By SAM LANCE
San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler has officially signed with Kentucky after committing on Friday.
“Lamont Butler is the definition of a winner,” head coach Mark Pope said. “He might be the best perimeter defensive player in all of college basketball. Lamont has helped lead championship teams for the last four years and hit one of the most epic shots in the NCAA Tournament to send his team to the championship game.
“He is an elite student who takes his academics seriously. He cares about the community and will embrace the power of wearing ‘Kentucky’ across the front of his chest. I’m extremely excited to coach Lamont and to see the influence he’s going to have on this team.”
Butler — the 6-foot-2, 205-pound guard from Moreno Valley (CA) — has played four seasons at San Diego State and is utilizing his extra COVID year of eligibility next year at Kentucky. He’s started all but three games each of the last three seasons for the Aztecs. Butler’s pull-up jumper vs. Florida Atlantic in the Final Four of 2023 to send San Diego State to the title game was the first game winner in a Final Four game for a team which was trailing. The guard is rated the No. 59 overall player in the portal per Evan Miya.San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler has committed to @KentuckyMBB, his AAU coach @RyanSilver1 tells me
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 26, 2024
Averaged 9.3 ppg and 3.0 apg pic.twitter.com/TjAy4I3Hv6
Pope now has two commits from the transfer portal this cycle in Butler and former Drexel forward Amari Williams. Several players have left from last season’s John Calipari-coached team through the portal including DJ Wagner, Ugonna Onyenso, Jordan Burks, Joey Hart, Zvonimir Ivisic, Aaron Bradshaw and Adou Thiero. “Lamont is a total winner,” Ryan Silver of West Coast Elite told ZAGSBLOG. “He hit the game-winning shot to propel San Diego State to the national championship game [in 2023]. He’s a great leader, floor general and a high-character young man.” Follow Sam Lance on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookLAMONT BUTLER WINS IT AT THE BUZZER 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 2, 2023
THE AZTECS ARE #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP BOUND 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2sqxu5g05j
