Bio for Stevens is rather amazing.

Star player at tiny Depauw U. Worked for Eli Lilly after college.

Assistant coach for a few IN. HSs and summr AAU teams.

Hired to assist BU's HC and served several seasons before being promoted when Lichliter moved to Iowa.

10 of the 14 rostered 2010 players are from Indiana.

Can the right man for the job make all the difference in the world?

It does help to be in an excellent situation as well

1) a basketball crazy state with a large talent pool
2) mid sized private school(not too small or large) in a large city with entertainment options most college towns don't have
3) A larger arena to play in than most universities of their size
4) IU's hoops program being way down the last 10 years and Purdue's program being down the late 90's to early 2000's
5) Being in a conference with several underachieving programs ( UIC, Detroit, Valpo, Milwaukee) making it easier to consistently qualify for a tourney bid.

That being said Stevens has done a great job taking advantage of his situation and getting the most out of it. Butler will be a major pain in the side of ND, Purdue & IU from now on.