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

By Lukas Harkins

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 14: The Butler Bulldogs mascot walks on the court in the game against Purdue Boilermakers during the 2013 Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 14, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 14: The Butler Bulldogs mascot walks on the court in the game against Purdue Boilermakers during the 2013 Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 14, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Butler basketball coach Jordan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Butler basketball coach Jordan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Bryce Nze is one of Butler basketball’s incoming transfers heading into the 2019-20 season. How will the forward make an impact during his junior year?

There are a lot of highly-impactful transfers joining the Big East for this coming season. Butler basketball’s Bryce Nze, though, might turn out to be the biggest difference-maker for his team considering the program’s massive frontcourt needs. Nze, who sat out last season due to transfer rules, is a 6-foot-7 bruising power forward that fits the mold of an ultra glue guy at the high-major level. Obviously, it is never easy to make the jump from the Horizon League to the Big East but Nze’s overall playing style should easily translate and he is also very familiar with Butler’s leadership as LaVall Jordan was his head coach back with the Panthers as well.

Butler missed the NCAA Tournament during this past due to a number of reasons. Above all other issues, though, their lack of a consistent defender and rebounder in the frontcourt was the biggest culprit for their struggles. Nate Fowler and Joey Brunk were average offensive players last season but that was not enough to make up for both being poor on the defensive end and on the glass. Looking ahead to this coming season, Fowler/Brunk will be replaced by two transfers in Derrik Smits and Nze. These two newcomers fit the team’s needs substantially better and should improve Butler’s overall production in the frontcourt.

I never want to set the bar too high for transfers but Fowler/Brunk only combined to average 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks in 37.1 minutes per game last season. For reference, Smits posted 12.2p/5.7r/1.0b in 21.7 mpg for Valparaiso last year and Nze averaged 10.3p/8.5r/1.5b in 29.5 mpg as a sophomore with Milwaukee in 2017-18. Of course, the step-up in competition might prove difficult for both, but they do not need to be stars. Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker are proven offensive threats; Smits/Nze just need to be improvements over Fowler/Brunk and that shouldn’t be too difficult, especially for guys who have each already played over 65 college games in their careers.

Considering I wrote about Smits last week, this article will stick to the potential impact that Bryce Nze will have on the team. I would have been remiss, though, to not mention how the two incoming frontcourt transfers compare to the two departures. Now, without any further ado, let’s dive into what Nze will bring to Butler on both ends of the floor and then analyze his overarching role for the year with some projections.

This is the second 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.)