Lamont Butler believes 'energy and effort' are key to Kentucky turnaround: 'You need the whole team.'

Healthy, banged-up or flat-out injured, Lamont Butler was going to put his heart and soul on the line for the Kentucky Wildcats during his time on the floor. He wasn’t the flashiest player in the world, but you better believe he prioritized winning over everything else — you don’t hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in the Final Four if that’s not in your DNA.

That’s what made the start of the season so jarring to begin Mark Pope‘s second year in Lexington. That passion was missing, as was the togetherness that entire debut roster played with. There was no blood, no sweat and no tears.

Then they finally came to life against Indiana, beating the Hoosiers by a dozen in the ugliest offensive performance in recent memory. The Wildcats made up for it, however, in toughness and grit, bringing that fire and want-to fans had been searching for, leading to the team’s first name-brand victory of the season.

Butler watched, and he was proud.

“I feel like the energy was there. The energy and effort from everybody was really high,” he told Pope on his call-in radio show Monday evening. “I think Mo Dioubate did a great job of bringing that toughness and effort. I think he kind of just — everybody kind of followed along. I think that’s what it takes. Sometimes you need that one person to go along, and then everybody had a great game. I was really proud of BG, how he bounced back from the other games he played, and the energy he brought.

“Everybody — it was a team effort, and that’s what it’s gonna take all year, every game. People don’t understand how hard it is to win a college basketball game. You need the whole team, everybody hitting on the right cylinders, everybody going toward the same goal. I think it’s turning out really well for the team.”

It’s finally turning out really well for the team, we should clarify. Because those things were nowhere to be seen up to that point. Now, they’ll have to pick up right where they left off against Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm, Pope taking on his former title-winning coach at Kentucky in Catlanta for a pre-Christmas gift to Big Blue Nation.

That city was pretty good to the Wildcats last season, defeating Duke in the Champions Classic for the new coach’s first statement win at his alma mater. It was just the third game of the season, but it set the tone for what was to come the rest of the way, tying an all-time NCAA record for top-15 wins and returning to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

“That might be one of my favorite games I played as a Kentucky Wildcat. We played Duke in the third game of the season, and that was our first time really feeling some adversity throughout the season,” Butler said of that first high-profile win. “We were down at halftime and we got down in the second half, and then we just kind of rallied together and took the game over, got the win. Otega (Oweh) had the big steal at the end and free throws, Andrew (Carr) played his butt off.

“That was just a great win. I think I remember I went up to my dad after and it was just a surreal moment being able to play in a big-time Kentucky versus Duke game, one that I watched so many times as a kid. To be a part of it and come on the winning side, it was just a bittersweet moment.”

Between the big wins and moments, playing for the most passionate fanbase in the sport — they’re still supporting him to this day with well wishes as he recovers from a torn ACL in his rookie season as a pro – and representing the winningest tradition in college basketball history, his year at Kentucky will always be something he cherishes.

“Man, it meant the world. It’s an experience that I always tell people, there’s nothing like it. You can’t really get that anywhere, you have to just be a part of it,” Butler said. “From the fan standpoint, the love that they showed from day one when I committed to even now, while I’m away dealing with his injury. Just the love that you get every day is amazing, something that a lot of other fan bases don’t give to their teams. It was definitely great to be a part of that.”

He was a March Madness legend at San Diego State, but earning a scholarship at Kentucky and joining a program featuring some of the greatest hoopers the game has ever seen helped prove he could do it at the highest level.

It was a special final season of college basketball.

“Just the history of it and being able to cement ourselves in that history, it was a really great time being able to be with my teammates every day. That was probably the most fun part, just being with them, grinding through the season, the hotel rooms, where we’re just all laughing, times we’re just hanging out,” Butler continued. “It’s a full-circle thing for me, just being the person that I am, and being able to take my talents to Kentucky. It was just a surreal moment for me, and something I’ll always be grateful for.”

Back at you, Lamont.