Just look at MaCio Teague on the left wing and Matthew Mayer in the right corner, who were also available for a swing pass in case Oklahoma's defense recovered in time to contest Flagler's shot. Flagler is 23-for-54 from deep this season, and one of those 23 3-pointers was set up by this drive from Butler.Īll five Oklahoma defenders had at least one foot in the lane as Flagler was receiving the pass from Butler, which shows the gravity of Butler, and Flagler wasn't alone as a wide-open teammate around the 3-point line. This is a common setup for Baylor, which often plays four perimeter-oriented players around one big man.Įven though Tchamwa Tchatchoua was on his way to set a screen for Butler, Butler made his move before the screen arrived and used a crossover dribble between his legs to get into the lane, where the help-side defense collapsed on him, which left teammate Adam Flagler wide open in the left corner. On this possession against Oklahoma, the Bears had four players around the perimeter with Tchamwa Tchatchoua in the paint. His assist rate - a metric that measures what percent of a team's baskets are assisted by a player when he's on the floor - is 32.7 percent, which means that roughly one out of every three Baylor baskets is directly due to Butler's passing, when he's on the floor.īutler creates open shots for his teammates thanks in part to his own scoring ability. He's averaging 5.4 per game but that doesn't tell the complete picture about his play-making. He's one of the best assist men in the countryĭespite leading Baylor in scoring at 17.1 points per game, Butler is just a fraction of an assist per game off the team lead in assists, too. Because Baylor has so many offensive weapons, Butler benefited from the attention Kansas' defense paid to Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who has made 60 percent of his 2-point attempts this season and who - like Butler - shouldn't be left open in a spot where he can score easily. Lightfoot left Butler before Garrett was able to regain his footing, leaving Baylor's leading scorer with another wide-open 3-pointer. That meant that Kansas big man Mitch Lightfoot was switched onto Butler. Butler received back-to-back screens from Flo Thamba and Kansas' Ochai Agbaji went under the second screen, which gave Butler the space he needed to knock down the shot.Ī few minutes later, Butler inbounded the ball from below Kansas' basket, then took a quick give-and-go from teammate Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who screen Butler's defender, Marcus Garrett. With seven threes against the Jayhawks and six against the Cowboys, he's had two of his three best 3-point shooting games of his career in consecutive games.īutler started his 3-point barrage against Kansas with an open three from the top of the key on the first possession of the game. He has made multiple 3-pointers in 11 of Baylor's 14 games and he's 13-for-16 from deep in his last two games against Kansas and Oklahoma State. It's not an overstatement to say that one of the best players in the country, Butler, is also one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. He's made 40 of them, giving him a 3-point percentage of 49.4, which ranks 35th nationally. He's an elite 3-point shooterīutler has attempted 81 3-pointers this season. Here's what makes Butler one of the best players in the country. After a First Team All-Big 12 campaign as a sophomore, Butler has thrown his hat into the ring as a contender, if not a favorite, for Big 12 Player of the Year and All-American status. While Baylor is so much more than a one-man band, junior guard Jared Butler directs the show. This season, the Bears have won their first 14 games, half of which have come in Big 12 play. 1 in the AP poll for just the second season ever in school history. Baylor won 23 games in a row last season and reached No.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |