Film Room: Lamont Butler

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There is a famous Lil Wayne lyric that would encapsulate the recruitment of Lamont Butler perfectly. “Real G’s move in silence like lasagna.”

Coach Mark Pope and his staff have intentionally tried to keep things quiet on the recruiting front with a few of their top targets. For example, a little misdirection was used on Friday as Kentucky’s staff flew west and news leaked that they would be meeting with Washington State transfer Jaylen Wells. However, the meeting was actually with Lamont Butler from San Diego State. Hours later, before anyone really knew what was happening, the Wildcats had landed a commitment. It was a home run recruiting job by the now fully intact coaching staff.

For folks at home, Lamont Butler is probably best known for his game-winning buzzer-beater to lift San Diego State of Florida Atlantic in the 2023 Final Four. There is a lot more to his game than just that moment though. The 6’2″ 200-pound guard has 131 games and 102 starts under his belt. He is a three-time Mountain West All-Defense selection earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023 (media) and 2024 (coaches). If the goals are to get older, more physical, and better defensively Butler checks those boxes.

Butler averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game as a senior for the Aztecs. The shooting numbers won’t jump off of the page, but he isn’t a liability from beyond the arc either. Shooting just 59.4% from the free throw line is concerning, but he was 77.3% and 73.1% the previous two seasons. Hopefully that was a one-year hiccup. Coach Pope will find plenty of creative ways to scheme the necessary offensive spacing around a guy like Butler who won’t inherently stretch the defense. However, he has also proven the ability to make defenders pay for going underneath ballscreens and handoffs. There shouldn’t be too many concerns about a guy who started for a national runner-up team as a junior and a Sweet 16 team as a senior.

As always, we’ve been hard at work inside of the KSR Film Room breaking down the game of Kentucky’s most recent commitment. Butler brings a history of winning and a defensive toughness that will be huge for Coach Pope in year one. He is a proven playmaker off of the bounce that can serve as a primary or secondary ball handler in your offense. Defensively he is a legitimate game-changer on the perimeter. There is a lot to be excited about with adding this piece to the puzzle. The Wildcats still only have four scholarships spoken for, but the dominoes could start to fall in a hurry now. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at what Kentucky is getting in Lamont Butler.

Attacking the Basket

Lamont Butler is more of a driver than he is a shooter. He wants to get downhill to the rim where he can use his athleticism and strength to finish. Defenses will try to play underneath the ballscreens and handoffs at times, but gameplans don’t always get executed. Butler has such a quick first step and an explosiveness off of the bounce that it can be dangerous to give him a runway. San Diego State used him effectively in a lot of ballscreen and handoff action that could easily translate to Coach Mark Pope’s offensive system. Regardless of his outside shooting ability, Butler has enough game to make things happen as a relentless driver.

You should be able to close your eyes and envision this handoff happening between Lamont Butler and Amari Williams. From a scouting perspective, there is really no reason for Stanford to guard Butler so far away from the basket. However, defenses do a bad job all of the time. Butler does an excellent job of making them pay in this clip. The Stanford defender is out well beyond the arc and gets caught chasing over top of the handoff. That allows Butler to get downhill and finish at the rim. When he has a head of steam downhill he is really hard to stop.

Again, the opposing coaching staff probably isn’t happy with the defensive execution in this clip. “Back up” and “make him use the screen” were likely being yelled in the film room. However, those mistakes will happen in every game. Butler whips his defender to the baseline and gets to the rim before anyone can rotate. He is very quick with the ball in his hands.

This clip showcases just how quick Lamont Butler is end-to-end. Three-point shooting percentage doesn’t matter much when you are pushing the ball up the floor in transition. Whether he is serving as the primary ball handler or not, Butler will help push the tempo of Kentucky’s offense next season.

Playmaking Ability

As a senior, Lamont Butler was able to maintain his assists numbers while limiting his turnovers. He finished the season with a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio while playing next to another high-assist playmaker. If Butler is used as a primary playmaker then you will likely will see his assist numbers climb. However, he has proven he can flourish when sharing the responsibilities and can be penciled in as a 2-to-1 assist to turnover guy. His experience as a playmaker will be immediately beneficial to Coach Pope’s offense at Kentucky.

This is the level of pace that comes from playing 131 college basketball games. Lamont Butler is very patient when playing off of a ballscreen despite his explosiveness. In this clip he does a great job of taking that one last dribble to make the secondary defender commit. If he had returned to the roll man, then Butler would have taking off of the rim. However, the defender stepped up to stop the drive which triggered the lob. Pace, awareness, processing, and accurate passing all were on display here.

Again, these are the type of high IQ plays that become second nature with a lot of experience. Butler flashes his quick-twitch ability at the point of the ballscreen with an inside-out dribble to get by his defender. Then, he quickly hits his teammate on the short roll before it becomes too congested in the paint. He processes the game at a high really high level and is a proven playmaker at the highest levels.

Three-Point Shooting

This is where the concerns come in with Lamont Butler. He is a career 32.1% three-point shooter with 104 makes in 131 games. As a junior, Butler shot 34.2% making one per game, but that slid back to 30.2% last season. However, his free throw shooting is a bigger concern. After making 77.3% from the charity stripe as a sophomore, Butler dropped to 73.1% as a junior and plummeted to 59.4% as a senior. That is not what you want out of a potential lead guard. Those junior year numbers were good, but seeing such a slide into his senior year is concerning. Overall, his shooting mechanics look solid and he is far from a liability on the perimeter, but shooting at the other positions will be put at a premium when playing a guy like Butler.

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You don’t have to be Rob Dillingham or Reed Sheppard in order to put pressure on the defense. Making one three per game at 33% or better is enough to garner respect. The goal for Lamont Butler at Kentucky would be meet those metrics. If he can do that, then it probably keeps opposing defenses from going under the ballscreens and handoffs. Then, if defenses are forced to go over the top, it really unlocks his driving and playmaking ability. He has proven in the past that he can makes defenses pay for going under.

Go under once, go under twice, Lamont Butler makes you pay. Again, these are the ones he needs to make. Per Synergy, he ranked in the 76th percentile, per Synergy as a spot up shooter making 36.4% of his attempts in those situations. Mix that in with some open ones behind the ballscreen and he is a sufficient shooting threat.

This were going under the ballscreens can hurt even if it doesn’t lead to a three. The Fresno State defender hopped underneath, but then got caught while trying to close the space. Butler is excellent with his first step and gets downhill in a hurry. You can see that his shot is smooth and structurally sound. Mid-range jump shots won’t be common in Coach Pope’s offense, but it is good to know Butler can make them.

Defense

We’ve gone on long enough without talking about Lamont Butler’s defensive ability. This is where his money is really made. He earned three Mountain West All-Defense honors and was named Defensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons. Quite simply, Butler is regarded as arguably the best perimeter defender in college basketball. After a season where the Wildcats struggled mightily on that end of the floor, landing a guy like Butler will go a long way towards changing the defensive culture.

Similar to how he processes the game offensively, Lamont Butler also plays with great awareness on the defensive end. He stays in the gap to help on #24 Brandon Miller and becomes even more aggressive when he sees him go behind his back. Dribbling behind your back does not work in college and Butler understands that after 131 games played. Check out the lob at the end of the fast break too.

You can’t take teach the innate defensive traits that it takes to make this type of play. Butler uses his speed to stay with the ball handler, his strength to maintain his position, and then his athleticism to block the shot attempt. There aren’t too many guards in college basketball who could make a play like you see in this clip. It takes excellent athleticism and body control to block that shot attempt without fouling.

This is an example of simply deciding to take the ball from your opponent. Lamont Butler’s defensive abilities have gone to the highest levels. Having the ability to rip the ball away from the opposing point guard in the national championship game is pretty special. Then, Butler caps the play off with an athletic finish at the other end. He can really, really guard.

Evaluation

Lamont Butler is a winner. He helped lead the San Diego State Aztecs to the championship game as a junior and back to the Sweet 16 as a senior. He is an elite, game-changing defender on the perimeter. His combination of physicality and athletic ability allow him to really disturb the flow of things on that end of the floor. Offensively, getting the rim off of the dribble is his bread and butter. Butler plays with great pace while still possessing an effective first step and some true explosiveness with the ball in his hands. He processes the game at a high-level on both ends of the floor. That shows up in his playmaking ability offensively and turnover creation defensively. Kentucky is a getting a proven winner, arguably the best perimeter defender in the portal, and veteran playmaker.