"the new york times", "usa today", espn, and other commentators attributed butler's success against teams with superior athletes to stevens's coaching style. "the times" remarked, "the bulldogs are very well prepared for their opponents, and they do not rattle easily", and says that the resulting confidence has led to the team's success. "he coaches to his personality and to his strengths," collier says. "obviously, he has great rapport and communication ability with his team." yahoo! sports compared stevens to legendary coach john wooden, writing "brad stevens is winning at butler the wooden way – calm and composed on the sideline." wooden agreed, saying, "i enjoy watching [stevens] and very much enjoy [butler's] style of play."