Brad Stevens talks loyalty to Butler, Hayward signing, coaching philosophy in Zionsville

ZIONSVILLE – It's not uncommon to see coaches detach from their previous jobs when they move on, especially if they're moving up the ladder. But four years removed from his wildly successful six-year tenure at Butler University, Brad Stevens still bleeds Butler blue.

It only took him eight minutes to say as much during his keynote presentation at the Boys & Girls Club of Zionsville Be Great Breakfast with Brad Stevens on Saturday morning.

"Butler is by far (my family's) favorite team, and I heard earlier (when I was introduced) that I was born and raised a Hoosier; I was born a Hoosier, but I was raised a Bulldog," Stevens said to a crowd of about 200 donors, staff and children assembled at the club's basketball court. "It felt like it was the best culture that you could ever work in in sports. ... Ultimately, it was almost an impossible place to leave."

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Though he did end up leaving for the Boston Celtics in 2013, the Zionsville native couldn't pass up an opportunity to come back home and speak at a fundraiser for the club where he spent time playing basketball growing up.

Stevens covered a wide variety of topics in a 30-minute Q&A session co-emceed by Board Chairs Rob Schein and Chip Barnes (who was Stevens' former high school basketball teammate), telling stories from his youth sports days, to his time at Butler and his four seasons in Boston, where expectations are sky high.

"When you walk into our practice facility now in Boston, we have 17 banners that have a title, and then ... they have an 18th one that's just sitting up there blank," Stevens said. "There's no doubt what the goal in Boston is. There is no grey, it is black and white. You're going to try to win the whole thing every single year."

That would seem to be the goal heading into the upcoming season, following a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and a huge free agent pickup during the offseason that Stevens happens to know pretty well: Gordon Hayward. Stevens was asked how he "coerced" the former Butler star and Brownsburg native to sign with the Celtics last month.

Stevens laughed that off, and said that despite a productive meeting with Hayward in Boston, after speaking with his then-former player on the phone following a visit in Utah, he had no idea where Hayward would end up. One thing that was certain, however, was the uniqueness of revisiting the recruiting process with the same player at a higher level.

"It was surreal to be thinking about that 16- or 17-year-old sitting in your college office with his parents and his twin sister, Heather, 10 years ago, and then to be sitting with the 27-year-old adult who is asking incredibly insightful, thoughtful, important questions," Stevens said.

Of course, Hayward isn't the only former Bulldog Stevens is in touch with. He said that while he's in town, he's attending a former player's wedding. But he also carved out time yesterday to visit with former Indianapolis Colts coach and current Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell, with whom he said he talked about his famously calm in-game demeanor.

"I don't focus well angry," Stevens said. "One of the things I said (to Caldwell) was 'I don't do well mad, I don't want to be mad at every practice, I don't want to be mad at every game, it's not an enjoyable way to live.'"

Among other miscellaneous interesting nuggets, Stevens revealed that "Ms. Pac-Man," of all things, is a staple of his game-day rituals. He said his wife, who was in attendance along with his parents and children, bought him an old "pizza parlor machine" a few years ago, and he has been hooked ever since.

"I play 'Ms. Pac-Man' for 10 to 15 games as a break between video," Stevens said. "And then I go on my jog, and go about my daily routine, but I make sure to get my 'Ms. Pac-Man' game in at home every single day. 10-15 minutes (of video games) isn't that bad, tell your parents you're good."

After receiving a signed gift from the Boys & Girls Club kids and thanking the crowd, Stevens parted with a reminder that the next time he's here, he'll be wearing enemy colors:

"Don't root against us too hard when we come back to Indianapolis a couple of times."