Vicky Graff Photo
It was easy to talk about point guard Lamont Butler’s remarkable 33-point performance against Louisville but Kentucky coach Mark Pope also made sure to point out that there is more to Butler than just his play on the court.
“Lamont Butler takes care of each of these guys one by one. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about someone having a tough time and all of a sudden Lamont shows up and he’s gone way out of his way to actually just reroute that person’s day and the way he feels,” said Pope.
Pope did acknowledge that Butler had “one of the all-time greatest performances in the history” of the Kentucky-Louisville game … and he was right.
Butler went 10-for-10 from the field, including 6-for-6 from 3-point range. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Butler (who also had six assists and three rebounds) is only the second SEC player in the last 20 years to finish a game with 30 or more points on 100 percent field goal shooting.
Only Rodney Dent (12 for 12 vs. Morehead State on Dec. 17, 1993) and Kenny Walker (11 of 11 vs. Western Kentucky on March 16, 1986) had better single-game shooting performances at Kentucky than what Butler did Saturday. The 6-for-6 3-point shooting trails only Wenyen Gabriel’s 7-for-7 day in the SEC Tournament on March 10, 2018.
If that’s not enough history for the play that not only got Butler game MVP honors but also Southeastern Conference Co-Player of the Week honors, but it was the most points a UK player had score in the rivalry since Derrick Miller had 34 on Dec. 30, 1989, and the six 3-pointers tied Jeff Brassow who also had six on Dec. 29, 1990, against Louisville.
Other than Miller and Butler, the only other two UK players to reach the 30-point mark against Louisville were Tony Delk (30) in 1995 and Antonio Reeves (30) in 2023. Other top scoring games have been 27 by Jamal Mashburn in 1992, 26 by John Pelphrey in 1991, 26 by Rex Chapman in 1986, and 25 Brandon Knight in 2010, Rajon Rondo in 2005 and Patrick Sparks in 2004.
What made Butler’s game even more remarkable is that he had missed the previous two games after injuring his ankle in the second half of UK’s loss at Clemson. Pope credited athletic trainer Brandon Wells — who he called “probably the best in the business” — for getting Butler back on the court. He also praised strength coach Randy Towner for what he did.
“For Randy to have limited access but to be creative enough to keep Lamont in playing condition without him being able to set foot on his ankle for a week is really remarkable,” Pope said after the game. “We weren’t proceeding with caution. We weren’t just holding him out of gameplay because we wanted him to get a bunch of practice under his belt.
“He really hasn’t done anything. Everything has been auxiliary. We are blessed at Kentucky to have two the best guys in the whole business doing it. It’s a real credit to Lamont. His heart, it’s a real credit to Brandon and Randy. What an unbelievable team they were. So, hats off to those guys.”
Butler said he did lots of treatment with Wells to make sure he could play.
“I wanted to be out there the last two games as well but I just wasn’t ready. This was the game I was ready to show out,” Butler said. “The fans really showed out and kept the high energy throughout the game, it was so much fun.”
Kentucky associate coach Mark Fox said “no one anticipated how well” Butler would play after missing the previous two games. Kentucky coaches anticipated that Louisville’s gambling defense would leave Butler with open looks — and he made them all.
“Sometimes when you are out with an ankle injury all you can do is spot shoot and maybe some of that extra work paid off for him this game,” Fox said.
9 Responses
I don’t get it…how does someone go 10/10 overall and 6/6 at the arc, and only hits 7/12 free throws? Butler is a shoot first point guard. He looks for his shot and often keeps looking for it until he finds it. He did have 6 assists against Louisville, but that could be higher if he made it a mission. Granted, we have been standing around a lot waiting to get a pass instead of screening for a guy to pop out to the arc while the other cuts to the basket, but some of that is due to Butler hogging the ball. That makes him a 30 point producer and a lottery pick in the draft, but the rest of the team gets left out. We were a much better team when we had 6 players averaging 10 to 19 points. If a lock down defender matches up with him or he gets hurt again in SEC play, we will be SOL. We are not playing Pope ball, we are playing Calipari ball, but the better teams…Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, and Florida are playing Pope ball. It’s hard to get a group of seniors and super seniors to change their habits…in the heat of battle they will go to what they trust. It will probably be another 3 or 4 years before Pope has a group of players who have come up in his system and trust his philosophy. For now, Coach Pope is just trying to do the best he can with what he has, even if that is playing Calipari ball. 9-1 is a great start. but beware of Ohio State…that will be another Clemson type game. Whether we are 10-2 or 11-1, we are heading into a gauntlet in SEC play. That is where we will find out what type of tourney hopes we should have.
I think Calipari ball would be starting Travis Perry over Lamont Butler.
Shoot first point guard? If you think Lamont Butler is a shot first point. I implore you to look over his career, and back up your statement with the facts. I’m sure you quickly come to the conclusion he’s just the opposite. What he has become is a shoot when necessary point guard! The head turning factor is he’s making those shots. You don’t make the shot yes I’m referring to the one he hit in the NCAA final four. The shot heard around the basketball world. You don’t make that shot better yet you don’t take that shot . Unless you’ve put in the work and continue to do so. He puts in the work , and his overall play backs that fact up. Lamont Butler is a point guards point guard point Blank period. Start thinking Chris Paul with possibly a better jump shot ! So don’t hate buy a jersey and enjoy the ride.
Robert, look at his games in a Kentucky uniform starting with Duke. Then get back on your medicine.
Perry is not ready for SEC play. He can’t play defense, so we would have to go zone when he was on the floor and he doesn’t have confidence in his shot in live games. Hard to figure, he hits 59 three pointers in a row and can’t hit one in a game. He would be a pass first guard though.
He just isn’t ready I tried to prepare everyone for this! I knew exactly how he was going to be this year! He will make a huge jump from this year to next year. It will take him a year to catch up to the speed of the game. Where he played its very very slow! Usually inner city ball prepares you a little more for college basketball and beyond! Usually every team has a ton of kids with at least speed but unfortunately no jumpers. Perry will be better next year. Good his junior year and probably great his senior year. The same with Noah and Pope knows this. I’m already excited about next years team because I think it will be even better then this years team!
Does anyone know why Chandler hasn’t been playing?
He isn’t ready either.
He’s a little more developed than Perry and Noah at this point! He just doesn’t play point guard is why Perry played over him against Louisville.