“Every time we played San Diego State, we spent the first 48 hours trying to figure out how we were going to not let him take our ball on every single possession. And literally, I lost so much sleep on that and then competing against him,” Pope said about facing Butler when he was coaching at BYU.”
Now Butler is going to be remembered for a long time by Kentucky fans after scoring 33 points in a win over Louisville that earned him national player of the week honors.
“If you get to put your name solidly in the all-time history books at the University of Kentucky. I mean, that’s hard to do,” Pope said on his radio show. “And certainly, Lamont did it for sure in a magical way.”
Remember earlier this year Jackson State coach Mo Williams talked about also being impressed with Butler when he watched him play at San Diego State.
“He came from a defensive background at his previous school, so that did not change. And I think when you have a point guard that can (defend) that’s the head of the snake, and he’s aggressive on that ball, making plays for his teammates,” Williams said. “He has a really good body, and has a really great pace about himself.
“That’s the only way you can go deep in the tournament with a point guard, along with their length and their shooting ability.”
