Butler Offseason Update #1

It has been too darn long since I’ve written anything, let alone on Butler basketball. With the launch of the podcast (Michael DeRosa Show, go follow, totally didn't put this here for a cheap plug), and a whole host of other things, I haven’t had the time necessary. I put a lot of research into anything I write, so getting around to getting research done takes time, and here we are.

But finally, through doing enough tape and a couple of Butler-adjacent topics, I believe I’ve got enough to dig in. Feel free to skip to whatever topic interests you most, but for now let’s talk about some of the kids I have taped, then move on to Nored’s interview with Jeff Goodman and some takes from there, and finish off with Butler’s lone public offer from the First Live Period.

Samu Adler

I feel obligated to mention that Samu’s teams (both with Finland U18 and Salon Vilpas) are not Big East level, which includes teammates and opposition. 

The main thing that jumps off the page about Samu is his scoring ability; he’s wired to score and gets to his spots really well. He has a high release point on his jumper and is very comfortable in the pick and roll. He’s much more comfortable as a scorer than as a facilitator at this stage, though he showed some fun playmaking flashes.

Samu is a better athlete than I expected. He has some explosion when he’s coming downhill, which makes him a three-level scoring threat, though he’s more comfortable on the perimeter. He will need some time in the gym, as he didn’t rebound aggressively, but he also muscled guys off their spots a couple times. He’s more ready both athletically and physically than I expected, though there will be an adjustment.

The first thing that needs improvement is his game off the ball, where he looked oddly uncomfortable. Even when he was open, he’s more comfortable catching the ball at the logo and taking two dribbles in for a three, rather than catching and shooting. It’s unorthodox to see a guy well-rounded on the ball, but uncomfortable off it.

Moving up levels and playing alongside other decision makers, including Jalen Jackson, Samu needs to learn to play without the ball. If he’s just a ball stopper on this team, we’re really going to struggle. If he’s comfortable scoring both on and off the ball, Adler will be a problem in due time.

Defensively, it’s tough to judge given his level of competition. I think his closeouts could use work, but I’m fairly confident his Finnish club team, Salon Vilpas, doesn’t have a real defensive game plan. Gut feeling is that it’ll take him some time to learn the defensive principles Nored will teach, but at 6’6” and able to play lead guard, Adler should be fine once that switch is flipped.

Player Comparison: I think the Stefan Vaaks comparison is pretty easy to make, given they’re both tall, ball-dominant European guards. I think Vaaks was given too much freedom, and I don’t think Nored does that here. In terms of a role, I’m expecting him to be a lot like ex-Georgetown guard, Jahvon Blair. Blair came in as a freshman and played on a growing team, and thus got a ton of early minutes off the bench, just being told to go score. Butler comparison would probably be Paul Jorgensen, but Samu is probably behind where Jorgensen was on his first day as a Bulldog.

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I think Adler’s got a ton of potential and he’s just 18. He doesn’t need to be the star, and instead needs to star in his role, to steal a line from Shaka Smart, so that a couple of years from now, he is ready to be a star player.

Asim Dulovic

I don’t think Butler fans are excited enough about Dulovic. He’s a 6’8” do-it-all wing who played for one of the best clubs in Europe. To gauge his competition level, he was matched up with Jared Butler, who famously won a National Title with Baylor.

The first thing that leaped off the page to me was Asim’s aggressive rebounding. He’s listed at 6’8” and hunts every rebound he can, playing with a sense of aggression that Butler fans will appreciate. Under Thad, Butler often struggled with rebounding the ball and gave away free possessions, except for last year, because of Michael Ajayi.

Asim thrives when he’s getting to the rim. He’s a physical, downhill wing who can finish through defenders (not twitchy enough to finish around guys) and has multiple moves to create space, with his go-to being a spin move. He can finish with either hand, but usually looks with his dominant left hand.

His perimeter jumper hasn’t fallen at a particularly high clip these last few seasons, but I think there’s something to work with. He’s not going to be a 40% marksman, but I think he should be comfortably in that 32-35% range where you have to respect him. He has a high release point and solid mechanics. He shouldn’t be looking to take many pull-up jumpers, which have hurt his percentages.

Asim isn’t a perfect player, however, as he struggles with turnovers. His team has the ball in his hands on the perimeter more than you would expect (he’s capable there, but not where I’d say he’s best), which forces him into making some tough decisions. Last season, he averaged 1.4 assists to 2.0 turnovers. Ideally, playing with multiple lead ball handlers and having his role simplified should help.

Another drawback to Asim is that he’s slow. He was often beat up the floor when trying to start a fastbreak. He’s fairly comfortable defending smaller players in a half-court setting, though if he were switched onto a guard like Nigel James, I’d expect James to take him.

There are some drawbacks with Asim, but he’s playing elite competition. His game should translate pretty well to the Big East, as long as this staff can simplify the game for him. There are many ways I’d expect this staff to utilize Asim; his versatility is his biggest asset. I’m not expecting All-Big East numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Asim is the leading scorer on this team.

Herly Brutus

Herly Brutus played on the Puma Circuit for AAU, which they seem to be investing in, but it isn’t high-level competition yet. It’s really hard to gauge, especially for a guy who relies a lot on athleticism. But I found some of his HS games with The Villages in Florida. He’s further ahead defensively than he is offensively at this stage. He’s a 6’5” G/F with a long wingspan who guards multiple positions. Heck, he played some small-ball five for his HS team when they had some foul trouble.

Brutus will need time to really round out his skillset. He’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, but needs to tighten his handle. Defensively, he’s long, active and in passing lanes, but is a very handsy defender, which leads to him being in foul trouble. He’s got a really high motor; he’s a guy who will bring it every day in practice and dive for a loose ball.

His length and athleticism are really his defining traits. He excels in the open floor offensively, where he can really show off those traits, but in the half-court, he struggles. He’s more of an athlete than a hooper at this stage. He will be able to guard multiple positions, rebound hard and run the floor, but needs a lot of development on the offensive end before he’s ready for big minutes.

Sidenote: Watching Cayden Daughtry go off against Herly’s team really put me on Daughtry, and I’m incredibly unsurprised at his offer list. Should be a Top 10 kid in this class.

Ronald Nored's Interview with the Field of 68

Ronald Nored did an interview with the Field of 68 that was just released, and my goodness he’s such a likeable guy. He’s super humble, really respectful to those around him, including his staff, and always says the right thing. I imagine hearing about your connection with Brad Stevens for the millionth time would get annoying, but he doesn’t show it.

Here are a couple quotes that stood out to me: 

“We were really fortunate to have Jalen Jackson and Drayton Jones returning. To have those two key starters in place was really a big key to build the rest of our roster.”

My Thoughts: I think this says a lot about their roster-building philosophy. They went into this offseason with two starting spots locked. Asim is the third, he ain’t coming here to sit. The competition comes for the other two, and if they have enough talent to play big (Asim at the three, Calderon/Anderson at the four), or need to run both Klafke and Adler out there to get more scoring. I think those other two spots are pretty wide open, and where that’s what I believed when looking at the roster originally, I think this quote confirms that.

“We want to be versatile with how we’re gonna play, we want guys who are smart who understand how to make reads and move the ball, we want to play an unselfish style of offense. But if they’re not competitive and willing to play defense, they’re not going to play at Butler University.”

My Thoughts: This indicates to me that they want to run an NBA-style offense, with four guys making reads in a free-flowing system. Not going to lie, don’t love that. I think those offenses work when your roster is oozing with talent and versatility, and this team has limitations. I think more organization and simplification would do them wonders. Slow a game down, control tempo and let them make reads, and hope some close games go your way. Especially with a young team, they’re going to need much more direction.

“If we can have guys in our program and keep guys in our program, and have a standard of this is what we do, and this is who we are, I think that’s how the best programs are built.” 

My Thoughts: This, to me, is Nored telling you his expectation for this team without saying it. He’s going to say he loves this roster and believes in everyone; he has to. But the harsh reality is that this team will be expected at the bottom of the BE, and there will be transfers. Rather, I think the plan (or at least the optimal one) is finding the three or four guys who are a part of your core and guys you can develop, and finding the next 3-4 key pieces in the portal to fit your core 8 on a much-improved team in Year Two. A lot like how Xavier built it this year.

“For me, there’s a right and wrong to how the game should be played. We got to be clear about what the right and the wrong is. There’s different times to jump on guys and to put your arm around them. And for me fortunately, I’ve had the chance to be a head coach. I was a head coach in HS, but I’ve had over 100 games as a coach in the G-League. I’ve been able to go through that process and not now figure out what I’m going to be like in that process. And I tell all our guys, I’m gonna coach you hard. There’s a standard to which we have to perform, we have to play, and we have to be, and I’m going to coach you to that standard 100% of the time.”

My Thoughts: I think Coach Nored is referring more to his principles (rather than play style) and certain things he will hold his team accountable for. Coachability, ball and player movement, and his defensive principles, which I’m very intrigued to learn what those are, and try to delve deep on some film in (oh my) six months.

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I’m more intrigued by Nored than I ever was with Thad. Thad’s teams were all pretty predictable, and every presser felt the same. It was always some variation of “players gotta be better,” which in some cases is true (granted you recruit these guys) and in other cases was a deflection for a bad game plan. The defenses the last few years were just bad; the guys didn’t buy in on that end and were poorly coached. Some of the defensive game plans were utterly hilarious. The offense occasionally had a really nice play design, but it got fairly predictable by the last two seasons. It felt like a lot of the creativity and juice was used in Thad’s second year. It got very monotonous after that, and the writing was unfortunately on the wall for the last two seasons.

Nored seems to really want to make this work by learning more about the college game. There are going to be a lot of adjustments made over the next couple years, and I’m looking forward to seeing them. He has a vision that seems deeper than “get talent and win,” is coming in with an analytical mindset and wants to evolve with the game and not get left behind. Next year is probably rough, but hopefully there are some building blocks. My worry with a potential Nored hire was that we’d start from behind on building a roster and that hole would be too deep to dig out of. I hope I’m wrong. Get some momentum this year, and build it right.

Butler Offers J’Lon Lyons

As soon as I wrap up with the transfer portal, I’m going to delve deeper into the 2027 class. Usually get to it around June, I’m not getting paid after all and it’s a lot of names to learn in an offseason.

But J’Lon Lyons is one of the HS names I’m quite familiar with, being from the DMV and playing with Clinton Grace HS and now Team Takeover for AAU. Lyons feels like an offer that makes so much sense based on what Nored said he wanted to do when he took over. Physical, athletic, defensive-minded guard. This roster feels a lot like a Thad roster, prioritizing scoring and shooting, where Lyons feels like an offer that Nored was eager to make.

Lyons is one of the most explosive players in the class. He’s a 6’4” PG who plays above the rim, and pretty much glides whenever he’s coming downhill. He’s aggressive defensively and is willing to defend 94 feet, which Nored should love.

However, he’s struggled of late. He’s ranked 51st in the class after playing pretty well at the USA Junior National Team Camp, but to start this AAU season (7 games), he’s really struggled. He’s averaging 12.7PPG for TTO, 5.1RPG and 3.9 APG, but with 2.7 turnovers and shooting 31% from the field and 12% from three in seven games. If the next rankings update is coming shortly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him drop. I’m not sure if this stretch is because he’s finding a new role on a new team, or if he’s just struggling this AAU season. 

Lyons has an extensive offer sheet and would be a large coup for Butler, but he’s a player I’m tracking this summer to see if his skills are starting to catch up to his frame and potential. I’m a fan of Lyons’ skillset and am pretty high on his potential, but he’s got to start showing it this AAU season.

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Everything I wrote about here, I went into more depth about on my solo podcast I also just released, along with a couple of other topics that caught my eye. If you want to give that a listen, tune in right here!