Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Bulldogs

By Drew Schmelzer

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 30: A general view of a Butler Bulldogs flag seen during the game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 30, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 30: A general view of a Butler Bulldogs flag seen during the game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 30, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 05: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 05: Aaron Thompson #2 of the Butler Bulldogs (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Starting Lineup

A lot of people are going to look at the Bulldogs starting lineup and immediately dismiss it due to the absence of Baldwin and McDermott. Not smart. Few teams bring back three starters, two of which are a couple of the best defensive players in the Big East and one of whom is an ultra-talented big man and former 4-star recruit who finally has a chance to be the focal point offensively. It all starts at point guard, however, for Butler.

Point Guard – Aaron Thompson (7.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 4.7 Ast), Senior

Thompson may not be a household name, but that’s only because the Big East has been stacked with great point guards in each of his three seasons, even being overshadowed by his former teammate, Kamar Baldwin, in most cases.

This year can be his coming out party as he will be expected to carry more of the offensive load. Defensively, however, is where Thompson really excels. In each of his three seasons at Butler he has finished in the top 20 in the Big East in defensive plus/minus and he’s been the leader of the 12th ranked scoring defense in the nation.

Combo Guard – Chuck Harris, Freshman

Butler brings in one of its best freshman classes in school history, and coming into a season where the Dogs lost six contributors you’ve got to expect one of them to start, right? Initially that starting freshman was expected to be Scooby Johnson, but an offseason ACL tear has created an opportunity for one of his classmates to step in, and that could very well be Harris.

The top-150 recruit who was at one point ranked as high as 68th by 247 sports is a tailor made Big East point guard at 6’2 – 190 lbs, but is seen as a much better shooter than his eventual running mate, Thompson.

Shooting Guard – Jair Bolden (8.5 pts, 2.4 rebs, 1.4 Ast at South Carolina), Senior

The recruitment and eventual snag of Bolden was the most critical move of the off season for LaVall Jordan’s team. The Bulldogs lost their top two perimeter shooters in McDermott and Tucker and lacked any type of reliable shooting until the signing of Bolden whose 3-point percentage was actually better than anyone on Butler’s team in 2019-20.

He hit 47 3-pointers on 114 shots last season. Expect him to take a lot more in a Butler uniform, and if he can shoot 40% plus again (while taking maybe 50 more 3s), his grad transfer season could be a special one.

Forward – Bryce Nze (9.2 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 1.4 Ast), Senior

The Bulldogs have one of the most experienced starting front lines in the Big East and it is highlighted by Nze. If you would have told Butler fans that Nze was going to be the returning leading scorer heading into his senior season when he transferred from Milwaukee a couple of years ago that would have surprised most, but it’s true.

It is not a bad thing either, as this is not going to be a guy that Jordan runs a whole lot of sets for and he wont be relied on as much for his offense as he will his rebounding and defensive presence. Other guys, like Jair Bolden and Chuck Harris (as well as the other freshmen), will be expected to come in and score the ball allowing Nze to do what he does best. He finished 5th in rebounding percentage and 8th in total defensive rating in his first season in the Big East.

Forward – Bryce Golden (7.9 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 1.1 Ast), Junior

I’ve heard the “Bryce Brothers” joke a few times and it is not a good one, so I am going to encourage folks to leave it alone, but Nze’s counterpart (also named Bryce) in the frontcourt has an opportunity to make a huge leap in his junior season.

Golden started all 31 games as a sophomore after averaging only 1.7 points and .7 rebounds as a freshman and he proved up to the task increasing those numbers with ease. If he takes a similar jump, this is a darkhorse all-Big East candidate in 2020-21.

He’s got a solid post game that Butler will need to count on to get easy buckets at times, but the true barometer to his success in 2020-21 may be his ability to improve his 24% 3-point shooting percentage. That would make him a nightmare matchup in the Big East, and he has proven he can make them.