Big East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season
. Bulldogs . 5. team. 472. .
2020-2021 Record: 10-15 (8-12)
Probable Starters: Aaron Thompson, Chuck Harris, Ty Groce, Bryce Nze, Bryce Golden
Bench: Myles Tate (ACL injury), Jair Bolden, Bo Hodges (out to start the season) Myles Wilmoth, Jayden Taylor, Pierce Thomas, DJ Hughes, Simas Lukosius, Mike Parker, John-Michael Mulloy, Christian David
Butler finished second to last in the Big East last year, just above DePaul, which is basically the same thing as coming in last place. It’s hard to be too judgmental given all the injuries on top of COVID. If they can stay healthy, Butler should be a pretty good.
The good news for Butler is that they didn’t really lose anyone meaningful this offseason, returning a staggering 96.8% of their minutes. Most importantly, the freshmen last season, Tate, Harris and Wilmoth, were thrown into the deep end and asked to do a lot. Will this experience and continuity translate to more wins this year?
LaVall Jordan returns 4 key seniors: Bryce Nze (11.4 PPG), Jair Bolden (10.5 PPG), Aaron Thompson (10.4 PPG), and Bo Hodges (8.2 PPG, but he was injured for most the season and is injured yet again to start the season). He also returns Chuck Harris (12.9 PPG, the most important player on the team this season), Bryce Golden (10.4 PPG), 3-point sniper Jair Bolden (10.5 PPG), and Myles Tate (6.7 PPG). Butler also brings in a nice piece in Ty Groce (Eastern Michigan transfer) who will likely replace the injured Bo Hodges as a starter and a 4-man freshmen class.
The real question that everyone probably has about Butler… does bringing the whole roster back spark excitement when you went 10-15? Another question for me about this team… who is the guy? Bryce Nze and Bryce Golden are a solid frontcourt duo who can stretch the floor and showed a lot of improvement throughout the year. I think they can be reliable again this upcoming season.
But if Butler wants to have a good year, Harris must be the guy. Is that too much to ask of him as a sophomore on a team loaded with upper classmen, including seven seniors? Everyone on the team is good, but no one is great. If Butler’s struggles continue, this will be the reason.
Harris will decide their ceiling. If he can become their go-to guy and hit big shots in big spots, then Butler will be living the bubble life this season. If not, it may be another disappointing year.