If Butler basketball has a face, it’s probably Brad Stevens. The 34-year-old coach is smart, successful and under contract for the next 11 years.
But if the current Bulldogs squad is best represented by any one player, it’s senior Matt Howard. The humble, hard-working center has played in the NCAA tournament every season at Butler, has been his conference player of the year and is beloved by fans for his work ethic and physical play.
Of course, as Ken Davis writes, Howard also has his goofy traits.“If I cut my hair and styled it, I wouldn’t look a whole lot better,” Howard joked. “At least that’s the way I look at it. I don’t really care what I look like or what my socks look like.”
Oh, those socks. He likes to wear the same pair, over and over, until there are holes. Big holes. His teammates joke he has had his current pair since eighth grade. They are stretched out and tend to fall down. His teammates call them “turtleneck socks.” Howard simply responds he is low-maintenance and he says that he “overuses things.”
His teammates joke about every geeky thing he does, but they can tolerate his quirky traits. That’s because Howard is a winner, a leader, and the guy who always comes up big for the Bulldogs.
Goofy or not, Howard’s a winner. That’s his most admirable trait.
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