NCAA Basketball: Analyzing grad transfer Charles Minlend’s finalists

Butler Bulldogs

Butler is definitely in the market to land an immediately-eligible guard for this coming season and it is reasonable to assume the Charles Minlend will be a priority. The Dawgs are already losing Kamar Baldwin and Sean McDermott as starters on the wing from this past season while Khalif Battle elected to transfer and Jordan Tucker is currently testing the NBA Draft waters. While the program has a highly-touted recruiting class joining the mix with a couple of guards potentially capable of filling a starting role, adding a proven veteran like Minlend makes perfect sense.

Head coach LaVall Jordan is returning three starters for this coming season even with the four departures. With that said, though, none is truly regarded as a primary scoring option. That makes Butler a possibly alluring destination for a graduate transfer scoring guard. Minlend could form a senior backcourt with Aaron Thompson in Indianapolis while also being offered the opportunity to be one of the team’s go-to offensive weapons.

In order for that backcourt to truly excel, Minlend would need to take strides as a 3-point shooter. Although Thompson is a great facilitator and one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders, he is not a threat from deep and won’t be as a senior, either. That means that Minlend would be tasked with being one of the team’s top shooting threats. He is a career 31.8% shooter from deep.

Butler could perhaps offer Minlend the biggest role of any team on this list. While the Dawgs could be “rebuilding” in 2020-21 with five incoming freshmen, they also have three returning starters and adding Minlend to the mix might make them a dark-horse team.