Bulldogs Tyler Wideman, Kamar Baldwin, Kelan Martin
It was last June, school was out and basketball was the furthest thing from Tyler Wideman’s mind. Wideman was looking forward to a fun weekend, attending the wedding of his former teammate, Tyler Lewis, as he made the drive from Indiana to North Carolina.
Wideman wasn’t paying much attention to his cell phone during the drive but eventually noticed he had a plethora of texts on his phone and his mind wandered as to what could be so important.
“I saw I had a whole bunch of texts from my family and friends,” said Wideman, Butler’s 6-8 senior forward. “I even got a call from Coach Holt (Chris Holtmann) but I didn’t get a chance to answer it because I was driving through the mountains and there was no cell service.”
When Wideman finally reached his destination he got around to returning Holtmann’s call and answering all his texts.
“And when I finally called Coach Holt back he told me that he was leaving,” Wideman said. “So I spoke to him and said, ‘Hey, no hard feelings.’ I still love him like family.”
Holtmann may still be family, even after he moved on to take over the Ohio State program. But in order to fill its head coaching vacancy, Butler also stayed within the family -- the Butler family -- when it tabbed former player LaVall Jordan as its new head coach.
It’s a perfect marriage, according to Wideman.
“I was surprised and a little saddened when coach left, but I understand it,” said Wideman, who averaged 7.2 points and five rebounds last season. “College basketball is a business so we understand why he left. He’ doing what’s best for his family. But it’s been a pretty smooth transition. There’s not too much to adjust to. It’s been very smooth.”
Jordan takes over after just one season as the head coach at Milwaukee and inherits a team that is coming off a 25-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance. And with Kelan Martin and Wideman back for their senior seasons and Kamar Baldwin, a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team pick last year, back to build off his fine rookie season, it’s not a bad situation for Jordan to be stepping into in his first season.
“We got a great group with this team,” Jordan said. “It’s a good group of coachable young guys that believe in each other and have had some success. And we have some internal leadership among our players so a lot of this is on them. They have their own standards and our job is to get them prepared.”
Butler’s big dog will once again be Martin, the 6-7 forward who was a BIG EAST Second Team pick a season ago when he averaged 16 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Toss in the wide-body Wideman and you can see why Jordan is anxious to get his first season back home started.
“We know (Martin) is gifted in his ability to score the basketball but he’s really focused on affecting the game in other areas and he has a great work ethic,” Jordan said. “He’s been leading each and every day and working really hard, being an example for our freshmen and our new players. I’m excited for his new role and we’re going to need that from him and Tyler Wideman.”
Baldwin, who had a breakout year last season as a freshman when he averaged 10.1 points and was fourth in the BIG EAST in steals, gives Jordan even more reason to be optimistic.
“He is a humble but confident young man,” Jordan said. “His skill set on the ball is growing and his IQ for the game is growing every day and he’s got a natural ability to be a threat at all times. So we’re excited about his evolution as a player and his ability to make plays for himself and his teammates.”
The Bulldogs did lose some quality to graduation in Andrew Chrabascz, Avery Woodson, Kethan Savage and the newly-married Lewis, but there is enough left on the roster who already understand “The Butler Way” for the Bulldogs to be a player again in the BIG EAST this season.
“I think things are still shaping up pretty well,” Wideman said. “We lost five or six guys but we still have eight guys who were part of the team last year who understand all the things we do here. So I think if we stick to our plan, just stop people on the defensive end we’ll be fine. Butler will still be Butler.”
It’s been something of a whirlwind for Jordan since taking over his dream job but he said he knew that coming in and he was prepared for whatever his new job would throw at him.
“It’s been busy, especially getting the job in June and then July recruiting and summer school all coming in the next few weeks,” Jordan said. “But I have a great staff to help me out. It’s great to be back. There are a lot of familiar things here and there are a lot of new things, too, like the league.”
It’s a new start for Jordan and the Bulldogs, but there is one thing that binds both players and coach that has made the transition go flawlessly.
“The one common thing is that we are all Butler,” Jordan said. “They knew that I was coming back and they have been terrific embracing some of the new stuff that we’re bringing as a staff while we’re also on the same page with a lot of things.”
So with his first game as head coach coming on Nov. 10 versus Kennesaw State, Jordan said he won’t know what it feels like walk out on the court as Butler head coach until he actually does it. But he did mention what his favorite part of his new job is so far.
“Walking into Hinkle Fieldhouse,” Jordan said. “That’s not a bad thing to do every day.”