Butler tweaked his ankle in the second half of Kentucky’s ACC-SEC Challenge loss to Clemson.
LEXINGTON – After tweaking his ankle in the second half of Kentucky’s 70-66 loss at Clemson in the ACC-SEC Challenge Tuesday, Kentucky starting point guard Lamont Butler’s status for Saturday’s battle with No. 7 Gonzaga in Seattle is up in the air.
“This ankle is a little bit of an issue, but we’ll see,” UK head coach Mark Pope said when asked about Butler’s status ahead of the Cats Friday flight to Seattle. “We’re super hopeful that we’ll get them back (soon).”
Butler has started to emerge as Kentucky’s most valuable player.
Playing just 19 minutes in the loss to Clemson due to both foul trouble and his ankle injury, Butler posted a team-best plus-minus of +17, shot 6-for-9 from the field, scoring 16 points, dished a team-leading five assists, pulled down two rebounds and picked up a steal.
Without Butler, Kerr Kriisa ran the point and struggled as he posted a -21 plus-minus and shot 0-for-4 from the field
Known as a defensive specialist, Butler, who won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year last season, has picked up right where he left off on the defensive end of the floor for the Wildcats, averaging a team-high 1.5 steals per game while making great strides on the offensive end.
In his first four college seasons, Butler never shot better than 42.1 percent from the field, better than 48.0 percent on two-point attempts, or dished more than 3.2 assists per game in a season.
So far in his fifth-year as a Wildcat, he’s shooting a career-best 55.1 percent from the field, 65.0 percent on two point attempts, is dishing 3.9 assists per game and is shooting 33.3 percent from three which is on pace to be the second three-point shooting season of his career (shot 34.2 percent from three during the 2022-23 season).
He is averaging 12.9 points per game, which is on pace to be a single-season career high for his career.
“His numbers are unbelievable. I’m super proud of him,” Pope said. “For a fifth year, guy, he’s been really willing to grow and kind of adopt some things for us and try some new things and the numbers progress he’s made in the first eight games is incredible.
“His first four years of college, he never shot over 48 percent I believe, from two, and he’s at 65% right now. His assistant turnover ratio (3.9/1.3) is through the charts. He’s really made incredible strides. He’s been super humble and super curious and super willing to learn. He’s kind of picking things up really well.
If Butler cannot play Saturday, Kriisa would likely move into the starting lineup, but true freshman Travis Perry could also see time running the point.
“I have a lot of confidence in Travis Perry. He’s a terrific player and he’s a really heady player,” Pope said. “He is immensely capable, so he definitely would be a viable option for sure.”
