• Graves is in his eighth season as an assistant at
his alma mater, the 2010 National Championship runner-up.
• Widely respected in the coaching fraternity, Graves was
recognized as one of the "Top 10" Mid-Major Assistants by
FoxSports.com in the spring of 2008 and also chosen No. 2 on the
CollegeInsider.com list of "Top 25" Mid-Major Assistants in
2009.
• During his playing days at Butler, Graves was a four-year
basketball letterwinner and the third leading scorer for the
Bulldogs in 1996-97, while helping Butler to a conference
championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 35
years.
February 27, 2011
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Assoc. Head Coach - Butler ("Control the Controllable")
What an exciting time of the year. As conference races come down the stretch and seeding is crucial for a tournament run it becomes a great challenge for us to keep the players focused on the task at hand.
January 24, 2011
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Assoc. Head Coach - Butler ("Winning on the Road: Behind the Scenes")
To consistently win in college basketball is difficult to achieve and even more difficult is the ability to win consistently on the road especially in conference. So, instead of taking a look at the basketball side (scouting, practice planning, etc..) I thought it might be of interest to go through the thought process of the operations person planning a road trip.
December 20, 2010
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Assoc. Head Coach - Butler
As we approach the end of the non-conference portion of our schedule (games games left), the players have just finished up with finals and are ready to just focus on basketball. For some, it was simply a matter of completing a project or paper but for others it may have been three or four exams that last more than a couple of hours.
November 20, 2010
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Asst. Coach - Butler ("Enjoying the Process")
Assistant Coach Matthew Graves discusses Butler's senior class and his excitement at being a part of the final leg of their journey.
April 1, 2010
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Asst. Coach - Butler ("Final Four - Superstitions and Collecting Pins")
As I was thinking about something to write on our journey to the Final Four, I wondered what the players would take from the experience or better yet did they develop any superstitions along the way. I decided to send them a text and simply wrote "text me one memory or superstition that you have carried through during the NCAA tournament on or off the court."
February 15, 2010
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Asst. Coach - Butler ("Put your signature on it")
As everyone heads into the final stretch before conference tournament play begins, coaches are constantly looking for different ways to motivate players to perform at their best. This can be accomplished in any number of ways from altering practice length, changing practice drills, tweaking scouting report presentations or taking extra days off, all of which can be effective depending on your team.
January 14, 2010
NCDS: Matthew Graves, Asst. Coach - Butler
College Chalktalk is pleased to welcome Butler Asst. Coach Matthew Graves as a contributor to the National Coaches' Diary Series. For the remainder of the conference season and into the postseason, Matthew will be checking in to update fans on the state of affairs at Butler while sharing some behind the scenes stories from 2009-10...
