Tag: Lamont Butler

Former San Diego State star Lamont Butler to withdraw from draft, transfer to Kentucky

Former San Diego State guard Lamont Butler has reportedly withdrawn from the 2024 NBA draft and will transfer to Kentucky.

Former San Diego State senior Lamont Butler has reportedly withdrawn from the 2024 NBA draft and will transfer to Kentucky, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Butler declared for the draft on April 5 while maintaining his remaining college eligibility. He also opted to enter the transfer portal after four years with San Diego State and announced on April 27 that he had committed to head coach Mark Pope at Kentucky.

The 21-year-old was the second player since 1997 with at least 1,000 career points, 330 assists, 300 rebounds and 175 steals for the program. He finished ranked fifth in steals (183), 10th in assists (338) and 12th in games (131).

Butler was named the 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 9.3 points, three assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals on 42.1% shooting from the field in 37 games. He also left the program as a three-time all-defensive team selection.

The 6-foot-2 guard will join the inaugural class at Kentucky under Pope. The team also added Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson), Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), Koby Brea (Dayton) and Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), among others, via the transfer portal.

Pope signed a five-year contract last month to succeed John Calipari as the Wildcats’ head coach. The contract is reportedly worth $27.5 million, starting at $5 million next season.

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Projected second-round pick Payton Sandfort to work out with Warriors

Projected second-round pick Payton Sandfort is among six prospects who will work out with the Warriors on Thursday.

Projected second-round pick Payton Sandfort is among six prospects who will work out with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, according to Jason Dumas of KRON4 News.

Sandfort was named to the All-Big Ten third team after averaging 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 37.9% shooting from 3-point range in 34 games. He led the conference in 3-pointers (94) and ranked eighth in scoring.

Joining Sandfort in the workout on Thursday are San Diego State guard Lamont Butler, Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins, Washington State forward Isaac Jones, Kentucky forward Antonio Reeves and Auburn forward Jaylin Williams.

The Warriors have one draft selection this year — the 52nd pick from the Milwaukee Bucks — after their first-round pick was conveyed to the Portland Trail Blazers in the draft lottery. The players visiting on Thursday could be potential targets for the team in the second round.

With just one pick, the Warriors hope to find another player late in the draft who can contribute next season. The team received strong production this season from Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was the 57th pick last year and nearly made the NBA All-Rookie second team.

The organization will continue to bring in prospects for workouts and interviews who could be targeted in the second round or as undrafted free agents.

The 2024 NBA draft will take place June 26-27 in New York City.

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Kentucky basketball lands San Diego St transfer Lamont Butler

San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler commits to Kentucky basketball.

Mark Pope and his new staff didn’t take long to add another talented transfer to the Kentucky basketball team. Former San Diego State point guard Lamont Butler will play in Lexington in 2024.

Butler is most famous for making the buzzer beating shot to send the Aztecs to the championship game. His experience in March Madness is a huge plus. He is also an excellent defender, which Kentucky sorely missed last season.

He wasn’t a highly recruited player originally, ranking as the 38th best point guard in his class. Butler chose San Diego St over several more high-profile colleges.

Last season, Butler averaged just over nine points per game to go along with three assists. His real impact has been on defense. He averaged 1.5 steals per game in 2023-24 and was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference.

Butler is a nice addition to the 2024 roster for Pope, who continues to build his roster from scratch. Getting an experienced guard who can defend is a something Big Blue Nation should be happy about.

5 photos that perfectly capture Lamont Butler’s buzzer-beater against FAU

Lamont Butler is magic

If you haven’t seen the shot Lamont Butler hit at the buzzer to send San Diego State to the national championship game on Monday night go ahead and get familiar with it now.

It’ll go down as one of the more iconic shots in men’s NCAA tournament history. Right up there with Mario Chalmers, Kris Jenkins, Christian Laettner and Jalen Suggs.

We’ll be watching it again and again for years to come.

But before the replay gets lodged in our memories forever, take a look at Butler’s magic from a few different angles and bask in all the March Madness glory.

More College Basketball

4 incredible radio calls of SDSU’s Lamont Butler Final Four buzzer-beater

“The Butler did it!”

Lamont Butler hit the shot of his life right at the buzzer in the first men’s Final Four game Saturday night.

The San Diego State guard was patient — though he almost stepped out of bounds — and his shot was perfect. It fell right at the buzzer and lifted his No. 5-seeded team to a 72-71 victory over No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic. It also ensured SDSU advanced to Monday’s national championship game, which is a first for this program.

While the shot stunned everyone from SDSU fans to Padres fans at Petco Park and even Miami players who were waiting to take on UConn in the second Final Four game, the radio calls of this moment were extra special.

Listen to how the Final Four game’s last seconds were called by four different radio broadcasters, including the calls from each school’s respective crews.

“The Butler did it!”

Luckily for Florida Atlantic radio broadcaster Ken LaVicka, it seems like he avoided the heart-stopping technical difficulties he experienced while calling the Owls’ Elite Eight victory last weekend.

The best reactions to SDSU’s Final Four buzzer-beater from Petco Park to Miami’s tunnel

A San Diego State miracle!

Lamont Butler, welcome to the March Madness history books.

The San Diego State University junior became a college basketball legend on Saturday night in NRG Stadium by drilling a buzzer-beating jump shot to send his team to the national championship game in epic fashion.

In a tournament that always delivers, Butler provided the best moment yet in 2023 with San Diego State’s 72-71 victory over Florida Atlantic— one reminiscent of the shot Kris Jenkins hit in 2016 to win the title for Villanova in the same building.

College basketball fans across the country were stunned and the reactions were priceless. Here are the best from inside the building in Houston and around the country.

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San Diego State’s Lamont Butler narrowly avoided stepping out of bounds before his buzzer-beater

That buzzer-beater was *this* close to never happening.

The first game of the Final Four ended in a thrilling victory for San Diego State as Lamont Butler nailed a remarkable buzzer-beater.

After SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher opted not to use their final timeout, Butler was trusted to make the right play. The guard took the ball down the floor in transition, dribbled near the baseline, and showed stellar footwork as the clock continued ticking.

Butler very nearly stepped out of bounds once on the baseline and if he had moved his right foot an extra inch, SDSU’s season would have come to a sad close due to a turnover. Instead, he was able to make his way to the midrange and nail the shot.

This is one of those shots that will go down in the March Madness history books, but it’s even crazier when you realize that it nearly didn’t happen.

Take a look at this angle and you will see exactly how close it was:

My heart is pounding just looking at that video!

Congratulations to Butler on using all 94 feet of the court and all 50 feet of the baseline, because my goodness, that was a close call.

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AT THE BUZZER: Twitter Reacts to Lamont Butler’s game winning shot against FAU

In a matter of seconds, San Diego State’s Lamont Butler became a San Diego sports folkhero.

For most of the game, it looked like this was going to be a Twitter reaction to FAU continuing their tournament run to the national championship game. Up 14 in the second half, the Owls appeared to be cruising to victory.

San Diego State, one of the scrappiest teams in this year’s tournament had different plans.

After finding themselves down 56-42 with 13:53 remaining in the game, the Aztecs would begin to chip away at the Owls’ lead. By the ten-minute mark, the lead deficit would be down to just six points at 60-54.

FAU did not give up the lead easily, however, as they were able to keep it a multi-possession game for most of the final 10 minutes. However, the Owls who were able to shoot well for most of the second half would go into a funk over the last four minutes, making just one shot from the floor. Despite those struggles, the Owls would still lead heading into the game’s final seconds.

That’s when we’re welcomed to a moment in time, and a moment that will live forever in San Diego State and college basketball history.

After Johnell Davis missed a contested shot at the rim, San Diego State forward Nathan Mensah would grab the rebound and quickly get it to guard Lamont Butler.

Butler would rush down the court, looking for the perfect opportunity;

Three seconds left… He was at the baseline, with no good shot opportunity.

Two seconds left… he’s near the corner, no opportunity, he quickly moves a few feet to his left.

One second left… From 19 feet, he pulls up, the ball leaves his hand with 0.9 seconds remaining.

Zero seconds left… Swoosh, nothing but net. San Diego State wins 71-70.

Just like that, Lamont Butler became a San Diego sports folk hero and legend and just like that, San Diego State will now prepare to face either No. 4 UConn or No.5 Miami on Monday night in Houston.

San Diego State’s Lamont Butler hit an absolutely stunning Final Four buzzer-beater

LAMONT BUTLER. SAN DIEGO STATE. ONIONS.

San Diego State junior guard Lamont Butler willed his team to the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament championship game with one of the best buzzer-beaters you’re likely to see this year.

As the seconds ticked down to zero, Butler got off the hero shot with his team down by a point to Florida Atlantic in the first Final Four game of the day.

The ball went right through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, helping cement the comeback victory for San Diego State.

SDSU players, coaches and fans immediately went wild as their team notched the game-winning basket in Houston, giving college basketball fans similar shades of the Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater that gave Villanova a national title in 2016.

That is exactly what March Madness is all about. Butler’s terrific bucket will be talked about by San Diego State fans for decades to come.

The team will move on to Monday’s championship game between the winner of Miami and Connecticut.

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