{"id":52744,"date":"2023-08-24T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T11:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52744"},"modified":"2023-08-23T23:35:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T03:35:38","slug":"butler-bulldogs-preview-2023-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/24\/butler-bulldogs-preview-2023-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Butler Bulldogs Preview 2023-2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

A disappointing season leads to a Butler Bulldogs team hungry for a resurrection into relevancy. The Bulldogs come into this season a very new team, and a team excited to shake things up in the Big East. Today’s article gives a preview of the Bulldogs and their season last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Butler Bulldogs Preview 2023-2024<\/span><\/h2>\n

Recap of Last Season<\/span><\/h3>\n

Butler did not have their strongest showing last season. It was\u00a0<\/span>Thad Matta’s<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0first year back at Butler, and they were erratic with their performances. They were 14-18 and 6-14 in the\u00a0<\/span>Big East<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Conference, ending with a loss to St.John’s in the First Round of the\u00a0<\/span>Big East Tournament<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Butler’s Strengths (2022-2023)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Defense<\/span><\/h4>\n

Butler was a strong defensive team last season.\u00a0<\/span>Ranking third<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in scoring defense in Big East play, the Bulldogs have a side of the floor that helps build potential success. While it was due to a slower pace of play, Butler played solid defense in the conference. Butler also was 5th in the conference in opponent’s three-point percentage at 31.5%. The ability to defend the three is critical, and the Bulldogs did well in this area. The goal of this season is to make their field goal percentage defense stronger while keeping teams under 65 points a game. Coach Matta preaches defense, so it is no surprise that Butler succeeded on this end of the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their Weaknesses (2022-2023)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Productive Offense<\/span><\/h4>\n

Butler had weaknesses that led to close losses, but their biggest problem was their offense. The Bulldogs were last in scoring offense in the entire conference. More importantly, Butler\u00a0<\/span>was 303rd<\/span><\/a>\u00a0out of 363 Division One teams. They did not shoot the three well in conference play at only 31.5% and were\u00a0<\/span>below average<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in effective field goal percentage. Therefore, Butler needs this side of the ball to improve.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Notable Returners<\/span><\/h3>\n

Jalen Thomas\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jalen Thomas<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the one Bulldog coming back with experience playing meaningful minutes. Averaging 7.1 points a game on 50% shooting, Thomas is an efficient big man with versatility. He does shoot the three. Thomas only shot 33% from three-point range, which isn’t great, but can spread the court for Butler. More importantly, he has experience playing with Coach Matta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bulldogs’ Notable Transfers<\/span><\/h3>\n

Posh Alexander<\/span><\/h4>\n

Posh Alexander<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is an exciting guard, who transferred from St.John’s. Posh is athletic, disruptive on defense, and an excellent passer. He helps get the tempo faster for the Bulldogs and improves the shot quality for the Butler shooters. He is good at getting into the paint, and spreading it to shooters when the defense converges. His fit for Butler is a good one because they need a good point guard, which Posh is. The only thing Posh needs to do is get his three-point shooting better as teams are going to give him space on ball screens and isolation situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jahmyl Telfort<\/span><\/h4>\n

Another exciting transfer coming into Indiana for the Bulldogs is<\/span>\u00a0Jahmyl Telfort<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>from Northeastern. Telfort gets buckets, plain and simple. He post-ups smaller guards, can drive by bigger wings, and is excellent in catch-and-shoot opportunities. While he only shot 32% from three, he is a better shooter than that. His effective field goal percentage in catch-and-shoot was 59%, which is in the 85th percentile. Furthermore, he is a solid passer with an assist rate of 16%. Telfort has great size at 6’7” and 220 LBS, so he can match bigger wings in the Big East. Jahmyl brings scoring, versatility, and physicality to a Butler team starving for an offensive engine.<\/span><\/p>\n