All Good Dawgs something something something. Photo courtesy of The Basketball Tournament.
DAVID JACOBS | MANAGING EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
Hinkle Fieldhouse always stood apart from the rest of the on-campus college basketball arenas in the country.
All Good Dawgs (AGD) — Butler’s alumni-filled The Basketball Tournament (TBT) team which competed for a $1 million cash prize — knows the historic building more than most.
Whether it is the rich history of Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward leading a ragtag group of under-recruited players to consecutive national title game appearances or even the sun peeking through the windows above the 300-level seating, there has always been an incomprehensible force flooding the airways of the U.S National Landmark.
Two simple words have often portrayed the otherwise indescribable feeling: Hinkle Magic.
“To get an opportunity to come back, put the jersey on and play on a Saturday afternoon is special,” Mack said. “That’s basically what we all grew up on playing here in the Horizon League… everyone (on the team) understands the foundation that’s been laid in this building.”
Behind Mack’s savvy veteran presence, AGD won their first game of the TBT vs. Shield 219, 77-69 on July 19. However, the Dawgs would come up short against Fail Harder 80-77 on July 21.
With the loss to Fail Harder, AGD failed to take advantage of Hinkle being the regional host of the first three rounds of the tournament.
In the win, former Butler forward Tyler Wideman shined with 23 points on 5-6 shooting beyond the arc, an area he went 0-6 from during his collegiate career.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Wideman said. “I’ve been working on that since I got (to Butler), so it’s been about 10 years of consistent work.”
Joining Wideman in double figures in each of the tournament games were former Butler guard Myles Tate and forward Ty Groce.
Tate, a top-100 high school recruit, did not find his footing in college until he transferred out to Appalachian State in 2023 after three lackluster seasons with the Dawgs. Whereas Groce became a productive 15-point-per-game scorer at Eastern Michigan in 2020 before transferring to Butler for his redshirt senior campaign, where he disappointed with just under four points per game.
“Leaving Butler and coming back shows you a lot about him and his character,” Mack said. “People want him to be around. He came in and played hard with a lot of passion, (keeping) us in the games and did great things.”
Despite the complicated history with the school, the two former Bulldogs relished in the honor to represent the school once more.
“I was just glad to be back in Hinkle,” Tate said. “Feeling the energy from the fans and my teammates brings me back to the old times. It’s a blessing for them to have called me and asked me to play.”
In the defeat to Fail Harder, Groce felt the atmosphere of Hinkle rise as he led a fourth quarter comeback after trailing by double-digits at the elam ending. Despite the loss, he had an impressive 22-point outing on 8-9 from the field.
“We were hoping to have a little more Hinkle Magic,” Groce said. “It’s the (clutch) moments we live for as a true competitor. It was fun to get back out there and play back in this building, you still feel that brotherhood.”
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