Butler’s Matt Howard defends his tattered socks
Butler forward Matt Howard has been one of the darlings of the NCAA tournament after scoring game-winning baskets against Old Dominion and Pittsburgh to get the Bulldogs into the Sweet 16. But the one part of Howard's game that has come under some criticism this week has been his socks.
There's nothing really wrong with Howard's socks. They're old, tattered and a little gray, but clean, Howard said. However, they've been worn so many times that the elastic no longer allows them to stick to his leg. So they kind of just scrunch down around his ankle in an A.C. Slater "Saved By the Bell" sort of way.
"Ron [Nored] said they're terrible and nasty," Howard told 24-Hour News 8. "I wash them, but they're older and they're not tight to my leg. Apparently, that's critical in this day and age that your socks fit tightly to your leg. I don't know, it doesn't bother me, they still work."
Work they have.
In Butler's two tournament games, Howard is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. But more importantly, he's managed to be in the right spot at the right time during each of the Bulldogs tournament wins -- once to put back a missed shot before the buzzer and then to score the game-winning free throw with less than a second remaining.
"I love his socks," senior guard Zack Hahn told the television station. "We've been winning when he wears them. So, no complaints here."
