Butler Basketball: Biggest questions entering the 2017-18 season
After a tumultuous offseason, Butler basketball is approaching a very interesting season in 2017-18. What are some of their most pressing questions?
Butler basketball had one of their best seasons ever this past year. With victories over Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Arizona, Utah, Cincinnati, Indiana, and Vermont, Butler ranked among the best in the country following their non-conference schedule. And although there was a slip-up against Indiana State, it was hard to argue with their 11-1 start to the year.
In conference play, they did not slow down one bit. Losses to St. John’s and Georgetown were not pretty, but they made up for them by sweeping one of the top teams in the country, Villanova. In addition, they notched wins against tournament teams like Marquette, Xavier, Providence, and Seton Hall.
On Selection Sunday, Butler basketball received an at-large bid and was awarded a four seed in their region. After knocking out Winthrop and Middle Tennessee without trailing in either game, the Dawgs were eliminated by the eventual National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels.
Then, the offseason kicked off with head coach Chris Holtmann leaving to coach at Ohio State. Top recruit Kyle Young decided to join him, but new head coach LaVall Jordan stepped in and kept the other four recruits on the roster.
Heading into this season, there are a lot of questions surrounding the state of the program and what they can do to succeed in 2017-18. Let’s dive in and take a look at what they might mean.
Who is going to make up for the loss of forward Andrew Chrabascz, who graduated after last season?
Chrabascz was one of the best players to ever play in Hinkle Fieldhouse. His combination of inside scoring, 3-point shooting, and playmaking will be hard to match in 2017-18. To summarize his impact quickly, the team ran through him last season. Even if he was not the one taking the final shot, it was rare to see a possession that did not involve Chrabascz touching the ball at least once.
As for who can step into his shoes this season, that seems to be falling on the shoulders of Nate Fowler and Joey Brunk. Fowler was one of the most efficient scorers in the country last season when coming off the bench for the Bulldogs, and he will look to continue that this season. At 6’10” with the ability to splash from deep, he is very difficult cover and makes for offensive mismatches constantly.
Brunk, on the other hand, missed most of last season due to a family medical issue and practiced with the team all season long. Brunk was a four-star recruit out of high school and will be playing his first full season this year. He, like Fowler, has the ability to stretch the floor and stands at 6’10”.
Can Kelan Martin step up to be the leader of the team both on and off the court?
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As the conference schedule got underway this past season, we saw Kelan Martin struggle mightily with his shot. He was forcing shots, settling for long jumpers, and just looked out of rhythm. When coach Chris Holtmann moved him to the sixth man role later in the season, there was an instant improvement in his production.
Heading into this year, he is the clear star of the team and will need to be called on for 15-20 points in every contest. He is a tremendous scorer due to his length, size, and shooting ability. A solid defender, Martin can be a leader on both ends of the floor as long as he plays well.
Martin has the potential to be the Big East Player of the Year this season, and he will need to be at his best for Butler basketball to have a successful season.
Will the players commit to playing for coach LaVall Jordan and what impact will he have?
For LaVall Jordan, this will be just his second stint as a head basketball coach at the college level. Fresh off a 11-24 season with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last season, this will be a major test for him. Jordan has spent time as an assistant coach at Butler, Iowa, and Michigan before this, so he definitely knows his way around major conference play.
In his time with Michigan, Jordan was given lots of credit for his work with their guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. With a bunch of freshmen guards coming in this year, Jordan will hopefully be able to instill those same training programs.
As far as his coaching philosophy goes, he is hoping to keep much of the same things going for the Bulldogs. They will be focused on being a disciplined team on both ends of the floor with a propensity for shooting from deep. He had this to say after their 4-0 trip to Spain:
How impactful will the incoming freshman be?
Although there are no top-100 recruits this season, Butler basketball has a very good class coming in. Aaron Thompson, Cooper Neese, Jerald Butler, and Christian David are all rated as a three or four-star recruits and can all make an impact.
Butler basketball is very young this season, and that could easily open up opportunities for these players to make an impact. In the past, it is not all that common that a freshman sees valuable playing time in the Butler program, but it can definitely happen. For example, now-sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin was an impact player for the Dawgs just last season as a freshman.
With one of the guard slots open for this season, will one of these newcomers slide in to the starting lineup at some point? It is definitely possible, especially considering the defensive and playmaking capabilities of a backcourt that features Baldwin and Thompson.
What is going to happen in the backcourt?
Speaking of that backcourt, the Bulldogs will be without Avery Woodson, Kethan Savage, and Tyler Lewis this upcoming season. Each of them saw substantial minutes a year ago and they will be difficult to replace. Kamar Baldwin will definitely be holding down one of the starting spots, but who will join him?
Baldwin spend some time playing point guard in Spain this summer, and that could continue into the regular season. Either way, it looks like a combination of freshman Aaron Thompson and incoming transfer Paul Jorgensen will see a lot of time in the backcourt next to Baldwin. No matter what, this will be a young backcourt out to prove something in the conference.
Next: Breaking down Big East recruiting classes
This season will certainly be a challenge for the Bulldogs, but it is one that it seems likely they will be able to accomplish. Butler has proven that they are one of the top programs in the Big East over the past few seasons, and they will be looking to return to the NCAA Tournament once again this season. They have the talent, but winning in the Big East is never an easy thing to do.