Butler Basketball: Bulldogs roster outlook after losing Scooby Johnson

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 04: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs listens to head coach LaVall Jordan during a game against the Creighton Bluejays at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 4, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler defeated Creighton 71-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 22: General view of a team banner hanging above the seats during the game between the Butler Bulldogs and Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The loss of top-150 freshman Scooby Johnson is a tough pill to swallow for Butler Basketball. How should they go about replacing the big minutes he was in line for?

On August 31st Butler Basketball announced that freshman Scooby Johnson is out for the 2020-21 season with a torn ACL.

First and foremost, your heart goes out to Johnson. He was not only potentially in line to start as a freshman coming off a shortened high school season where he was dubbed Michigan’s Mr. Basketball, but he had a legitimate shot at earning some sort of All-Big East newcomer honors.

His future as a Bulldog is still bright, and there still isn’t a firm plan in place as to how this season is actually going to happen. Who knows if he’ll even miss any games at all? However, the impact of Johnson’s injury is more about the future than it is the 2020-21 season.

Johnson is the headliner of a five-man freshmen class that sported four top 165 recruits, and season one on the floor together, whether that be game action or practice, is where chemistry and team development begins. Butler has at least three seniors that will be starters this season in Aaron Thompson (7.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 4.7 Ast), Jair Bolden, and Bryce Nze (9.2 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 1.4 Ast) meaning that before Bulldog fans know it, they are about to become really young.

There was a good chance that with the forthcoming mass exodus of seniors this would have been Johnson’s team in 21-22. Without that year under his belt, it is very hard to imagine that now.

As far as the current state of the Butler Bulldogs is concerned, they’ve got some decisions to make.

We know Thompson is going to be the point guard. Bolden, the grad transfer from South Carolina, is projected to start at shooting guard. Nze and Bryce Golden will return as starters down low. That leaves one spot open which Butler can either fill with a bigger wing / traditional small forward, or they can go small.