Season Preview: Butler Bulldogs

On the date this piece goes live, we are only nine days away from the first day of the 2023-24 college basketball season. Not only that, but hours from now the Butler Bulldogs will be tipping off in their first exhibition game. Man, I can’t wait. It’s been a long offseason and a pretty eventful one at that. We're almost there. Just a few more sleeps.

Recap of Last Season

Butler started the season pretty well. While the Bulldogs suffered three losses to eventual tournament teams Penn State, Tennessee and NC State, the Bulldogs rallied to end the non-conference slate at 8-3, with a huge win over eventual Elite Eight team Kansas State.

Then Big East play came. Butler lost their first three games by 20+ and never recovered from there. Team chemistry was very clearly off, and there wasn’t much sign of any real improvement. The Bulldogs lose just about everyone from this team, with their top five scorers leaving, and returning the fewest minutes of any Big East Team.

Who’s Back?

Butler returns three players, all big men. Headlining this group will (likely) be your starting center, Jalen Thomas. Thomas transferred in from Georgia State last season but missed the beginning of the season due to a pulmonary embolism. Thomas played in 21 games, averaging 7PPG, 4.7REB and 1.1BPG last season, with a season-high of 20 points in Butler’s Big East Tournament game.

Connor Turnbull comes back after a promising freshman season. Turnbull was originally a LaVall Jordan recruit, but was re-recruited by Coach Matta’s staff and recommitted to Butler. Turnbull didn’t play much his freshman season, only averaging 5.4MPG in 22 games, but showed flashes in the times he was on the court. He shot 47.1% from three-point range and averaged .7BPG in his short minutes.

There was still a lot of growing for Turnbull to do, however. It was evident at times that Turnbull was lost at times on the floor, not fully grasping the offense, and had clearly gassed out in his short time on the court. He needed to get in better shape and grow with this team this offseason. By all accounts, he’s done that. At 6’10”, Turnbull will be a vital piece at the PF spot and will play legitimate minutes off the bench. Everything coming out of Hinkle is raving about his development, and at the open practice, he looked much improved.

Lastly, John Michael-Mulloy returns to Hinkle, having missed all of last season due to a foot injury. The veteran big man is back and has taken the role of a vocal leader on this team. Mulloy, a player my roommate affectionately nicknamed “Red Lightning,” probably won’t play very much. He’s only played 46 games in his three seasons in Hinkle and has never averaged more than 1PPG in a season, but his leadership off the court is pretty important for the Bulldogs, as mentioned by Finley Bizjack on his podcast.

Newcomers

There are 11 newcomers to this Butler roster, so rather than going in-depth on every single player, I’m going to give a brief overview of each guy, and will mention most of them as we move through this piece.

Posh Alexander: Hinkle’s starting PG this season, a transfer from St. John’s, Posh has led the Big East in steals twice in the past three seasons and notched both Defensive Player of the Year (shared with UConn’s Isaiah Whaley) and Freshman of the Year in 2021. Alexander comes to the Bulldogs as a tenacious defender who will be in your face for all 40 minutes and enters as one of the best playmakers in the conference. During the 2021-22 season, Alexander finished 20 in the country in assists, at 5.5 per game.

DJ Davis: Likely to be your starting two-guard, the 6’1” Davis is a lights-out shooter from UC Irvine, a very solid program out West. Davis shot 40% from three each of the last two seasons, including two excellent games a season ago; a 24-point outburst against Oregon last season and a 28-point performance against the runner-up's San Diego State, his career-high.

Pierre Brooks: Brooks was a Top 70 player coming out of high school when he committed to Michigan State. After two seasons where he never found a rhythm, Brooks entered the transfer portal, where Butler quickly identified him as someone with tons of potential. Brooks is a very well-rounded offensive player who showed flashes in his time at Michigan State, including multiple 15-point performances in the Phil Knight Invitational a season ago. He can be a key offensive contributor if he lives up to his potential.

Jahmyl Telfort: A big-bodied, physical 6’7” wing from Northeastern, Telfort comes to Hinkle looking to prove he can score against the best college basketball has to offer. Telfort has been one of the best players in the CAA for years and will look to continue that in the Big East. Telfort fits the profile of the exact guy Butler was missing last season. A big, physical wing who can bang with guys on one end, create for himself off the dribble on the other and aggressively finish through contact. Butler did not have a downhill driver last season, and Telfort fills that role this season, which adds a dynamic to this team that Butler hasn’t seen in some time.

Andre Screen: A legit 7’1” big man from Bucknell, Screen was the first transfer to commit to Butler this offseason. Screen is big inside and uses his height well, averaging 11.2PPG and 5.6REB a season ago, blocking 1.3 shots per game, and altering many more. Screen likely backs up Thomas, and will play some key minutes for the Bulldogs this season, particularly against all the good big men this conference has to offer.

Landon Moore: A PG from St. Francis (PA), Moore comes to Hinkle with three years of eligibility remaining. Moore is a legit 6’3” and showed his potential in his first year of college basketball, notching 16 points in Hinkle against Butler, and a whopping 25 points against a Miami Hurricane team that made the Final Four on the backing of excellent guard play (and some luck). Moore is a development piece who will play some big minutes off the bench this season, and will likely be a key factor in Hinkle for the next three seasons.

Finley Bizjack: A freshman from Trophy Club, Texas, the four-star Bizjack comes to Butler as the highest-ranked recruit since Khalif Battle, who’s now at Arkansas. Bizjack is one of the best shooters in this high school class, he’s able to pull up from anywhere and is absolutely fearless. Bizjack might come off the bench this season, but will be an impact scorer this season, make no mistake, this freshman is very talented and will play a huge role for the Bulldogs this season.

Over the summer, I went over Bizjack's game to see what we should expect from the freshman. That's available here or linked at the end of this piece.

Augusto Cassia: One of the bigger unknowns in this class for Butler, Cassia is listed at 6’8” by the team's website but looks much bigger on the court. Hailing from Brazil and coming from the NBA Academy, there isn’t much out there on Cassia, but he’s a big, athletic frontcourt piece with four years of eligibility. He’s a great defender, rebounder and athlete, who has tons of potential.

As I'm writing this, Cassia went down with a knee injury and is listed as out "Indefinitely."

Boden Kapke: A three-star freshman from Victoria, Minnesota, Kapke is a 6’11” F/C who held offers from Boston College, Northern Iowa, Clemson, Iowa State, Wake Forest, Iowa, Xavier, Minnesota and more. Kapke is another developmental piece but was very efficient in his time in high school. He shot 60% from the field and 37% from three-point range, for his high school team, albeit against a lower level of competition.

Ethan McComb: The first of two walk-ons, McComb was recruited to Butler as a preferred walk-on from Greenwood, Indiana. McComb’s High School, Center Grove, won the 2023 Johnson County Championship.

Artemios Gavalas: The second of two walk-ons, Gavalas follows Posh Alexander from St. John’s to Butler. Gavalas has played in seven college games, totaling three points and three rebounds in the short time he’s seen the floor.

Preview

This is a completely new Bulldog roster. It’s a completely new team in what profiles to be the best Big East in years. This team is fighting an uphill battle this season.

That being said, one theme in the offseason was that Coach Matta brought in some bigger, more physical players. Last year's team got muscled around a lot, as proven by the two 20+ point losses to Seton Hall. The team was undersized on the wings and fighting an uphill battle. That’s not going to be the case this season. Jahmyl Telfort and Pierre Brooks are ready for the physicality of the Big East. Posh Alexander will absolutely bring that physicality and energy to this Butler team, that they've so desperately needed these past few seasons. This team will be more physical and will play much faster.

Also, the Bulldogs brought in much more shooting this year. Aside from Turnbull (who took only 17 threes), only Simas Lukosius shot above 34% from three-point range last season. Entering this season, DJ Davis (40.2%) and Landon Moore (36%) both shot better than that. Telfort shot 36.6% his freshman season, Bizjack comes into college as one of the best shooters in this high-school class and Pierre Brooks shot 39% in non-conference play, before a slump in Big Ten play.

There should be more shooting and more aggressive play this season, to go with some much better team chemistry. Last season’s team clearly wasn’t on the page entering Big East play and paid for it. Hopefully, this year’s team gels together, as they should fit this system much better.

At the same time, there are some huge questions with this team, which ultimately cap their ceiling. Can Telfort translate his production from Northeastern and the CAA to the Big East? Posh Alexander has struggled scoring at times in the Big East, being largely inefficient from the floor, including 23.2% from the three-point line last season. Can he start hitting jumpers and make the defense respect him?

Can Pierre Brooks live up to his offensive potential? Defensively he really struggled at times at Michigan State, which made him largely unplayable and made it much tougher to hit an offensive rhythm. Can he be an effective three-level scorer for this Butler team? Is DJ Davis going to be the same guy at Butler that he was at UC Irvine?

Butler struggled inside last season, will it get any better despite the loss of Manny Bates? Butler was easily outrebounded in many games with Bates, now without their leading rebounder and shot blocker will it get any better?

What will the young guys bring to the table? What are we expecting from Landon Moore, Boden Kapke and Finley Bizjack? And how much of a jump has Connor Turnbull taken? Is he ready for legit Big East minutes?

How will the Bulldogs match up to the faster pace? Is Posh Alexander the leader this team has been looking for?

The Big East is an absolute gauntlet this season. It’s very hard to be in a very tough league and see immediate success with a completely new roster. It’s possible, but incredibly difficult. That’s the task these Bulldogs are up against. No easy tasks in the early season too, as this team has to face two Top Ten teams (Michigan State and Florida Atlantic) in the first month of the season.

The team will play a lot faster. This team will be much more like the team Coach Matta was talking about when he arrived on campus. This team should have an identity and should show progress for future seasons. This is a rebuilding season, with many talented young guys playing and everyone but Jalen Thomas is eligible to return next season (Posh Alexander, Jahmyl Telfort, DJ Davis, Andre Screen and John Michael-Mulloy all can use their COVID year, but of course don’t have to).

This season will be crucial for the development of Finley Bizjack, Landon Moore, Boden Kapke, Augusto Cassia and Connor Turnbull. This should be a building block for future seasons and should be a much better look than last season was. There should not be 8-10 games in conference play where Butler just gets run out of the gym. Games should be much more competitive, let’s all hope that leads to more wins.

Projected Starting Lineup

Alexander-Davis-Brooks-Telfort-Thomas

Prediction

The middle of the Big East will be tough to crack, but it’s there for the taking. With the injuries to Xavier and the fact that all of Seton Hall, Georgetown, and DePaul are in rebuilding mode, there’s room to crack a sixth/seventh-place spot. At the same time, every game in this league will be competitive, and Butler will have to win some big games to prove they belong.

It’s going to be tough, but an NIT bid would be a huge step in the right direction for this team (even with the much weaker and objectively worse new rule). I need to see some progress, and that would show this program is heading in the right direction. But in the end, it’s hard to pick a team with 11 new pieces, many of whom are largely unproven at this level, to shock the world without seeing it first.

I can't place the Bulldogs above ninth in a very competitive Big East. There's nothing I would love more than to look absolutely foolish with this prediction, don't get it twisted. There's a path to success, I just don't know how realistic it is.

Nine days away. We’re almost there. I can’t wait. Let’s hope this season is a fun one. Go Dawgs!