Butler Basketball: 2017-18 player grades for the Bulldogs

Butler basketball had yet another solid season in 2017-18. Let’s look back on each player and how they performed as individuals throughout the year.

With the NCAA Tournament complete, it is time to look back at the 2017-18 season. For Butler basketball, it was another quality season. The program once again reached the Big Dance and snagged one victory while there. Butler continued to show its power as one of the more consistently underrated programs in the country.

The Bulldogs were once the feel-good underdog story of college hoops. That is no longer the case. Now in the Big East, Butler has emerged as one of the top teams in an elite conference year in and year out. They still represent “The Butler Way” and are well-liked across the nation but they are also now a powerful program in the NCAA landscape.

This past season had plenty of ups and downs but ended with an NCAA Tournament appearance. In addition, the program also snagged a first-round victory for the seventh consecutive time. As long as Butler makes the Big Dance, it is all but a guarantee that they will be in the Round of 32.

Now that the year is over and in-conference rival Villanova has been crowned champion, let’s look back on Butler’s 2017-18 season by grading the players and coach of the team.

As a quick note, this piece specifically grades the “rotation players” on the roster, meaning that players who were on the floor for less than 10% of total minutes this season have been excluded. Because of this, here are a few words on each of the guys who did not make the cut:

FR Christian David: As a freshman, David was very close to hitting the 10% of minutes threshold. He had a solid season all around and showed the potential for being a scorer down the road. He shot just 3-for-16 (18.8%) from 3-point land but was reasonably effective when venturing inside the arc.

FR Joey Brunk: The third big man on the roster, Brunk did not see a ton of minutes this season (109). However, he showed flashes of being a solid contributor and will play a major role as a sophomore next season. He made 11 of his 21 shots (52.4%) and snagged a fair number of rebounds in reference to his minutes (12.1 boards per 40 minutes).

FR Jerald Gillens-Butler: Playing in 61 minutes of the year, Gillens-Butler was stuck behind a deep rotation on the wing. In his time, the freshman posted 14 points, mostly due to his 6-for-8 shooting from the free throw line. He also snagged three offensive rebounds.

FR Campbell Donovan: A crowd-favorite, Donovan played 22 total minutes this season. In this time, he knocked home one 3-pointer and a couple of free throws. He added one steal and one assist to his total stat line as well.

Statistics are found via Sports-Reference.