Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler can solve a Rubik's Cube in 45 seconds and had a lot of Ivy League schools recruit him coming out of high school. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Mark Pope apparently has a unique sense of timing when it comes to recruiting.
Remember signee Acaden Lewis was on the verge of making his commitment to Connecticut before Pope scheduled a visit to Washington, D.C., that led to him signing with Kentucky.
Current point guard Lamont Butler transferred from San Diego State — where he played in the national championship game — after he was on the verge of going to another school.
“When Mark Pope came and talked to us it was easy to weed out the bull crap and discern how he was as a person,” said Butler’s father. Lamont Sr. “That is something God has given us and we can see it. There was something unique about Mark. He gives people a confidence about themselves that they may not have and does it in a unique manner.
“I appreciate how much he has done for Lamont. We were probably on our way to Texas Tech, We didn’t even ask Mark to come visit. He (Pope) was going somewhere else and called me and said he was coming and would be here in the morning.
“That blew us away. We were in Vegas training and they were coming. That is who Mark is and what he can do for people. He just knows. And the system he has at Kentucky is what the NBA needs so be able to see Lamont’s full value.”
Butler is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game while also averaging 3.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting 55.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3 but has missed the last two games after injuring his ankle in UK’s loss at Clemson.
Pope was non-committal Friday on Butler’s status for tonight’s game against Louisville in Rupp Arena.
“Lamont was on the court a little yesterday,” Pope said Friday. “He didn’t do anything with us but he was on the court a little bit yesterday and we’ll kind of see how it goes today. We’ll try to roll him out there. I’d love to have him. He really helps us. I just don’t know if he’s going to be quite ready.”
The fifth-year guard certainly has shown his value on the court which is no surprise for a “basketball nerd” like his father says he has always been.
“Harvard wanted him out of high school but he needed a certain SAT score to go on the visit. He had never taken the test and didn’t have a chance to study for it but he went and took it,” Lamont Sr. said. “The dude got a 1200 and never studied.”
A perfect SAT score is 1600 with an average score around 1100 according to some national surveys.
“He had a lot of Ivy League schools after him,” Lamont Sr. said. “He had a 3.7 or 3.8 (grade-point average) at San Diego State.”
The UK point guard has been able to solve a Rubik’s Cube since an early age.
“He can do it easily in 45 seconds. It’s just a gift he has,” Butler’s father said. “He does word puzzles. Most kids run around or something. He did PlayStation but prefers educational games like Sudoku. He does stuff to stimulate his mind and he’s always been a student of the game. He knows what he’s doing out there but also what you are doing.”
Butler is known more for his ballhawking defense than his offensive prowess but broke NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller’s all-time scoring record at Riverside Poly High School in Moreno Valley, Calif, when he went over the 1,800-point mark.
“He doesn’t care about awards. He is very selfless,” Butler Sr. said. “He could have broken the record by more but he’s not that way. When he was playing a team that was not up to par where he could pad his stats he would not do that. His selflessness will take him far in life because people remember all you do for people and he likes doing for others.”
Pope is an even bigger Butler fan now than when he signed him.
“The savvy he is playing with now, his maturity in the game, and the fact that he’s not blindly racing downhill. He’s a prober now and his manipulating all the pieces on the court is what allows him to be so good. I’m telling you, he’s growing so fast in his game right now,” Pope said.
