Learning is a process that never stops.  The most successful people understand that you need to take the experiences that life gives you and turn them into opportunities to learn.  Matthew Graves has made that a priority in his career and those lessons have led him to the biggest stage in college basketball.

Graves is a native of Switz City, Indiana, which is just over an hour away from Evansville.  Following a playing career that saw him help to transform Butler into one of the top mid-major programs in the nation, Graves spent 12 years on the Bulldogs coaching staff before embarking on a 5-year tenure as the head coach at the University of South Alabama.  With so much experience on his resume, Graves is ready for his next chapter at the University of Evansville.

"I am really excited and thankful to all of the people who have reached out – family, friends and coaches," he said.  "It has really rejuvenated me personally in the coaching profession after the last five years at South Alabama.  My family is extremely excited to have me back – I can't tell if it is more for me being around or to see the grandkids more, we will leave that up for debate."

Over his 12 seasons at Butler, Graves spent six seasons working for fellow UE assistant coach Todd Lickliter before joining the staff of Brad Stevens.  It was that time at Butler that molded him into the coach and person that he is today.

"The thing I would want people to know is how competitive I am.  I hate to lose, but it is not necessarily shown through throwing jackets or the emotional part.  There is a competitive spirit I have that is directed more at getting our guys to do the right thing.  It can get perceived as being too laid back, but that is definitely not the case," Graves said.  "That not only came from Brad Stevens, but Todd as well.  He was the first one that hired me at Butler, so seeing how he operated for six years before working with Brad for the next six really developed a lot of how I wanted to carry myself on the sidelines.  In five years as a head coach, I think I got three technical fouls.  There is a value in being poised and calculated."

That type of professionalism and experience is what took Butler to two National Championship games with Graves on staff.  The Bulldogs went to the final game in 2010 in front of their home crowd in Indianapolis before returning to the championship contest in 2011.  Doing it once was unheard of, but doing it in back-to-back seasons was a game changer. 

"It was an unbelievable experience; to go through that with the group of guys that we had was something that you are never going to forget," he explained.  "To put the cherry on top, doing it in your home city the first time added a whole new level to it.  I am not sure if you can ever duplicate that level of excitement playing for a National Championship in your home town.  Those are memories that will last a lifetime."

Graves explained this in a way that all of us should keep in the back of our heads as we go through our lives.

"I think it shows that anything is possible if you have a group of individuals that are willing to sacrifice everything for the team.   Everyone needs to have the ability to put their egos aside and cheer for each other and work together," Graves added.  "It is everybody – administrators, coaches, student-athletes, trainers, managers – everybody is going in the same direction.  It takes a lot of work and effort and a little luck along the way, but it showed that you could do it.  It was possible.  Since then, we have seen different teams at the mid major level have opportunities to go to the Final Four."

A team that is led by guys with the character of Graves and Brad Stevens is not going to accept just making the big game.  They were there to win it.  Facing one of the giants in the game in the 2010 finals, Butler gave Duke all it could handle.  Trailing by two with 3.6 seconds on the clock, the Bulldogs had the ball.  Gordon Hayward launched a half-court shot at the buzzer.  The shot hit the backboard and banked off the rim, falling just an inch away from being one of the most amazing moments in sports history.  Despite coming up just short, their story DID turn out to be an amazing one.  Graves explained that moment along with the aftermath.

"The first thing that pops into your mind as the shot goes in the air is that they are going to make a movie out of this.  To see that shot bounce off, for that 3-4 seconds, it was like everything had stopped," Graves said when recalling the moment.   "The locker room after that game was something nobody will ever forget.  We were exhausted.  Every single person associated with the program gave everything they had and we could walk out of there feeling extremely proud of what we accomplished."

With such strong ties to Indiana, Graves is excited to have the opportunity to work for another storied program in the state as he joins head coach Walter McCarty's first staff at UE.  The possibility of taking this position is something that came about fast – very fast.

"After the season, I was sitting at home and Micah Shrewsberry, who is an assistant with Brad and the Celtics, sent me a text and said that Walter asked for my number," Graves explained.  "He gave me a heads up that Walter may be giving me a call.  Sure enough – Coach sent me a text about 10 minutes later and asked if I had some time to talk."

It was that phone call where Graves really established a connection with Coach McCarty.  The two had interacted on limited occasions when Graves would visit Coach Stevens and the Celtics, but this 1-on-1 conversation was all McCarty needed to bring Graves on staff.

"I was extremely flattered that he offered me a chance to be on his first staff.  I understand as a head coach how important your first staff is.  I am honored that he thought of me and gave me this opportunity.  Coming back to the Midwest and Indiana is very special.  There is nothing like basketball in this state; it was a home run for me," he added.

He is also reconnected with fellow assistant Todd Lickliter, who gave Graves his first coaching opportunity at Butler.

"It is a lot of fun.  We have had a chance to tell a lot of stories and talk about some great memories that we had.  It is also interesting to talk about both of our experiences after Butler and discuss what we have done."

Those experiences and stories are things that Graves will always cherish.  He always knew that a career in sports was what he wanted to pursue, but it took some adversity in college for him to see it from a different angle.  An injury as a sophomore allowed him to take an extra year of classes while earning numerous certifications due to that work.  Even at a young age, Graves took full advantage of every opportunity to grow as a person and a student.

"When I started at Butler, I looked at physical therapy and athletic training.  I wanted to be around sports and to be involved with people," he said.  "As my college career progressed, I was fortunate that I redshirted my sophomore year due to an injury and was so far ahead academically and was able to take extra classes in education.  When I graduated, I was almost immediately hired at North Central High School to work for Doug Mitchell and that opened up a lot of different doors.  The ability to find a job very quickly out of school helped me get into coaching and the rest is history."

That was the first stop in what has been a very special career that has seen him coach in the final game twice before assuming his first head coaching job soon after.  He looked back on that opportunity.

"I am very thankful to the University of South Alabama for giving me my first opportunity as a head coach.  I will be forever grateful for those five years; I truly learned a lot," Graves exclaimed.  "That opportunity made me a much better coach than I would have ever been.  I moved out of the region, made new connections and worked with different types of kids and families.  That experience really gave me a much broader picture of the basketball world as opposed to staying centralized in the Midwest.  I know it will also make me a better assistant coach being able to work as a head coach for the last five years."

Graves' accomplishments in the sport of basketball are unquestioned, but there is a much larger lesson to take away.  His ability to turn every day into a learning experience has allowed him to grow into one of the most successful basketball coaches in the country.