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Lamont Butler might shock some Kentucky fans. Whether it’s his overall play, his shooting, or his personality, Big Blue Nation should be prepared to meet a winner.
Justin Downer is currently the head coach at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. However, before taking that job in 2023, Downer coached Butler at Riverside Poly (Riverside, CA) High School.
“They’re going to be totally shocked by [Lamont’s] talent,” Downer told KSR+. “Lamont is going to be playing in spacing he’s never played in before at a pace he’s never played before. They’re going to be totally shocked at that. They’re going to absolutely fall in love with who he is and who the family is. There’s not a better family in college basketball than the Butler family. They’re all team-first.”
Downer first connected with Butler when he was a 12-year-old rising eighth grader. He began getting him ready for the high school level. That same summer, Downer brought Butler over to Ryan Silver with the West Coast Elite program where Downer was coaching during AAU season.
“I started coaching Lamont year-round,” Downer said. “You wouldn’t believe it now, but there used to be real questions about his size. That was the feedback from college coaches. He was about 5-7, 130 pounds, all hands and feet. We were wondering, is this guy going to fill out at all?”
Becoming a College Basketball Player
Call a spade a spade. When Lamont Butler met Justin Downer at 12 years old, Butler couldn’t shoot the ball.
“He was an awful shooter,” Downer said. “It was almost like when I first started working with him, the basketball was a little bit of a foreign object.”
However, Butler always had a good handle of the ball, good passing skills, and was a step ahead of everyone in terms of his offensive and defensive instincts. So, the first thing Downer and Butler worked on was getting the shot up to par.
“We had to do a complete shot reconstruction when he was about 14 or 15 years old in the summer,” Downer said. “We weren’t shooting outside of the three-point line. I think you see it now, while his percentages aren’t where you’d like them to be, structurally, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just about continuing to grow confidence.”
Butler always had the things that were hard to teach. Meeting Downer allowed him to work on some of the areas that could be fixed smoothly.
“The things that are easier to teach, like shooting and scoring the basketball, if he gets that then he’s going to be fine,” Downer said.
There’s No Such Thing as a Good Matchup Versus Lamont Butler
Lamont Butler has built a name for himself on the defensive end of the floor. He was a Mountain West All-Defensive Team selection for the last three seasons and the 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
“One-on-one, I don’t think anyone in the country thinks their guy is a good matchup when Lamont Butler is guarding him,” Downer said. “I don’t really care who that is.”
Butler has been compared to a lot of elite defensive guards in his time at San Diego State. Downer sees a comparison in Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday.
“When you see Jrue Holiday defend, it’s not like he’s over-exerting himself,” Downer said. “He’s not one of these Patrick Beverley guys who’s diving all over the floor. He’s so gifted on that end. That’s obviously his biggest gift.”
Butler’s passing may be an underrated part of his game. He played more of a floor general role in high school and could go back to that at UK.
“He was a pure point guard,” Downer said. “That’s some stuff I expect will come out a little bit more at Kentucky.”
There have been a lot of questions about whether Butler will play on-ball or off-ball at Kentucky. Downer believes that “a Lamont Butler paint touch is the best play you can probably draw up.”
“The ball in his hands and touching the paint is where Lamont Butler is at his best,” Downer said. “Whether that’s on or off the ball, with the way positions have gone in a basketball setting, you can debate that. Lamont Butler making a decision in the paint, finding a shooter, finding a guy for a lob, leading to the rim, being explosive, and hitting his pull-up jump shots.”
‘A Self-Made Player’
Justin Downer played a key role when Lamont Butler was going through the recruiting process out of high school. They went on recruiting trips together and they were strict about their routines during their visits.
“We had a rule on his recruiting visit that we wouldn’t go on a recruiting visit unless we were allowed to work out on the visit,” Downer said. “We weren’t going to take days off of the process. Those are the moments that I look back on and value the most. It’s those moments of growth.”
From competing in the CIF California High School Championships together to playing in the Under Armour Association Finals, Downer has enjoyed the journey most with Butler. He said he’s never coached a player who has been more disciplined or complained less. Butler is all about routine.
“Lamont Butler is a self-made player,” Downer said. “He’s not some kid who was born naturally gifted for the game of basketball. He’s self-made and has worked for every ounce of talent that he has.”
Being in the Building for Lamont Butler’s Historic Shot
There’s no question what the biggest moment of Lamont Butler’s career is thus far. With seconds left in the 2023 Final Four versus FAU, Butler hit a game-winning buzzer-beater to send SDSU to their first-ever NCAA national title game.
Justin Downer was watching the game three rows up from the court with Butler’s family. He remembers the defensive stop and was preparing for SDSU to call a timeout.
“I remember Lamont running past us at half-court and I thought, ‘Oh s—, I don’t have my phone,'” Downer said. “I put my hands in my pockets. He gets cut off and has enough poise to take a real basketball shot. He doesn’t throw anything up there.”
The whole gym erupted when Butler hit the shot — everyone but Downer and Butler’s family.
“The family and I just went silent,” he said. “We sat down and were like, can you believe that just happened?”
There’s still something that’s not talked about enough about that shot in Downer’s eyes: Butler was cut off on the dribble.
“With two seconds left in the shot clock, he was able to get to a hesitation dribble to make a read and hit a real shot,” Downer said. “How many times have you seen that shot in March Madness? Whether it goes in or not, he gets cut off. Usually, a player will go baseline, get cut off, and throw up some crazy floater. Just the toughness and presence of mind to get to a real shot as the clock expires is Lamont Butler in a nutshell.”
Mark Pope’s Hire at Kentucky
Justin Downer didn’t have a relationship with Kentucky’s new head coach Mark Pope heading into Lamont Butler’s transfer process. The first time Downer and Pope talked was when Downer and Butler’s family met with the coaching staff in Las Vegas.
“College basketball, when it’s done well, it’s people who really care about things that don’t have a financial backing to it,” Downer said. “Mark Pope really cares about Kentucky. I think that’s understated.”
Across the landscape of college basketball, many players and coaches take pride in their school because of the status of the job or opportunity. Downer said there’s nothing wrong with that.
“You can’t put a financial value on what Kentucky means to Mark Pope,” he said. “That’s awesome. More people should hire that way because it becomes something bigger than himself.”
Pope made the importance of the Kentucky brand well-known throughout the recruitment. It’s not about Mark Pope and it’s not about Lamont Butler.
“It was obvious to Lamont’s recruitment that Kentucky basketball is bigger than Mark Pope,” Downer said. “Kentucky basketball is bigger than Lamont Butler or whoever it is. I can’t wait to see what that product looks like on the floor.”
‘An Absolute Nerd’
Justin Downer and Lamont Butler’s parents agree: Lamont Butler is a nerd.
“The guy is an absolute nerd,” Downer said. “He’s working on a Rubik’s cube and puzzles. He’s a natural student, an intellect guy.”
Butler has developed a close bond with Dowenr’s three-year-old son. He’s completely understated off the court. That makes it much more surprising when you see the way he plays.
“What people don’t realize is how competitive he is,” Downer said. “I’ve never coached a guy who hates to lose more. He’s okay with a poor individual performance as long as the team wins. You’ve seen that throughout his San Diego State career.”
Butler won a lot of games at the high school level. He won a lot of games at San Diego State. Now, he’s looking to take those winning ways to college basketball’s winningest program.
“Winners don’t win on accident,” Downer said. “He’s arguably the most successful player to ever play at San Diego State from a winning standpoint. That speaks to his competitiveness. Sometimes, with his lackadaisical look on his face or how nice he is off the floor, you don’t realize that guy is a serial winner.”
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