All-access with Butler: Behind the scenes of Seton Hall road trip

NEWARK, N.J. — Chris Holtmann moved quickly and purposefully. It is the way he probably looked when he was a small-college All-America guard at Taylor University.

The 44-year-old coach watched his Butler Bulldogs lead Seton Hall for 16-plus minutes of the first half Wednesday night. Here they were, at the half, tied at 38 because Isaiah Whitehead shot 7-of-7 on 3-pointers.

“I’ve got to get something off my chest,” Holtmann began.

Thus began a halftime oration in college basketball’s inner sanctum, the locker room.

Butler allowed IndyStar an all-access pass on this Big East road trip — on the charter flights, at team meals, in the meeting and training rooms, at the shootaround. It is a different lifestyle from Butler’s previous league, the Horizon, a compact conference in which transportation was almost always by bus.

The 35 hours spent with the Bulldogs were both revealing in the detail with which coaches and players prepare for one 40-minute game, and unsurprising in what happens behind the scenes. A similar all-access pass was granted for the Atlantic 10 tournament at Brooklyn, N.Y., in March 2013 under former coach Brad Stevens.

Nothing of consequence has changed.

Insider: Butler 'a different team' with Roosevelt Jones at PG

Getting back to Seton Hall ...

Coaches had been so meticulous in the game plan that nothing more needed to be said. Focus was elsewhere.

Assistant coach Terry Johnson: “Pass first. When you get a loose ball, s-l-o-w down.”

Holtmann: “Get outside yourself and figure out a way to help the team.”

One player chided himself for too many turnovers. Otherwise, the Bulldogs were silent, drinking fluids, absorbed in thought, resting for what they knew would be a second-half fight.

They had come close to road wins at Providence, Creighton and Marquette, only to fall short. They knew that. Seton Hall was probably better than all three. They knew that.

“You want to win on the road, you’ve got to ratchet it up right now!” Holtmann said before leaving the team for a short staff meeting.

***

Odds were not favoring the Bulldogs.

Seton Hall was the Big East’s hottest team, having won four in a row. The Pirates featured five sophomore starters from a touted recruiting class of two years before. And so far, Butler was 1-4 when tied at the half or trailing.

The Bulldogs did ratchet it up. Kellen Dunham scored 10 points in the opening 6½ minutes of the second half, and they built a nine-point lead en route to an 81-75 victory. They shot .667 in the second half (14-of-21) and .558 for the game. Roosevelt Jones held Whitehead to three second-half points.

Players celebrated among themselves afterward as they awaited their coach. They were happy, not euphoric. It is a long season, allowing little time for reflection. Xavier would be next.

“I think what’s most impressive is just how you guys responded and kept coming there,” Holtmann told the Bulldogs. “And I think you could tell I was a little upset at halftime because I know we’re better than that, right? We’re better. We’re tougher to score on. We’re nastier than what we showed in the first half. We are.

“That’s why we’re in the position we are. Because that’s who you guys are.”

The Bulldogs clapped and sang the “Butler War Song,” as they always do after wins. They came together, raised their arms in unison and chanted, “one, two, three … family.”

Holtmann, Dunham and Kelan Martin attended a postgame news conference. Then everyone grabbed bags and loaded them onto a bus for the trip to the airport and a charter flight back to Indianapolis.

***

Pregame buildup started more than 24 hours before the game, beginning with a Tuesday afternoon practice at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Assistant coach Michael Lewis, a former Indiana Hoosier point guard, didn’t like my orange and blue Illinois gym bag. So he brought out a Butler travel bag, printed “D. WOODS” on athletic tape and attached it, and the Illini bag went inside that.

The team boarded a bus for Indianapolis International Airport. Butler sometimes traveled via charter as long as a decade ago, but it has become a way of life in the Big East. Ordinarily, there is no security check on small charters, but this plane was so large (155 passengers) that there was a screening. That is what the charter service had available, similar to requesting a compact rental car and upgrading to a luxury vehicle because compacts are all out. The travel party of 31 spread out all over the jetliner.

De-icing of the wings took longer than expected, so takeoff was more than an hour behind schedule. Arrival in Newark was about 7 p.m., whereupon the team was bused to a Hilton next to Newark’s Penn Station, a transportation hub. Brandon Crone, coordinator of basketball operations, distributed room keys.

After a buffet dinner, Johnson powered up his laptop and showed film clips of Seton Hall’s offense on a big screen, elaborating on how the Bulldogs were to defend. Although many programs divide up scouting over the course of a season — 10 game plans for each of three assistants, for instance — every Butler assistant is assigned to every game. Johnson is defensive coordinator, and Lewis, offensive coordinator, and Ryan Pedon is in charge of opponents’ personnel.

Johnson’s film session lasted about 20 minutes, and it was over by 8:40. Players were on their own until breakfast at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Lewis was there early, studying. It was his responsibility to show clips of Seton Hall’s defense and explain how to attack it.

“Our mental toughness is huge tonight,” Lewis told the players.

The Bulldogs boarded a bus for a drive of four blocks to the Prudential Center. The New Jersey Devils had an NHL game there the night before, but the arena was not uncomfortably cold.

The Bulldogs played some shooting games — first team to 21 baskets wins — and broke up into groups of perimeter and frontcourt players. Freshman Sean McDermott is recovering from an injured left wrist, so he can’t participate. While teammates were shooting, he ran up and down arena stairs for an endurance workout.

***

You think the NFL’s Roger Goodell is a powerful commissioner? His powers are limited, compared with those wielded by Darnell Archey.

Archey is an assistant coach at South Alabama and a former Butler player and coordinator of operations. He remains the one charged with resolving all disputes in an ongoing tradition — a member of the travel party (players are ineligible) must sink a shot from half-court before shootaround ends.

Pedon incurred the commish’s wrath earlier this season and remains perplexed about his subsequent suspension. Pedon said he took an additional half-court shot after one was made in Puerto Rico, and that was a violation. Archey’s rulings are final. There are no appeals.

Nick Gardner, the analyst on Butler radio broadcasts, is the unofficial historian of the half-court shot. Holtmann said he continues to receive lengthy emails from Archey explaining do’s and don’ts.

Lewis air-balled his attempt and was subjected to scorn. The expression he hates after defeat more than any other is “The kids played hard.” So, of course, after being goaded into it, I later tapped him on the shoulder and told him, “Kids played hard.”

Finally, on the 12th attempt, a half-court shot was made by Mark Minner, the play-by-play announcer. Back to the hotel.

***

After the first of two pregame warm-ups, the Bulldogs went over the scouting report once more. As defensive assignments for each starter was announced, players clapped and cheered for each other.

Holtmann led the team in prayer, as Stevens once did.

Among Holtmann’s pleas: “Help us be a great teammate.”

After the game and interviews and collection of bags, the team ate meals they had pre-ordered and took yet another bus trip to the airport. Because of the jetliner’s size, a security screening was required, but there were no officers. Players were stranded on a bus for an hour, right next to the plane, wondering if they would leave that night or return to the hotel. Some had 8 o’clock class.

Screeners finally arrived, and the Bulldogs were on their way. Players spread out again, talked among themselves, studied or listened to music. Coaches were already on to Xavier, examining clips of a team that crushed Butler 88-69 on Jan. 2.

Arrival in Indianapolis was 1:10 a.m., and everyone was back at Hinkle Fieldhouse before 2. Lewis didn’t accompany the team because he had gone recruiting.

There will be more games, more trips, more prospects to pursue. This sport’s geography has no state of contentment.

Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on  Twitter: @DavidWoods007.