Vicky Graff Photo
After Kentucky beat Illinois on Sunday to advance to the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region third round against Tennessee, UK point guard Lamont Butler was asked how much playing strong SEC competition had helped the Cats in postseason play.
“We’re just battle tested, throughout this whole conference. Conference was a beast. We had a lot of good teams that we played, but we stayed resilient, stayed together. And it showed today,” Butler said.
“Everybody was playing with love and passion for one another, and we can’t focus on anything but the next game. We just have a lot of love, and we’re going to win that game (against Tennessee).”
The “win that game” remark apparently has not gone over well in Tennessee ahead of Friday night’s game in Indianapolis but Lamont Butler Sr. said Wednesday on WPBK-FM that he’s not sure why anyone was surprised at what his son said.
“He was not saying that to disrespect Tennessee,” Butler Sr. said. “If I am a player I am not saying we are not going to win. If Lamont says we are going to win and he is our leader I am behind him and let’s go.”
He knows how to go at tournament time. He’s playing in his fifth straight NCAA Tournament after transferring from San Diego State to UK this year and hit the buzzer-beating shot in the 2023 NCAA semifinal against Florida Atlantic that put San Diego State into the national title game it lost to UConn.
“I kind of expected us to be in a good position from the summer to go win a national championship,” Butler said before postseason play started. “That’s on our mind. That’s what we’re going to do.”
That’s the confidence Kentucky coach Mark Pope wanted from a veteran leader when he immediately made Butler a recruiting priority after he got the UK job. Butler has been as good on and off the court as Pope hoped in spite of battling a severe shoulder injury the last two months.
“Lamont has never disrespected anybody. That’s not him. He is always polite. He kills you with kindness,” Butler Sr. said. “There is not a bad bone in his body. That’s why he is a team leader. Love drives Lamont. He will do anything to be out there with his guys.
“He’s not going to run around being crazy in a game. He can quiet the storm. He is cool, calm and collected no matter what.”
The Kentucky point guard really is filled with kindness but prefers to keep that private. His father told a story on WPBK-FM about a former teammate’s family who suffered losses in the recent California wildfires. The teammate’s mother called because her nephew had a Lamont Butler jersey that was burned in the fire.
“All the kid cared about was that jersey. I hooked him up with Lamont. They FaceTimed and that brought joy to that kid who asked him if the next time he hit a 3 if he would do the bow and arrow (imitation).”
That was before UK played Alabama and when the UK guard hit a 3 against Alabama guard Mark Sears, he did just what the youngster had asked him to do.
“How selfless is it to remember to do that for that kid in that situation,” Butler Sr. said. “Lamont doesn’t like attention. He won’t tell that story. But that’s who he is.”
Last weekend in Milwaukee Pope shared a story from last summer when he had a player going through a “difficult time” while he was out recruiting and had something planned for the player. However, when he called to check on the player Butler had already spent the day with him.
“Lamont did that because that’s who he is. He cares,” Pope said.
Butler averages 11.1 points and 4.3 assists per game – both career highs — despite the shoulder injuries.
“Most of us talk about what happened to us. Champions, winners talk about what they made happen. Lamont Butler is spending his whole lifetime talking about what he makes happen, and that’s a champion’s heart,” Pope said.
“He doesn’t spend any time talking about what happened to him. He talks about all the stuff he makes happen. When you have a guy like that leading your crew like that, it’s pretty special.”
2 Responses
Its good we play tomorrow and he got as much rest on his shoulder as possible. This will be the most healthy we have been in a long time. There is no excuses. Play to win and losing isn’t a option. I can’t wait to see OWEH steal a pass and do a windmill dunk. He’s going to have a couple of big plays. That’s just what he does. With Butler playing against Tennessee we should win. Its also hard to beat Rick Barnes especially 3 times in one year. I don’t see why they put Tennessee in our bracket when we’ve already played twice. It’s going to make the fans hate Kentucky even more when we completely sweep them out of the gym!
Butler is getting a lot of attention and usually that results in him trying to do too much. Just play a solid game, be a facilitator first, take your shots when they come, but don’t try to have another 30 point game.