Boom!! Seemingly out of nowhere Mark Pope has picked up his 4th commitment for the upcoming season and this one is a familiar name. Lamont Butler has decided to join BBN for his last year of eligibility after 4 years at San Diego State. The 6’2″ guard of course became a household name for hitting the buzzer beater at the 2023 Final Four to send the Aztecs to the Championship game. We’ll take a look at what we can expect and how he fits. If you missed our other previews you can check them out here:
Offensively
The numbers do not pop off the page by any stretch. If you’re reading per game stats and basing your analysis on that you’ll almost certainly be underwhelmed by Lamont Butler. Butler also doesn’t seem like a great fit for what Pope wants from his guards (based on what he did at BYU). He’s a career 32% shooter from 3 and shoots 41% from the floor. That obviously will present some challenges in the SEC. What he has shown is he is willing to take and make tough shots in winning time.
On the surface it also doesn’t appear he creates a lot for others but when you watch San Diego State games the last 2-3 seasons that isn’t quite true. His AST% is a healthy 24% while his TOV% remains around 13% which is fine. He seems to see the court well and I would contend that his numbers don’t pop due to the system that SDSU has run. I think if Butler gets in an offensive system that is designed to create open looks his scoring will not only jump so will his assist numbers.
Defensively
This is where Butler shines. He might be the best defensive guard in the country. He’s the reigning MWC DPOTY and has made the MWC All-Defensive team 3 years in a row. He stands at just 6’2” but uses remarkable fundamentals to just out-tough opponents.
Butler is an above-average athlete with good instincts. He’s able to lockdown opponents on the ball and despite being just 6’2” is an above average help defender as well. His active hands create quite a few turnovers that lead to points. The thing that sets him a part is his mentality. He takes defending personally and seems to relish shutting teams down. That is something Kentucky has lacked for several years.
2024 Outlook
We’ll obviously have to wait to see how the rest of the roster shakes out, but I doubt Butler is transferring to Kentucky to come off the bench. He’s going to come in and start. The mechanics on his shot are good and I think that if Butler is put in an offensive system that creates a lot of open looks his offensive numbers will take a jump.
The most important thing about Butler is that he’s a winner. San Diego State is a program built on toughness and winning and Bulter has been an important part for 4 years (including the last 3 years as a starter). The Aztecs have won 104 games in his 4 years. That ncludes the MWC twice, the MWC Tournament twice, made 2 S16’s, and have been to the national title game. Kentucky basketball needs some toughness in the program even if the numbers aren’t dazzling.
