HOUSTON?The drawstring on Matt Howard?s shorts snapped at some point during the first 20 minutes of Butler?s Final Four win against VCU, and by halftime it was hanging down toward the top of his signature floppy-topped socks.
?That?s just Matt Howard,? teammate Ronald Nored said.
The dangling drawstring was an opportunity was for a little levity in a situation? halftime of a Final Four game in front of 75,000-plus people?that could otherwise be a bit tense. Howard, a thoroughly likeable person who is a bit goofy?Nored prefers the term ?interesting??was given a pair of oversized shorts as a replacement.
That couldn?t have been more perfect.
?Those shorts he put on were huge, and we were like, ?That does not fit your style,?? Chase Stigall, Howard?s roommate on the road, said with a laugh. ?Matt?s usually got the shorts that are above the kneecap, and he put those on and they were just huge on him, so we gave him a hard time about that.?
Despite the issues with faulty equipment, Howard had nine points and five rebounds in the first half. The drawstring was fixed and the giant shorts stayed in the locker room, and it was more of the same from Howard in the final 20 minutes?eight more points and four more rebounds.
It was yet another solid Howard performance in yet another NCAA Tournament win for the Bulldogs. Those two things are very much related?the Bulldogs are 10-1 in the tournament the past two years with Howard manning the post?though putting a finger on why Howard is so effective, so vital to Butler?s success, isn?t easy.
Howard isn?t physically imposing. He isn?t particularly quick, either. He?s very good at lots of things, but he isn?t great at anything that?s on a typical scouting report.
?I?ve definitely seen him play a lot, even last year,? said Connecticut sophomore Alex Oriakhi, who will be tasked with dealing with Howard. ?He?s definitely really crafty, has an old-school type of game. He?s definitely a workhorse. That?s a player who has a motor that doesn?t really stop. He?s able to shoot the 3 and causes a lot of problems for a big man, so I know I?ll definitely have my hands full. The thing about him is how hard he plays, and that?s definitely something I respect.?
A workhorse, eh? Crafty? That?s kind of vague.
So, here are Oriakhi?s thoughts on Howard?s craftiness: ?It?s the post moves he has. Obviously, he?s not the most athletic, but he?s able to get his shot off on virtually everybody because everybody he?s faced, he?s put up numbers. I just think he has ways of getting his shot off and not getting it blocked and not getting it altered.?
So, even when Oriakhi, a bright guy who obviously has watched plenty of film on Howard, is asked to describe his description of Howard as ?crafty,? he?s forced to use phrases like ?he has ways? to describe Howard?s success.
What do Howard?s teammates think?
?In my opinion, I don?t think too many guys go as hard as Matt, in practice or in games,? forward Khyle Marshall said. ?He?s relentless wherever he is. He?s always giving his 100 percent, and you don?t always see guys doing that.?
Again, words like ?relentless? and clich�s like ?giving his 100 percent.? Those aren?t tangible things. More, please.
?He works his tail off,? Marshall added. ?He knows he?s probably not the most athletic guy and doesn?t have the notoriety of all the other guys, but makes sure he?s going to outwork these guys, he?s going to come in and give it his all. He?s not going to let people just take stuff from him. He?s going to make sure it?s going to be hard.?
Outwork? Give it his all? Not exactly specifics. It?s not hard to find descriptions about Kemba Walker?s quickness, Shelvin Mack?s shooting ability, Jared Sullinger?s strength in the post or Tyler Zeller?s baseline hook.
But try to get a crystal-clear definition of what makes Howard great?and make no mistake, leading a team to back-to-back national title games qualifies Howard as great?and it?s like when a child asks their parent the question ?Why?? and they get the answer, ?Because that?s the way it is.?
Howard is great because that?s what he is, drawstrings bedamned. ?They fixed it and he put ?em back on and he was good to go,? Nored said. ?He really doesn?t care about much, just does what he has to do.?
(Sigh.) Fair enough.
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