Mark Pope says guard your wallet around Lamont Butler: 'This dude is gonna steal everything.'

Kentucky’s offense poured in 123 points on 21 made three-pointers in the first preseason game of the Mark Pope era. Eight Wildcats finished in double figures, 32 assists were dished out, and the pace never slowed. Pope certainly told no lies in the offseason when he said the offense would be fun to watch.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The exact opposite in fact. I’m here to talk about Lamont Butler‘s suffocating defense.

Butler recorded six steals in just 18 minutes of action against Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday night. That’s one more steal than the Wildcats had turnovers (five) as an entire team.

“Lamont Butler had more steals than our whole team had turnovers tonight. I’ve never seen that actually, that’s really incredible,” Pope said postgame. “He’s a special player.”

“These were on the ball steals,” Pope added. “He’s a dangerous man. If you see Lamont in the back corner, guard your wallet man because this dude is about to steal everything! I’m kidding. He’s actually the best human being in the world. But on the court, he’s a world-class thief.”

Mark Pope on Lamont Butler, who had 6 steals vs. KWC: "If you see Lamont in the back corner, guard your wallet man, because this dude is gonna steal everything — I'm kidding! He's actually the best human being in the world but on the court, he's a world-class thief."

— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) October 24, 2024

From the moment an opposing Kentucky Wesleyan guard crossed halfcourt, there was Butler, up inside the jersey of the ball handler, sticking his hands directly into the cookie jar and walking away with two easy points on the other end. Even if he didn’t force a turnover, he was mucking up the action and preventing Kentucky Wesleyan from getting into any sort of offensive flow. The Panthers finished with just 52 points on 33 percent shooting.

“He makes our lives easier because of the amount of pressure that he puts on the point guard,” Guard Koby Brea said of Butler postgame. “Usually, he’s going to take them out of their offense, he’s gonna take them out of the plays they’re gonna run, and they’re gonna have to go into the secondary action and stuff like that. So it’s definitely a blessing to have on our side.”

Butler came to Kentucky with the reputation of a tenacious defender. He claimed a pair of Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior while at San Diego State. He was a three-time Mountain West All-Defensive Team member with the Aztecs. Butler was recruited by Pope to primarily do exactly what he did against Kentucky Wesleyan.

While it was only one (exhibition) game, Butler’s thievery should give fans more hope that Kentucky can produce a reliable defense. Let’s also not ignore the fact that his stat line included 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists on top of his excellent defensive pressure. We witnessed a well-rounded performance in his first game as Wildcat, but the defense is impossible to ignore.

“I ain’t never seen somebody play defense like that,” Guard Otega Oweh said. “He’s gonna be an issue.”