Butler Basketball: Early preview of 2020-21 Bulldogs roster and rotation

Projected Rotation and Season Outlook for Butler Basketball

Aaron Thompson, Bryce Nze and Bryce Golden will all return as starters just as they were last season. That leaves room for a shooting guard and small forward/combo guard. As a result of so much of the shooting that Butler had last year no longer having eligibility, I do not see a scenario where Jair Bolden doesn’t come in and start.

However, Chuck Harris should see extended time in that spot as well and will probably split minutes with Bolden 50/50. The starting 3-man is anybody’s guess but it is more than likely between Christian David and Scooby Johnson. Personally, I like the idea of starting one of these freshmen to get some ears wet early and we all know what happened the last time Butler went into a season with that strategy, Kamar Baldwin.

Starters

PG- Aaron Thompson

SG- Jair Bolden

SF- Scooby Johnson

PF- Bryce Nze

PF- Bryce Golden

Contributors off the Bench

Chuck Harris- Starter Minutes (18-22)

Christian David- Starter Minutes (13-17)

Jakobe Coles- Spot Minutes (8-12)

Myles Tate- Spot Minutes (8-12)

Markus Hastings- Spot Minutes (6-10)

Early Outlook and Predictions

A huge portion of Butler’s points last year have moved on and considering the lack of efficiency at the offensive end and the squads #9 ranking in the Big East in scoring, maybe a refresh won’t be such a bad thing. The defense, however, won or kept Butler in a lot of games- #13 in the country in points scored- and the return of two of their top defenders (Aaron Thompson and Bryce Nze) will be one of the keys to keeping the Bulldogs relevant as they approach a much more manageable conference slate.

The Big East is not going to be what it was last year. When you lose guys like Myles Powell, Markus Howard, LJ Figuroa, Tyshon Alexander, Naji Marshall, Saddiq Bey and Alpha Diallo that will happen. By no means, however, does that equate to Butler shooting up the conference ranking list. A strong unit returns, and a fantastic freshman class enters the fold, but a middle of the pack finish is probably a realistic expectation for Lavall Jordan’s upcoming campaign. Here is a rough look at how I see the Big East shaking out:

1.       Villanova – Final 4

2.       Seton Hall – Sweet 16

3.       Creighton – Sweet 16

4.       Providence – NCAA Tournament

5.       Butler – Bubble Team

6.       Xavier – Bubble Team

7.       Marquette – Fringe Bubble Team

8.       UConn – NIT

9.       Georgetown – NIT

10.   St. Johns

11.   DePaul

Butler has a way of surprising people and Coach Jordan’s team vastly outperformed expectations in the 2019-20 COVID shortened season. Losing Baldwin and McDermott are big blows, but there is actually more depth to this roster now coupled with the experience of five upperclassmen who are going to see major minutes.

Still, for Butler to maximize who it can be this season, the emergence of Bryce Golden into an all-conference type player is going to be massively important. If he can do that, who knows how good Butler could become. If that happens, the Bulldogs just might be dancing again next March.