Do Butler’s New Recruits Mean a Brighter Future for the Program?
The Hinkle Fieldhouse has seen better days. MUCH better days. The back-to-back runs to the NCAA final for the program feel as distant to us as memories of our fifth birthday.
After those runs to the finals, the Butler Bulldogs moved from the Horizon Conference to the Big East. They went from being a big fish in a small pond to being a small fish in the middle of an ocean and the results reflected that.
The last time the Bulldogs were invited to the dance was in 2018 when they lost to a number two-ranked Boilermakers squad in the second round. The Bulldogs would live in relative squalor until hope for the program was renewed with the surprise hiring of Thad Matta to take over as coach.
Thad would make his name at Ohio State, coaching there for 13 seasons and becoming the winningest coach in the program’s history. There was a lot to be excited about when he took over the program in 2022. His first season in charge was rather underwhelming. Butler would finish the season 14-18 and miss out on the tournament once again.
But you can’t expect to have the trajectory of the program do a 180 after just one season. Thad Matta needs a few recruiting windows before he can have any tangible effect on the program. That brings us to the point of this article. We are going to dive into Thad Marta’s first recruiting class at Butler.
Finley Bizjack
Very fun name. I mean it doesn’t get any more fun than a perimeter shooting guard with the last name Bizjack because jacking up threes is all part of his biz … I’m sure someone will figure out a better catchphrase further on down the line.
Matta would go out of our great state for both of his initial signings. Bizjack is playing out of Texas and he isn’t a signing that will exactly blow the doors off the Big East his freshman year due to him being rated a three-star recruit, but he has a lot of skills he can build on. In a press conference, Thad Matta was quick to point out things that Bizjack has that are difficult to coach into a player.
According to Matta, Bizjack has a high basketball IQ and is a total gym rat always looking to improve his game. Matta was also keen to point out that, during an AAU game, Bizjack took five charges. So it sounds like the Butler Bulldogs may have found their Aaron Craft-like pest.
Boden Kapke
Matta went with a big man for his second signing. Another three-star recruit, but this time out of Minnesota. Kapke stands at 6’11” and he dominated at the high school level averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds. He is also the number 3 prospect out of Minnesota.
Matta again keyed in on basketball IQ when praising Kapke, but added he’s also incredibly excited about Kapke’s versatility claiming he can score in the post as well as out on the perimeter.
As a fan, you may wish that Matta could at least land one four-star recruit in his first class, but these two signings are still very solid. The great thing about having a legendary coach is that he is perfectly capable of turning three-star guys into four or five-star guys. I, for one, am excited to see how Matta can use these guys to help move the program forward.
