Butlers Role next year

[M@RQUETTEW@RRIORS]

I think this will be very interesting.  Seems to me he deferred to the big 4 almost all the time but showed flashes of offensive ability that could explode on to the scene next year.  I think he needs to learn that he has the ability to finish strong at the hoop instead of double pumping at times.  But that will come with confidence.  That being said, there is a large contingent of players at the 3/4 position next year and there will be a healthy competition for Minutes.  You have:
Lazar
Butler
Fulce
Maymon
Williams

Can Butler play the 2? I have heard he has a real nice touch and I saw first hand he can handle the rock, though he was not asked to do so this season.  Just another way for him to get minutes.

Nice problem to have I guess.  But you have to assume Lazar will be logging 30+ minutes a game and hopefully most of them at the 3 spot.  Maybe early on with this year behind him Butler will get some extra minutes.  You have to assume those practices are gonna be pretty intense with the fight for precious floor time in games.

[Chili]

Butler cannot defend quick guards so I would say he has to play the big guard / wing forward positions.

[NavinRJohnson]

See also Young, Sam.

I might actually be serious about that. Their numbers from Soph year are almost identical. Size and style are remarkably similar - athletic and strong inside, good with the ball, tenacious rebounders. Biggest difference is obviously the 3-pt shooting. We'll see what happens with that next year.

Of the players on that list, I would say the biggest unknown may be Fulce. I am very interested to see how much he and Otule can develop and improve this off season. If they can come along and contribute that would be huge for next year.

Obviously Lazar and Butler are going to play big minutes. After that, I would say Maymon will get plenty. Hoepfully Fulce can force his way onto the court, and Williams is a bit of an unknown...may have to wait his turn. May be a guy or two that we don't even know about yet as well, so who knows, but I suspect there will be plenty of time to go around.

[Phi Iota Gamma 84]

If Butler can work on his outside shot he will be a lot better player for us next year, this year defenders gave him the shot and sagged into the middle

[ceh]

If JB shows he can shoot the rock from 15+, like Lazar, he is going to create some serious matchup issues.  He may not be our #1 option, but wow, what an option to have on the court.  The sky seems to be the limit for this kid right now.

[NavinRJohnson]

If Butler can work on his outside shot he will be a lot better player for us next year, this year defenders gave him the shot and sagged into the middle

And he was still whipping their asses at the end of the year...very exciting to think about the potential if he can knock down a few 3 pointers. The more I think about it, the more I am liking the Sam Young comparison.

[tower912]

Butler can't guard a quick 2, but if we are going to run 4 of the 5 listed out there with a guard, wouldn't a zone, a la Syracuse or Louisville be appropriate?   I have no problem visualizing sets with Cadougan, Lazar, Butler, Jeronne, and either EWill or Fulce. 

[downtown85]

Butler can't guard a quick 2, but if we are going to run 4 of the 5 listed out there with a guard, wouldn't a zone, a la Syracuse or Louisville be appropriate?   I have no problem visualizing sets with Cadougan, Lazar, Butler, Jeronne, and either EWill or Fulce. 

I agree.  Junior, Ewill, and Jeronne are unknown/unproven quantities on D.  I look for Buzz to play a lot of some sort of match-up zone against quicker teams next year.  The added length of those guys will create some problems for the opposition.  If Liam is healthy, having an athletic 7'1" guy in the middle of that zone would cause some nightmares to driving guards. 

[Nukem2]

I suspect Jimmy will play a similar role next year unless the new guys are slow in developing.

[HoopsMalone]

Jimmy is a very ideal guy to have come off of the bench because he can defend a lot of different types of players and he can rebound.  He is a great energy guy off of the bench as well. 

I would not mind seeing him get a lot of minutes at the 2 spot next year.  It does not look like Junior will be able to keep many guards in front of him, and Acker cannot stop a PG over the course of a game, so a zone is inevitable in my opinion.  Lazar could have trouble keeping people in front of him as well if he moves to the 3 spot.  Jimmy will be a perfect person to have in the zone at the top of a 3-2 (with Junior/Acker on a wing and Lazar on the other side).

[Chili]

I also do not believe Jimmy has the handle to be a 2G. He is a great small forward. He not a guard. He is not as athletic as Sam Young.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Based on size, length, effort and athleticism, Butler was one of our best players this year. The previous poster was correct in referencing him "deferring" to the other guys, although I'd prefer to call it filling the role Buzz asked him to fill. Next year he'll be asked to fill a different role and I have no doubt he's up to the task. He and Hayward are poised to form a helluva dynamic duo of returning contributors.

I think he's the best junior college transfer we've had at Marquette in a long, long time...maybe ever (although I think Whitehead may have been a JC transfer).

[nyg]

Whitehead, Lloyd Walton and Jim Boylan.   Butler has some work to do to catch up with these guys.

[downtown85]

I am pretty sure Boylan didn't transfer from JC.  I think it was a division II school. 

[nyg]

Thats correct, but he was a transfer from a Div III college, Assumption. 

[muwarrior69]

Did'nt Dean Smith send Boylan our way?

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Whitehead, Lloyd Walton and Jim Boylan.   Butler has some work to do to catch up with these guys.

You're right...I wasn't sure about Whitehead. My point remains, however. Butler is a very good pickup and better than the JCs that were brought in during the previous regime.

[GGGG]

I think you have to be very careful assuming that someone who was the fourth offensive option on the floor this year (if not the fifth) is going to be able to step it up significantly.  I am not saying it won't happen, but one of the reasons he had such a good year is because he wasn't expected to do anything offensively.  He was their hustle player.  Defend.  Grab rebounds.  Create chaos.  That doesn't necessarily mean that he becomes a significant offensive contributor next year.

[DaCoach]

It seems to me that Butler excelled when we were playing an uptempo game. He's very good in the open court and when he can slide along the baseline for offensive rebounds and tip ins. In a half court game, his lack of outside game and his inability to penetrate limited his advantages.

OTOH, with the Amigos gone he may pick up his offensive game over the summer. Either way, he'll have better defensive assignments next year.