If Lamont Butler gets going from deep, Kentucky basketball would become even more potent

Posted by author November 20, 2024 Basketball

LEXINGTON — Lamont Butler is many things.

A lockdown defender, as formidable as any on the perimeter in college basketball. A gifted passer. And a winner.

One thing he’s not — at least not yet: a proven marksman from distance.

But Butler, Kentucky basketball’s fifth-year senior guard, showed Tuesday night he has the potential to develop into a sharpshooter, as he knocked all three of his 3-point attempts — part of 16 points overall — in a 97-68 victory over Lipscomb at Rupp Arena.

Tuesday was Butler’s 135th appearance as a collegian. (He spent the previous four seasons at San Diego State before transferring to UK.) Yet his performance in No. 11 UK’s win was notable.

It marked just the fifth time in Butler’s 135-game college career he was perfect beyond the 3-point line in an outing with multiple attempts. He also went 3 for 3 on 3s on a pair of occasions for the Aztecs. Both took place during the 2021-22 season, versus Georgetown and Boise State (in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game), respectively.

It’s not as if the Wildcats (4-0) needed his perfection Tuesday. The hosts never trailed in a wire-to-wire domination of the Bisons.

Where Butler’s long-range shooting could come in handy is in bigger matchups down the road, in contests against opponents far more daunting than Lipscomb (2-4). Perhaps the best news for Butler is that even if Tuesday was more the exception than the rule when it comes to his 3-point accuracy, he’ll never be asked to shoulder that responsibility alone.

Take his teammate Jaxson Robinson, for example.

One game after managing just one point in UK’s win over Duke, the fifth-year senior Robinson bounced back to pour in a game-high 20 on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-6 on 3s. And Butler wasn’t the only Wildcat with an unblemished showing in the 3-point department Tuesday: fellow fifth-year senior guard Koby Brea also sank all three of his 3-point attempts.

UK will return to the floor Friday, when it hosts Jackson State.

The game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. at Rupp Arena. It will stream live on SEC Network+.

This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.