Butler Beat Writer
Welcome to the first edition of FootBasket's Bulldog Bites! I will be bringing all the Butler Bulldogs fans informative and exclusive content throughout the season as a credentialed beat writer for the site.
Now, lets get to the Bulldog Bites for today.
Butler Offers 2015 Forward, Sajon Ford
Earlier today, news broke from Aaron Holmes of ahelitebasketball.com that Butler had offered 2015 PF/C, Sajon Ford (St. Petersburg, FL). The 6-11 forward is rated as a two-star prospect by ESPN, but he has been gaining tons of interest from big schools as of late.
Ford's recruitment has picked up a ton of steam over the past week. He has received interest from Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Nebraska and Minnesota. Ford received two offers on July 29 from Xavier, a Big East rival to Butler and Auburn.
Offering the 2015 big man makes a ton of sense for Butler in both their immediate recruiting plans and long-term for the lack of depth at power forward and center by then.
It also looks like Butler is unlikely to get Trey Lyles, as I have been told the 'Dawgs are in third behind Kentucky and Louisville. From who I have spoken to, it truly sounds like a two-team battle between the Wildcats and Cardinals.
Also, if the Bulldogs can not get commitments from some of their 2015 targets, like Bronson Kessinger (Corydon, IN) and Derrik Smits (Zionsville, IN), then that leaves Butler with a very depleted frontcourt.
Looking at when Ford would come in for the 2015-2016 season, they would only have a trio of Nolan Berry, new verbal commit for 2014 Tyler Wideman, and Andrew Chrabascz in their frontcourt. Obviously, Butler needs a ton more depth to survive in the Big East. Ford would provide that as a lanky big who has great leaping ability.
Butler fans, if you are looking for a current comparison to Ford on the roster, it is Kameron Woods. Both can score down low, have explosive leaping ability and can defend both ends of the floor. Also, both could use some extra muscle on their thin frames.
Offering Ford is a good sign for the Bulldogs. If I had to predict right now, I would say Butler would be Ford's top offer over Xavier and Auburn. We will have to see, though. This should be a good recruiting battle to watch for Butler throughout Ford's recruitment process.
If you want to have a detailed scouting report on Ford, check it out on ESPN if you have an Insider account.
Top Two 2014 Targets Playing In Adidas Nations Championship
Butler's two main focuses in the 2014 recruiting class, Trevon Bluiett (Indianapolis, IN) and Trey Lyles (Indianapolis) are both playing in the Adidas Nations championship on ESPNU tonight at 9 p.m. EST.
Bluiett and Lyles are both on the same team playing against the top recruit in the country, Jahlil Okafor.
Both Bluiett and Lyles have been very impressive so far in Los Angeles. Bluiett has been averaging 13 points per game on nearly 70-percent shooting from the field, while Lyles has averaged nine points and six rebounds so far.
As both of their recruitments go, Butler is not in the lead for either one, per a source from 247Sports. As I said about Lyles above, everyone thinks it will come down to Kentucky and Louisville for him. Bluiett, on the other hand, just cut his list to seven teams (Butler, Indiana, Xavier, Purdue, Michigan, UCLA and Arizona).
From the same source I spoke to from 247Sports, who seems close to Bluiett's recruitment, he said it will come down to Michigan and UCLA. The source also told me he believes Bluiett will commit to Michigan, and was undecided on Kentucky and Louisville for Lyles.
Not a surprise that Butler is not the favorites for either top prospect, but it is still a big accomplishment to be in the final cut for both of them. Seems to me like both schools are in the top four (Lyles No. 3, Bluiett No. 4). The source from 247Sports also believed the same.
Both are expected to announce their decisions sometime this Fall, before the high school basketball season starts up.
Butler Basketball Team Arrives In Australia
Butler's basketball team left for Australia on Saturday, but they just arrived in on Monday with the time zone difference. Pretty weird, but also pretty cool that you can just skip a day on the calender.
Anyways, the team has started to settle in for the week. The team is in Sydney, Australia and have been relaxing and having fun before they play their first game really early in the morning. They all played a full-team game of cricket and have already experienced great team-bonding, which is what head coach Brandon Miller was aiming for.
At 2 a.m. EST this morning , Butler will be playing their first game of the week against the North Bears Invitational Team at North Sydney Sports Center. From me, expect a full recap and update from the team and some players through direct message conversations over Twitter tomorrow.
