Sketch the perfect Bulldog, and he probably comes in with
scraggly hair. His frame is bruised from all those collisions
with the court, year after year after year, his general welfare
never quite as important as a loose ball. He exudes, above all,
a selfless style that supersedes any statistics.  Sketch the
perfect Bulldog, and most Butler fans would probably just end up
with a photo of Matt Howard. (No offense, Trip.)  The
Connersville native graduated in 2011 as the winningest player
in program history, its third-leading scorer and rebounder.
Along with the likes of Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and many
more, he was among the pillars that pulled the Bulldogs to
unforeseen heights: a pair of national championship game
appearances.  Eventually, the success of those teams would
elevate Butler to the Atlantic 10 and, now, to the Big East.  A
finance major, Howard was a three-time Academic All-American. He
was the 2009 Horizon League Player of the Year and the
conference's tournament player of the year in 2011.