'A Reluctant Hero': San Diego State Reporters React to Lamont Butler's Transfer to Kentucky

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Lamont Butler is a hero in San Diego sports history. Even after his transfer from San Diego State to Kentucky this offseason, he’ll always be remembered for “The Shot.”

Butler hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer in the 2023 Final Four to defeat FAU, giving San Diego State its first NCAA championship game appearance in program history. Now that he’s leaving for Kentucky, fans are left with mixed feelings, but overall, a positive outlook on the 6-foot-1 guard.

KSR+ talked with San Diego State beat writers Mark Ziegler of The San Diego Union-Tribune and Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press about Butler’s transfer to Kentucky

“He’s kind of a reluctant hero in some respects,” Ziegler said. “The main thing is that he’s just a really quality, high-character individual. I know a lot of people say that and it’s kind of a cliche, but it really applies to him. People will find that out really quickly.”

The Shot

San Diego isn’t known as a city with a great sports history. The San Diego Padres have never won a World Series. The Chargers left for Los Angeles in 2017 having never won a Super Bowl. Given all of that, Lamont Butler’s game-winner in the Final Four will likely go down as a top-three moment in San Diego sports history.

“You can argue these forever, but I’ve covered the San Diego sports scene since 1991,” Wilson said. “The modern sports fan is going to remember that shot for a long time.”

To hit a buzzer-beater on the biggest stage in college basketball for a city itching for moments like this is unmatched in San Diego. He lifted a whole city up.

“You have these fans that are so starved for winning,” Zeigler said. “There aren’t too many moments when people just go crazy, hugging strangers, and splashing beer around. Every bar in San Diego was like that. It was a really galvanizing moment for the city.”

The night of the Final Four game, the Padres were set to play an early evening game. Before the Padre game started, the big screen at Petco Park started playing the national semifinal game between FAU and San Diego State.

“By the time they got down to the end of the game, there were 35,000 fans in the seats,” Wilson said. “The baseball game hadn’t started. When Lamont hit the shot, the place just went absolutely nuts.”

For Zeigler, who was in NRG Stadium that night, the moment was “surreal.” It was like nothing he’d ever seen before.

“They’ve had good teams before, but this was the moment that put them over the top,” Zeigler said. “There was a huge release of emotion from everybody. It’ll rank as one of the greatest sports moments in San Diego’s history.”

Looking to Bounce Back from a Subpar 2023-24 Season

After the 2023 NCAA Tournament run, Lamont Butler returned to San Diego State for his fourth and final season with the Aztecs in 2023-24. It wasn’t his best year. Butler averaged a career-high 9.3 points per game, but saw his rebounding and assist numbers fall. His free throw percentage dropped by 13.7% to 59.4%, while his three-point percentage dropped by four percent to 30.2%.

“Lamont was just a victim of a lot of things, like everything going through the big man [Jaedon LeDee],” Wilson said. “Everybody struggled in a lot of games. He’s talking about getting a fresh start at Kentucky, so he’ll probably bounce back and be a playmaker again.”

Zeigler is interested to see how Butler is used in Mark Pope‘s system at Kentucky. He said he’s not “a true point guard.”

“Butler fashions himself that way, but he’s not great off ball screens,” Zeigler said. “He’s very good at getting to the basket, but he doesn’t have the same kind of court vision that a lot of elite point guards have where they can make that pocket pass or flick it out to the corner.”

‘Mixed Reaction’ From San Diego State Fans

Lamont Butler gave San Diego State four years, but his departure still leaves a bitter taste. Similar to Keshad Johnson, who left SDSU for Arizona last year, NIL played a big role.

“A lot of people resented [Keshad], but a lot of people said, look, if it weren’t for COVID, you’d have your four years and move on. There would be no fifth year,” Zeigler said.

For Wilson, Butler’s departure is a bit of an indictment on SDSU’s current NIL efforts. Although they currently have a collective, it’s “not a lot of money.”

“People don’t have to like it, but they have to grasp that NIL is the new reality,” Wilson said. “It can be a very harsh landscape. San Diego State is going to get punched in the nose if they can’t find some sugar daddies or something to pump up the NIL.”

Despite his departure, Butler will always be remembered for “The Shot.” It will be played on repeat for fans at the Viejas Arena in San Diego.

“Lamont provided a thrill for a city when it needed one the most. Everybody is going to remember him for that,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to tell fans how to fan, but you hope for the guy’s sake, they’re not bitter about it.”