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Butler Basketball: Previewing Bryce Golden’s impact for 2019-20

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Butler Bulldogs cheerleaders perform during a time out in the game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Butler Bulldogs during the Big East Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Butler Bulldogs cheerleaders perform during a time out in the game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Butler Bulldogs during the Big East Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 02: Coach Jordan of Butler Basketball calls. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 02: Coach Jordan of Butler Basketball calls. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Butler basketball’s frontcourt struggled throughout last season. How might sophomore Bryce Golden improve and emerge as a strong contributor?

Bryce Golden was a top-250 recruit out of high school but was unable to find consistent minutes with Butler basketball as a freshman. Looking ahead to this coming season, though, Golden looks poised to make a significant impact. Even though he will be a reserve in the frontcourt, he should prove to be a valuable asset with consistent minutes. Due to injury, Golden was held out for most of last season and ended up playing just 89 total minutes in 15 contests. He was never truly able to find a rhythm on either end of the court in his playing time as he never saw double-digit minutes in a game.

In 2019-20, there will be a much more clear path to minutes for the young power forward. As already mentioned in previous player breakdowns, Derrik Smits and Bryce Nze look poised to hold down the most minutes at the power forward and center slots this season. With that said, though, it is very reasonable to assume that Golden will be one of the primary reserves behind both of them. This will allow him to consistently see 10-20 minutes per game and his impact should be felt on both ends of the floor.

Butler’s entire frontcourt will be much more physical this season and Golden adds to that. He brings plenty of size at 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds, boasts a versatile offensive game, and is not afraid of using his body to create space on either end of the floor. It is unlikely that Golden will be a star, or even a starter, this season, but he should see plenty of minutes in a season that could be his first true step towards playing a huge role as an upperclassman.

Even though he is yet to see a ton of collegiate minutes, let’s dive deeper into Golden’s game to analyze how he might have an impact on Butler basketball as a sophomore this season.

This is the third part of an offseason series that will involve breaking down each member of the Butler basketball roster for this coming season. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks. (All statistics are found via Sports-Reference, T-Rank, and KenPom.)