Stevens keeps ball rolling for Butler

Steve Farley, a former Gophers pitcher from 1978-1981, has been the Butler baseball coach for the past 20 years. He has seen a lot of good things happen to the Indianapolis school of 4,000 students, but nothing like the current success of men's basketball coach Brad Stevens and the Bulldogs.

The team reached the NCAA championship game last year in Indianapolis -- only a few miles from Butler's campus -- before losing 61-59 to Duke. Now the Bulldogs are back in the Final Four this weekend in Houston.

"The story down here was basically that Brad Stevens, after playing Division III basketball for DePauw [and averaged 7.8 points per game over four years] ... took a job with Lilly Pharmaceuticals and was on the fast track to be a young executive," Farley said. "But he missed basketball so much that he was at it as basically a volunteer assistant [at Butler], a non-paid assistant on Thad Matta's team, the guy at Ohio State. ... Brad came on and worked for no money.

"Thad moved away and the next coach came in and Brad got a full-time assistant job. Todd Lickliter was the next coach -- you know the trail -- and when he went to Iowa, then they hired Brad and it's been history ever since."

Farley describe Stevens, 34, as "unbelievable, just a first-class person and very detail-oriented. He and his staff -- I think his assistants don't get a lot of credit and I think they're fantastic as well. I think he'd give them a lot of credit."

Farley said Stevens has had a lot of opportunities to leave Butler, turning down Oregon and several bigger colleges last year.

"I think he learned a lot from a couple of these Butler guys that left for greener pastures, and realized it's not all that great sometimes," Farley said. "Some of those Big Ten jobs, like Lickliter, who went to Iowa and got fired."

"[Stevens] has got a pretty good situation here," Farley said. "Butler stepped up and gave him a great contract last year and I'm sure they've got to give him more money this year.

"I think right now he's getting about a million a year, and I'm sure he could double that or better [at a bigger school]. But I think he feels like he's got a great situation. His wife is an attorney here, they've got two young children, and Butler's been very good to him."

Farley said Stevens' ability to recruit players that fit his system and Butler's tough academic environment has been a big key to his success.

"One of the comments I've heard is he recruits with a rifle rather than a shotgun," Farley said. "They're not just out there bringing in lots of good players. Butler has a very good academic reputation, so I think he's really got to find the right guy. These kids really fit into his system. They have to be really team-oriented. There's no egos down here. Brad and those players, they're just all about the team. It's pretty amazing."

Like Williams Arena Farley said Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Butler plays, reminds him of Williams Arena.

Farley added: "People have been going crazy. Last year was unbelievable. To do it back-to-back is even more phenomenal. I'm so used to seeing good basketball teams, but to do two Final Fours back-to-back. I have to pinch myself sometimes."

Its amazing -- with all the other Division I basketball teams in Indiana, including Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame -- it's Butler, not any of those bigger schools, that goes to the Final Four two years in a row.

No Dome, no Butler When the Metrodome roof collapsed, it cost Farley and his baseball team an opportunity to play in a tournament here along with the Gophers, Illinois and Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs recently faced Minnesota Duluth in Florida, winning 13-5. In the UMD lineup was infielder Lucas Steinbach, son of Terry, the former Twins and Athletics catcher. The senior Steinbach watched the game and spoke with Farley afterward.

Brooklyn Park native and former Twins reliever Pat Neshek, who was coached by Farley at Butler, got the victory for San Diego on Thursday by pitching a scoreless 10th inning in the Padres' 5-3 victory over St. Louis. Also in the Padres lineup were two more former Twins, shortstop Jason Bartlett and second baseman Orlando Hudson. Bartlett, hitting second, went 1-for-5. Hudson, hitting third, was 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.

Former Twin Torii Hunter got off to a good start for the Los Angeles Angels, hitting a home run and going 2-for-5 in their 4-2 Opening Day victory over the Kansas City Royals. Hunter hit cleanup for the Angels and played right field. ... Former Twins starting pitcher Livan Hernandez took the ball on Opening Day for the Washington Nationals and pitched well in a 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Hernandez went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs and striking out three. ... Former Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Gomez hit second for the Brewers and went 1-for-4 with a walk in the Brewers' 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The word is that Hamline alumni are happy with new football coach John Pate, who was an assistant and then associate head coach at Division I-AA Georgia Southern from 1985-89 and from 1996-2005. The Eagles were 159-35 during Pate's years with the team.

Gophers hockey recruit Kyle Rau of Eden Prairie has three goals and four assists in seven games for Sioux Falls of the USHL. He joined the Stampede after the Eagles captured the Class 2A championship and is playing for former Gopher Kevin Hartzell, who earned his 400th USHL coaching victory on Sunday after Sioux Falls' 6-2 victory over Fargo. ... Another Gophers recruit, Christian Isackson, is leading the Stampede in scoring with 16 goals and 25 assists in 54 games.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com