It's time to review Butler

[OmahaGuy]

It's that time of the year again! The end of it!

Butler is the first team in the league whose season came to an end. Now let's review who's leaving, who's staying and who's coming in! This will be updated when necessary

OUT:
*Eric Hunter
*Manny Bates (going pro)
*Jayden Taylor (portal to NC State)
*Pierce Thomas (portal to Eastern Kentucky)
*Chuck Harris (portal to SMU)
*Simas Lukosius (portal to Cincinnati)
*Ali Ali (portal and will return to Akron)

STAY:
*Jalen Thomas

IN:
*Finley Bizjack
*Boden Kapke
*Augusto Cassia
*Pierre Brooks (Transfer from Michigan State)
*Landon Moore (Transfer from St Francis U)
*Jahmyl Telfort (Transfer from Northeastern)
*Andre Screen (Transfer from Bucknell)
*DJ Davis (Transfer from UC Irvine)
*Posh Alexander (Transfer from St John's)

My 0.02:
Oof. Not a good season for the Dawgs. 14-18 overall. 6-14 in the league. Idk about you guys but they just seem so overmatched in a lot of these games. They got a couple of nice wins over K-State and Xavier but other than that, it was a rough year in Indianapolis. Thad Matta should obviously be given a couple more years to build a program but I can't say I totally blame people for thinking the guy might be washed up and not what he used to be.

Butler folks, do you still believe in Thad Matta? Do you think despite this dismal season, there are reasons to look forward to the future? If Bates and Lukosius stick around, I guess they could build something with those guys. Maybe snag a player or 2 in the portal. What say you?
UPDATE: Lukosius ends up transferring to Cincinnati and Bates might leave as well. Right now, he's in the draft while keeping his eligibility. But don't forget he had academic problems so he could leave. On the bright side, Butler got a TON of players in the portal. This team will now be entirely Thad's instead of playing with LaVall Jordan's leftovers. Snagging Posh from St John's was definitely a good move. We'll see if Butler can turn themselves around next year!

POST-DEADLINE UPDATE:
Butler starting to show some signs of life. The Bulldogs have let go of all LaVall Jordan recruits and it's now completely Thad Matta's team in just his 2nd offseason (first full offseason) in his 2nd stint as the head coach at Butler. Only 1 player that got significant playing time is back from last year in Jalen Thomas. I really like the addition of Posh Alexander. Will add a defensive spark to this team. I remember when the good Butler teams of the past under Brad Stevens won with their stifling defense. Now the Dawgs are adding players through the portal from the mid-major ranks in Telfort, Screen, Davis and Moore. Can they compete in the Big East?? We'll see if they can do it! Brooks transferred in from Michigan State and to play for Tom Izzo, you gotta be pretty darn good. At the same time, however, he was hardly a factor at MSU. Talented player nonetheless. Now, can Thad Matta regain that edge that he had while coaching at Ohio State? Or is he washed up? It'll be a very interesting year in Indianapolis, beginning in the fall!

[XUFan09]

They definitely need to take advantage of the transfer portal this off-season. That returning roster just isn't very inspiring, though it does have some individual players worth a spot. I wonder if we will see more of Good Chuck Harris and less of Bad Chuck Harris.

[butlerguy03]

There will be multiple exits, mostly rumor at this point, but sourced and intelligent rumor. I could see a bench shakeup behind Thad. It's an important off season to make sure we don't end up becoming the next DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's.

Butler must know of at least a couple of exits because they have been very active in the portal already.

[butlerguy03]

The Transfer Portal opened today, and it's a rush to the exits. Here are Butler's players in the portal already:

*Myles Tate, backup PG
*Pierce Thomas, athletic defender
*Jayden Taylor, scoring option SG
*Myles Wilmoth, F

[ArmyVet]

The Transfer Portal opened today, and it's a rush to the exits. Here are Butler's players in the portal already:

*Myles Tate, backup PG
*Pierce Thomas, athletic defender
*Jayden Taylor, scoring option SG
*Myles Wilmoth, F

Any particular reason why?

[Omaha1]

Chuck Harris now too. Ouch.

[OmahaGuy]

The Transfer Portal opened today, and it's a rush to the exits. Here are Butler's players in the portal already:

*Myles Tate, backup PG
*Pierce Thomas, athletic defender
*Jayden Taylor, scoring option SG
*Myles Wilmoth, F

Any particular reason why?

All of these guys were LaVall Jordan's recruits

[XUFan09]

Chuck Harris now too. Ouch.

I can't decide if this is a positive or a negative. Like I said above, will they get more of Good Chuck Harris relative to Bad Chuck Harris? Well, now they'll get neither, but Bad Chuck Harris was rough.

[butlerguy03]

I consider it more good than bad. I appreciate the guys trying to make it with a new coach, but it may take a few years to get back to the tournament if everyone stayed. So if they want a chance, it’s best for both the program to reset and for the player to find tournament or playing time opportunities.

As a fan, I’m ok with a hard reset. This is the time to do it to try to keep your program above that 10/11 line.

[Schoops]

As Butler fans, now we're going to get to find out if Matta is really as good as he used to be as a coach and especially as a recruiter. On the Butler board, I don't think there is one person that is really upset about the mass exodus of transfers, and I'm pretty sure there will be a couple more. Would not surprise me at all if Simas is the only holdover from the Jordan era left by the end of the week.