South Carolina’s off to stifling defensive start. And this top 60 recruit is noticing
An inch or so away from being 7-feet tall, John Butler Jr. had a clear view of his potential future team.
South Carolina beat Wyoming, 66-32, on Nov. 10. The announced crowd of 10,255 included Butler Jr., his parents and brothers. He sat behind the USC bench, easily spotting the way the Gamecocks held the Cowboys to 23% percent shooting, but also hearing how Frank Martin orchestrated one of the best defensive games of his eight-year run as Carolina coach.
“One thing I picked up is during the game, when they set on-ball screens,” Butler Jr. said, “he really likes his bigs to go out and hedge really hard. So he got on a couple big men when they weren’t hedging hard.”
Butler Jr., according to 247Sports Composite, is the nation’s No. 51 recruit in 2021 class. The Christ Church Episcopal School (Greenville) junior is the No. 2 prospect in the state of South Carolina. Offered by the Gamecocks last month, Butler Jr. has natural ties to Martin’s program. Both his parents graduated from USC. One of his parents had him raised on a Martin staple.
“He kind of grew up as an all-defensive player,” said John Butler Sr., the coach at Christ Church. “And the last couple years I’ve seen him be a little bit more offensive minded. But we’re trying to push him to be a little bit more assertive, aggressive. So I’ve watched that, witnessed that.”
The current Gamecocks (3-0) head into their Tuesday night game against Boston University (2-2) ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage defense, fourth in scoring defense and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense. It’s been a smothering effort for a variety of reasons, including a roster filled with length.
It’s something Martin is prioritizing for the future, too. The 2020 recruiting class is complete — for now — with 6-10 Patrick Iriel from AC Flora and 6-8 Ja’Von Benson from Ridge View. A top target in 2021 is the 6-11 Butler Jr., who came to Columbia twice last week — once for South Carolina high school basketball media day, once as Martin’s visitor for the USC-Wyoming game.
“It was a very interesting experience, the Wyoming and South Carolina game,” Butler Jr. said. “South Carolina’s defense, big principle for South Carolina right there. ‘Defense, defense, defense.’ Frank preaches that all the time.”
Butler Jr. averaged 17.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5 blocks a game last season for Christ Church, which begins its 2019-20 campaign Nov. 25 against Riverside.
South Carolina is among several Power 5 schools in pursuit of Butler Jr., including Georgia Tech, Alabama, Tennessee and Clemson. All members of the USC staff keep in touch with Butler Jr., with assistant Perry Clark leading most of the conversations.
“Every time I go to a practice or a game, they always talk about how they can space the floor out and use my versatility,” Butler Jr. said.
Butler Sr., USC class of 1999, said the Gamecock staff has used another alumnus to paint the image of his son in garnet and black.
“One of the things I appreciated them talking with him is how they learned to use Sindarius (Thornwell) in different ways,” Butler Sr. said. “And because John’s game is unique, he can be used in different ways. He can be used in the high post, he can be used dribbling the ball up the court.”
BOSTON UNIVERSITY AT SOUTH CAROLINA
Where: Colonial Life Arena
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV: SEC Network Plus via the WatchESPN app
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
Projected starting lineups
Boston University (2-2)
G Alex Vilarino 8.5 ppg, 1.0 apg
G Jonas Harper 6.8 ppg, 1.2 spg
G Javante McCoy 9.8 ppg, 3.0 apg
F Walter Whyte 18.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg
F Max Mahooney 11.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg
South Carolina (3-0)
G Jair Bolden 12.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg
G A.J. Lawson 16.0 ppg, 3.3 apg
F Justin Minaya 6.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F Alanzo Frink 9.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg
F Maik Kotsar 4.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
