An early look at the Butler Bulldogs
By CHRIS DAVIS
ISL Correspondent
When you are a member of the Big East, early-season games against teams like Chattanooga become more about how your team plays than the actual result.
Getting a live look at Butler’s second contest of the season left me with a feeling I could best describe as optimistic realism.
There were five key points I wanted to get a feel for with this team. Here they are and my opinion on each after seeing this team play firsthand.
Kellen Dunham’s Shooting
Last season, Dunham was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, but on the season he shot just 39%, even lower in the early-season non-conference games.
A key this year will be Dunham’s efficiency. The Pendleton, Indiana native averaged a solid 16 points per game, but raising that scoring average by increasing his shooting percentage will go a long way toward justifying his position as a Big East 1st-teamer and toward putting more wins in the books for the Bulldogs, which lost seven games by five points or less last season.
This question was answered in a very positive way against the Chattanooga Mocs. Dunham scored 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. The first of his two three’s broke a 22-22 tie just before the half. Kellen’s aggression was key to the Bulldogs pulling away in the second half where he scored 19 of his 27 points and went 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Alex Barlow’s Ball Security and Perimeter Defense
Barlow had a quietly good junior season, and incremental improvements in the areas of assists, turnovers, and steals will be his best measurable way to impact the success of this year’s team.
I have complete faith that Barlow, who had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and averaged two steals per game last season, will be the stabilizing force that this year’s team needs. That wasn’t, however, on display against the Mocs. Barlow did not register a single assist and had three turnovers. He did have two steals and forced the Mocs point guard into two carrying violations with his defensive pressure early in the game, but the teams at the bottom of the Big East will be better than this Chattanooga squad, and inconsistency like this from Barlow will make it tough to win those games.
Roosevelt Jones’ Athleticism and Rust
Both of these were on full display the other night. On the positive side, Jones played 37 minutes and led the team in assists with seven. His rust after missing an entire year with an injury was evident, however. Jones was just 3-for-11 from the field, with most of those misses coming from eight feet or closer. There were a handful of other misses on shot attempts in that 8-foot range on which Jones earned trips to the line. Jones has a powerful game and seeks out contact, so converting those opportunities near the hoop, especially the ones that lead to potential three-point plays, will be a big plus for Butler. He has to improve on the 2-for-6 from the free throw line.
Contributions of Freshmen Tyler Wideman and Kelan Martin
Wideman and Martin will be asked to contribute significantly for a Butler lineup that only went eight-deep in this game. Early foul trouble for starting forward Andrew Chrabascz sent Wideman into the game early. His biggest impact will be made on the defensive end. He’s a big body that will alter shots and pull down rebounds, but the most impressive thing was how active Wideman was in the center of the Bulldogs’ 2-3 zone. He showed tremendous athleticism in extending his defense to the arc and hedging on ball screens to prevent penetration that would break down the zone while the guards recovered.
Martin’s impact will likely be felt most on the offensive end, though he is athletic and will be a key rebounder on both ends of the floor. The rest of the Bulldogs don’t hesitate to deliver the ball to him in positions to score, and once he gets the hesitation I saw last night out of his mid-range jumper, there’s no reason he can’t give the Bulldogs a scoring burst off the bench this season.
Wild Cards
Andrew Chrabascz isn’t a household name for these Bulldogs, but he is an opportunistic scorer and showed a nice shooting stroke from the outside against the Mocs.
The leader in athleticism and energy for this year’s squad is Kameron Woods, and he brings both in bunches. Woods notched a double-double against Chattanooga, putting up 10 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
The Bulldogs free throw shooting in this game was abysmal. Outside of the starting guards, Dunham and Barlow, Butler was just 5-for-17 from the line.
This Bulldog bench lacks depth and experience. Only three players saw time off the bench, two of which were freshmen with the other being Austin Etherington, a seldom-used transfer from IU. These three will have to provide more than the six points they scored last night if the Bulldogs expect to have any success through the grind of their 18-game Big East schedule.
Watching this team, it felt like there was a whole lot to work on, but the pieces are there, and one thing was obvious the entire night: It will be a lot of fun watching the Bulldogs scrap their way through the Big East gauntlet in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ISL_Bulldogs
