It's been over a month, but we finally saw a glimpse of what Butler fans have become accustomed to over the last couple of years last Saturday afternoon. Well, in the first half anyway. A.J. Graves' 6-15, 16 point performance made fans forget about his dismal January where he has shot 27 percent, even worse than that behind the 3-point line.
Graves may be getting a hang of these Horizon League defenses. After all, isn't that what great players do, adjust. HIs adjustment worked out Saturday atleast.
What Bulldog fans must understand is that Graves' value goes far beyond his numbers in the scoring column. If someone were to tell you that Graves was averaging 14 points per game, shooting below 35 percent from the field, and under 85 percent from the foul line, coupled with the fact that Butler would be 19-2 heading into the season stretch run would you believe them? Probably not.
Everything happens for a reason, and Graves' low numbers have done something great for this team. It has allowed freshman Matt Howard to lead the team in scoring his last seven games. It has made Mike Green an All-American candidate as well drawn him some interest from the NBA. On top of that, name me one team in the nation that wouldn't love to have Graves as its third leading scorer.
The bottom line is that Graves is just being keyed on by defenses, opening things up for his teammates, and the Bulldogs are a much better team becasue of it. He has not been struggling.
Heading into February's stretch run, however, I dont think anybody in Bulldog country is going to complain if Graves returns to to his "normal" slot. At the top of the box score, routinely in double digits.
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