Butler looks like a tournament favorite for 2011

Reporting from Indianapolis — 

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski had just helped snip down an NCAA tournament championship net Monday night before he predicted who should be favored to stand in that spot next season.

He didn’t name Duke.

He picked the team Duke just beat.

“Somebody’s going to pick the top 10 for next year; where are you going to pick Butler?” he said after winning his fourth national title, 61-59, over Butler at in Lucas Oil Stadium. “They’ll be a favorite next year.”

Krzyzewski could be right — as long as a few things at Butler stay the same.

If Butler forward Gordon Hayward decides to stay in school and return for his junior season instead of the NBA draft, and if Coach Brad Stevens says “no thanks” to more lucrative contract offers at bigger schools, the Bulldogs should be a top team for the 2010-11 season.

The difference will be going from a surprise team to a targeted team after the Bulldogs advanced to the title game for the first time.

“They came one shot away from winning a national championship,” Stevens said Monday. “If [the team success] furthers the program, it can’t further it by that much. … One of the things we’re going to try to do is continue to evaluate and recruit to who Butler is and not worry about what everybody else says about it.”

The Bulldogs lose senior Willie Veasley, a guard who averaged 10 points a game, and key reserve forward Avery Jukes. But they possibly return Hayward and definitely return guards Ronald Nored, Shelvin Mack, Shawn Vanzant and forward Matt Howard.

Duke loses guard Jon Scheyer, center Brian Zoubek, forward Lance Thomas and quite possibly junior Kyle Singler, who may declare himself available to the NBA. Point guard Nolan Smith returns, and the Blue Devils will get a lift as guard Seth Curry becomes eligible after transferring from Liberty to join a strong incoming class.

When Duke returned to campus Tuesday, fans at a welcome-back ceremony chanted “one more year” at Singler. If he takes their advice, that could improve Duke’s outlook.

As for Stevens, 33, he was wrong if he thought only athletic directors trying to fill vacancies wanted to talk to him.

Losing certainly didn’t diminish the young coach’s popularity. Stevens took a call from President Obama and also spoke to talk show host David Letterman, a fellow Indiana native.

sryan@tribune.com