Mark Pope confirms Lamont Butler is back for March Madness: "It just matters."

In case there was any doubt, Lamont Butler is back for the Kentucky Wildcats. Mark Pope shared that the team received the ‘best possible news’ on its starting point guard at the SEC Tournament, adding ‘we look forward to having him as we move forward’ at the time. Then he said following the team’s loss to Alabama ‘the imaging was perfect, so we’re hopeful that he’ll be back in action.’

Any late setbacks or lingering issues after returning home to Lexington? Pope had nothing but good news to share as the team received its NCAA Tournament draw on Selection Sunday.

He’s going to play, and that’s really important for the Wildcats as they prepare for a potential March Madness run — something Butler knows plenty about.

“It matters. It just matters, you know? He’s a veteran, he’s been through it at the highest level,” Pope said. “He means so much to our team outside the tournament, and inside the tournament, he maybe even means more to us. That’s partly why we were as cautious as we were in the SEC Tournament. It’s really important to us.”

Pope and his staff jumped on a private jet back in the offseason and flew to Las Vegas to meet Butler and refused to leave until he committed to Kentucky. You do that specifically for March and the impact he can make for your team, just as he did for San Diego State when he hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in the Final Four to advance to the national championship.

This is his moment.

“The only way to gain experience is to get experience, and he’s done it,” Pope said. “He’s been in first round games in the tournament, he’s been in Final Four games in the tournament. He’s just such a steadying force for our team at the point of attack on the defensive end and initiating offense on the offensive end. You add in his experience and he’s a difference maker.”

Butler’s take on the matter? There is no doubt in his mind he’ll be on the floor and plans on doing what he does best: winning games in March.

“I’m feeling good, feeling a lot better than I was the last couple of days,” he said. “I’m just excited to go out there, have the opportunity to go to a Final Four and win that championship at Kentucky. I’m really excited and I can’t wait to go out there.”

Can we tip this thing off yet?