Brad Stevens Not Necessarily A "Small Town" Guy

There are numerous reports examining the possibility of Butler's Brad Stevens replacing Ben Howland as UCLA's head basketball coach. Here is one from Adam Zagoria, just as an example. Here is another example from the Los Angeles Times. And if you just search "Brad Stevens UCLA" you'll find plenty more -- with many just linking to each other.

So, while UCLA is still denying that Howland is being replaced, it's undeniable that Stevens is at least in the conversation when it comes to replacing Howland. Butler's basketball fans must feel like Boise State football fans at this point. Every year, elite programs fire their coach and Stevens, like BSU's Chris Petersen, makes everyone's short list.

Also similarly, when it comes to Stevens, some are making an even more direct comparison to Petersen -- that's he's a "small town" guy who doesn't want to coach "in the big city."

Well, I'm not about to pretend I know what Stevens wants or doesn't want or what he likes or doesn't like. But I can tell you that the "small town" thing doesn't seem to hold much water when it comes to Stevens. Butler University is not located in some small college town. Butler is in Indianapolis. Indianapolis has an NBA team and an NFL team (unlike Los Angeles). It's a bigger television market than San Diego, Baltimore or Kansas City.

They play Super Bowls in Indianapolis.

Okay, it's not as large a city as L.A. But it ain't no small town, either.

Again, I don't know what Brad Stevens wants to do. No idea whatsoever. But I do think ruling him out because he's a "small town" guy doesn't seem to make much sense.