Butler coach LaVall Jordan recalls how Joel Cornette boosted the Bulldogs' confidence as it rose in the NCAA. David Woods/IndyStar
INDIANAPOLIS — Stories of Butler basketball’s rise in the 2000s have been told and retold so often, there is nothing left to divulge. Except this.
If not for LaVall Jordan’s counsel to Joel Cornette in April 2000, there might not be Butler basketball as we now know it. Not two Final Fours. Not 21 NCAA tournament victories since 2001.
In 2000, Butler was coming off a 69-68 overtime loss to No.