When coach Danny Sprinkle thinks his team needs an energy boost, he turns to freshman guard Jase Butler. The former four-star recruit and one-time Illinois commit has given the Washington Huskies a big contribution off the bench at several points this season, including in Friday’s 77-60 win over Alcorn State.
The left-hander played a career-high 22 minutes against the Braves, contributing 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists while being a critical part of the defensive game plan. Butler has been impressive defensively through his first four games, displaying strong lateral movement and grabbing 2 steals and a block so far in 2024.
“I thought he gave us some great energy in the first half when it was kind of a close game,” Sprinkle said on Friday. “He came in, knocked down some threes and rebounded and made some toughness plays when we really needed everybody.”
Butler is averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds so far in his college career and has not only provided a much-needed spark at times, but he’s also developed strong chemistry with his fellow freshman, Zoom Diallo.
“Whenever I come into the arena, and I hear the ball bouncing, I know who’s in there, it’s always the same two guys,” Sprinkle said. “It’s Zoom and Jase, it doesn’t matter if it’s 7:30 a.m., 6:00 a.m., they are always the first guys in the gym, and that’s why they’re going to be really, really good players. They want to be good, they’re gym rats.”
“They play with some joy; I want our other guys to play like freshmen. Those two just let it rip, they’re like, ‘Hey, give me the ball and let’s go.’ They don’t even care if they turn it over; they’re just running around, and that’s how I want everybody to play. I’m proud of those guys because they’ve made great strides defensively since the summer, like huge strides from where they were, and they’ll continue to get better.”
Butler looks like he’s going to develop into a reliable three-point shooter for the Huskies, as 13 of his 18 attempts through the early part of his first campaign have come from deep. He’s converted at close to 31 percent but is showing all the makings of a future key piece for Sprinkle.