Mack will respond to the drain on their bodies.
"We're going to have a small minicamp during the week off [from recruiting] in July and it's when those guys would be back [from New Zealand]," Stevens said. "Those two guys are going to take seven straight days off. They're not going to do anything physical. That way they should be all refreshed. We're going to be very cognizant of that."
As usual, Butler isn't shying away from taking on a major schedule. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 15 in my latest ESPN.com preseason Top 25, are one of the headline teams in a stellar field at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., in November. Participants include West Virginia, UCLA, Clemson, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Portland and Long Beach State. Every one of these teams has a legit shot to get to the NCAAs. A&M will have a hard time out of the competitive Big 12, but Long Beach State could be in play for the Big West title and Portland could be the second-best team in the WCC, behind Gonzaga.
Stevens said Butler will play Georgetown in the Jimmy V Classic in New York at Madison Square Garden and will host Ohio State (one of the Big Ten's best) and Xavier (one of the A-10's best). The Bulldogs also travel to Northwestern, UAB, Evansville and Ball State and host an ESPNU BracketBusters game.
• Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was on the U.S. selection committee, and while he wasn't supposed to have influence when it came to Quincy Pondexter, it probably didn't hurt the player's chances to make the WUG squad heading to Serbia next month.
Pondexter will have a heavy burden for the Huskies after the departure of Jon Brockman. Pondexter will have to board quite a bit. He averaged 5.9 rebounds a game while Brockman grabbed 11.5.
UW will be perimeter-dominated next season with Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton and incoming guard Abdul Gaddy. Romar isn't fretting. While he may go small, he said Pondexter can handle the extra responsibility of grabbing boards.
"He's worked his tail off to be in the position to be our guy next season," Romar said.
• Ohio State's Evan Turner declined to declare for the NBA draft. Turner, who should be one of the top talents on the WUG team, said he wanted to win a Big Ten title.
"I'm in no rush to leave," he said. "I like campus. I like my teammates. I want to go deep in the tournament. I don't want to leave school a loser."
The Buckeyes lost only reserve center B.J. Mullens to the draft. That means more board work for the wings like Turner. But he's up for the challenge. Expect Turner to be one of the top scorers for the WUG team.
• Sonny Vaccaro, who has been advising San Diego high school star Jeremy Tyler in his quest to play professionally after leaving school as a junior in high school, said he expects Tyler to play in Israel next season, not Europe. It appears Tyler will sign a two-year deal to play in Israel.
Andy Katz
