Butler Basketball: Is Paul Jorgensen the next great transfer for the Bulldogs?

Last season, Butler basketball was led by three transfers in Tyler Lewis, Kethan Savage, and Avery Woodson. Is Paul Jorgensen the next great transfer?

After an incredibly successful season in 2016-17, the Butler Bulldogs will be looking to reload this fall with another great year. Having now made the past three NCAA Tournaments, new head coach LaVall Jordan is hoping to keep that streak alive. With stars in Kamar Baldwin and Kelan Martin returning, hopes are high that the Dawgs can once again compete with the elite in the Big East Conference.

However, this team graduates a ton of talent. Tyler Lewis, Kethan Savage, and Avery Woodson were all valuable transfer guards on the team a season ago, and the loss of senior forward Andrew Chrabascz cannot be understated. With this being said, it will be up to the returning core and incoming players to step up. Big men Tyler Wideman and Nate Fowler will see increased roles on the floor and former four-star recruit Joey Brunk will be playing his first full season.

Sean McDermott and Henry Baddley also return as backups on the wing. Although the previously mentioned Baldwin will surely be used as a point guard much of this season, the Dawgs are lacking depth at the guard position. The play of new recruits will help on the wing, but the primary ball handlers this season will be Kamar Baldwin and incoming George Washington transfer Paul Jorgensen.

After sitting out last season, Jorgensen has two years of eligibility left for the Dawgs. Although not a major contributor in his first two seasons with George Washington, Jorgensen could easily enter the 2017-18 season starting for Butler. Statistically, Jorgensen did not jump off the page much for the Colonials:

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table – Generated 8/7/2017.

Statistics aside, however, there are a few keys to how Jorgensen can impact this Butler team considering he has had the entire last season off. Here are some of the benefits that he could have gained from this:

• Practicing with seasoned guards in Lewis, Woodson, and Savage will have helped his overall play.
• He will have had the past season off to work on his game and get quicker/stronger.
• Jorgensen has spent lots of time with his new teammates, getting accustomed to their games and developing chemistry.

So far in Butler’s offseason trip to Spain, Jorgensen has been a part of the starting lineup in both games, including a 20-point performance in the team’s second game. As he continues to grow with his teammates throughout the rest of the offseason, it looks like Jorgensen will be an important part of Butler’s rotation from the moment this season gets underway. Incoming recruit Aaron Thompson is also a possible option to play at point guard although head coach LaVall Jordan might lean towards the experience of Jorgensen early in the season.

In addition to Jorgensen’s play on the court so far, it is important to take note of Butler’s new head coach. In his time as an assistant coach at Michigan, LaVall Jordan worked with some phenomenal guards, including former Wolverine Trey Burke. Can Jordan light a fire under Jorgensen to be the new starting point guard for the Bulldogs? If Jorgensen can reach his potential this upcoming season, then pairing him up with sophomore Kamar Baldwin could make for a very dangerous backcourt in Indianapolis.

Next: Breaking down Butler's non-conference schedule

Butler showed this past season that they can lean on transfers. Making up for the efforts of Lewis, Woodson, and Savage is certainly a lot to ask out of young Paul Jorgensen, but he has the ability to be a valuable point guard in the Big East. Hopefully he can follow in the footsteps of several other former Butler guards and help the Bulldogs make a deep run this upcoming season.