Lineups in focus as Butler, La Salle clash
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Without Rotnei Clarke, Butler will play shorthanded at guard when it visits La Salle Wednesday night.
The Explorers have plenty of them, and how the two teams match up their personnel is perhaps a pivotal issue in their first-ever battle at Tom Gola Arena.
La Salle (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic 10) deals one of the strongest hands in the conference at guard. Coach John Giannini built his roster with versatility in mind. And he often uses four backcourt players at once, attacking defenses with quickness and ballhandling and trapping opposing offenses.
“We pressure the ball pretty hard,” Giannini said.
Though Clarke typically is a key factor in how the Bulldogs beat the press, coach Brad Stevens insists the point guard’s absence poses no special concern in that regard, even against La Salle.
“You’ve got other guys that do the drills, too,” Stevens said. “You prepare the same way we prepared for every other game. That is everybody (who) will be a handler will be going through the same preparation with regard to handling extended defense. Bottom line is, just like everything else, we’ll replace Rotnei by committee.”
That committee on Wednesday could include Jackson Aldridge and Devontae Morgan. Stevens said the seldom-used guards are candidates to play because of the unique challenge of matching up against Giannini’s aggressive, backcourt-dominant Explorers.
La Salle forces turnovers on 23.0 percent of opponent possessions, one of the best rates in Division I.
No. 9 Butler (16-2, 3-0) figures to continue using Alex Barlow and Roosevelt Jones as primary ballhandlers with Clarke sidelined a third straight game by a neck sprain.
“Barlow’s done a great job,” Stevens said. “I don’t think anybody can get up under you like Kendall Anthony does at Richmond, and Barlow and Roosevelt did a great job handling that against them.”
There’s another key storyline as the Bulldogs face La Salle for the first time since 1999.
Whereas Butler almost always sticks with traditional size at center and power forward, the Explorers frequently go smaller, with 6-foot-8 power forward Jerrell Wright in the middle surrounded by four guards.
A major question is whether La Salle will be able to stay with its small lineup. Steve Zack, a 6-11 center, has started 14 times but averages only 22.7 minutes per game. Zack could be needed for more playing time if mighty Butler center Andrew Smith causes more trouble for Wright than Wright does for Smith.
“It’s all feel,” said Giannini of the matchup question. “We’ll give each of those guys opportunities and see what lineup works the best. A lot of teams struggle with our quickness when we go small, but Steve’s a big body. He and Jerrell play well together. We’ve also had a lot of success playing big.”
Giannini said it’s impossible to know ahead of time which team will force the other’s hand with a prevailing mismatch.
“You put your lineups out there and go through your rotations, play the guys you normally do, and see what you have the most success with,” Giannini said.
La Salle is coming off a 70-63 loss at Xavier, a result that left Giannini very disappointed. He said the quickness of guards Semaj Christon and Dee Davis beat La Salle’s defensive pressure as the Musketeers shot 58 percent from the field. La Salle has allowed three of its last four opponents to shoot at least 48 percent.
“We need to play tougher,” Giannini said. “A lot of our defensive problems right now are related to our offense. We are not passing the ball the way we do when we play well.”
Giannini said Butler has smoothly overcome Clarke’s absence.
“Maybe they’re a great team even without him,” the ninth-year coach said. “They are at the top level mentally. They run great sets. They make great decisions. They’re in the right places. They have good players. They’re playing very well without him.”
Stevens, for his part, said the Explorers are tough, no matter what combination of players they use. Guards Ramon Galloway, Tyreek Duren, Tyrone Garland, Sam Mills and D.J. Peterson have accounted for 69.2 percent of La Salle’s total minutes.
“Their guards are very good,” Stevens said. “I like the bigs. I think it’s a good team capable of, right now, if you look at their resume, being an at-large NCAA team. It’s hard to win at Xavier. I get that.”
