A good coach remembers every little detail. But Brad Stevens might want to let this one go.
The Boston Celtics head coach, as we all know, was a standout coach at Butler before making the leap to the NBA. In fact, he spent a total of 13 years with the Bulldogs, beginning as an assistant coach in 2001.
Stevens was on Butler’s bench as an assistant in 2007, when the Bulldogs met a powerhouse Florida team in the Sweet Sixteen — led, of course, by current Celtics forward Al Horford.
Butler is back in the Sweet Sixteen this year — it faces No. 1 seed UNC on Friday night — so Stevens took the opportunity Wednesday to recall the Bulldogs’ fateful 65-57 loss to the Gators, which he’s apparently still bitter about.
“Al Horford charged,” Stevens told reporters, via Boston.com’s Brian Robb. “He charged. I sent (video of the play) to him when we first signed him.”
Here’s the play that Stevens still gets worked up about 10 years later:
But the best part of Stevens’ saltiness is how he described the pesky Bulldogs matching up against Horford and powerhouse Florida, which went on to win the national title.
“We had a doctor and a dentist guarding Horford and (Joakim) Noah, which was not ideal,” Stevens quipped.
Sounds like pulling teeth, Brad. Stevens added another pinch of salt while breaking down the questionable call.
“Horford took one of our undersized fours — probably an undersized three — who is now an assistant at Butler, and took him from the 3-point line to the basket and got an and-one,” Stevens said. “And it was a charge. It doesn’t still irk me or anything.”
Let’s hope Stevens and Horford can put this contentious issue behind them Boston makes its playoff push.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
