The departure of Jordan Tucker has made Butler Basketball’s roster more clear for next season. What does the rotation look like currently?
The off-season dust has settled a bit for Butler Basketball. Four contributors graduated, two promising prospects surprisingly left the program, and a top 25 freshman class was signed. There is, however, a solid nucleus coming back from a 22-9 team that spent most of last season in the top 25.
They also added an under the radar graduate transfer in Jair Bolden from South Carolina. It is finally time to take a look at this team and see how it stacks up. First things first. What have the Bulldogs lost?
Guys lost to graduation
Kamar Baldwin – 16.2 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 3.3 Ast
Irreplaceable. Butler will miss his scoring but most of all the clutch gene that he possessed. Who is going to have the ball in a tie game with the clock ticking down? Not sure we have any clue right now. The ball did tend to stick in his hands a little bit too much, so his graduation could result in increased offensive efficiency. We will see.
Sean McDermott – 11.7 Pts, 6.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast
McDermott came into his own in his senior season. The Bulldogs lose their only reliable 3-point shooter and 2nd best rebounder which both really sting. He was also one of the most efficient players in the country last season so his time on the floor was extremely productive.
Henry Baddley – 3.2 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.2 Ast
He stepped up in some key spots in his final season in Indianapolis. We will talk about Christian David later, but while Baddley was valuable as a defender and a much-improved perimeter shooter, David should be able to fill his void.
Derrik Smits – 3.1 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 0.5 Ast
I don’t see how this loss hurts Butler at all. Smits led the team in turnovers per 40 minutes as a center and didn’t help much on the boards.
Transfers/NBA Draft departures for Butler Basketball
Khalif Battle – 3.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Jordan Tucker – 8.9 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.7 As
How do Battle and Tucker’s Decision to Leave Impact Butler?
The short answer is probably not much. I liked Battle as a prospect, but what Butler was going to get from him in his sophomore season was such an unknown. While it may be unfair to judge the recent Temple transfer by his 11 minutes per game, it is all we have to go on and in those 11 minutes, Battle was ineffective. Based on most advanced statistics that track player efficiency he was a detriment to the team while on the floor.
During Battle’s court time, Butler’s plus/minus was -5.2 on the offensive end, worst on the team, and his win share per 40 mins was the worst of anybody as well (walk-on Campbell Donovan’s was technically last on the team but he played 1 minute in 19-20). The 1-year of tutelage from Kamar Baldwin will really help him in his career and it would have been cool to see his growth at Butler, but his departure opened up a scholarship and there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Bulldogs will be better for it.
Jordan Tucker’s glimpses of his top-50 recruiting ranking were few and far between. The 3-point shot became Tucker’s security blanket because of his propensity to turn the ball over when driving to the basket and he never fully grasped his role within Butler’s defensive scheme. While Butler nation was elated when Tucker committed back in 2018, the pieces just never fit together. It feels a little weird to say this, but JT’s game is probably better suited for the professional level, and I hope it works out for him.
Now, let’s take a look at the roster for 2020-21, what the depth chart may look like, and project where the Bulldogs will finish in the Big East when all is said and done.