Prospect Overview
Exceptionally tall, skinny center who played a complementary role at Florida State as a true freshman, but fits a unique mold with his combination of size, shooting ability, and potential as a rim protector.
About John Butler
John Butler is a unique prospect whose height, perimeter shooting touch, and potential as a shot blocker as he gets stronger makes him intriguing in the long term. Emerging as a prospect with his size early on, he finished his prep career at Christ Church Episcopal School (SC) ranked among the consensus top-70 prospects in the high school class of 2021.
Committing to Florida State to play under Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, the lanky big man carved out a role in the starting lineup after a few games and finished the season averaging 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks over 18.9 minutes per game.
• Measured standing 7-foot-0.75 with a skinny 174-pound frame and a 7-foot-2.25 wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, Butler lacks strength in a major way, but has tremendous size, good length, and is quite nimble for his size.
• Among the more unique players his size in college basketball, Butler spent a lot of time playing on the perimeter. While he filled a minor offensive role, he showed interesting potential as a set shooter, the ability to finish above the rim, and even some fluidity attacking closeouts. While he remains early in his development, he showed more substance as a shooter than most young players his size which gives him interesting long-term potential.
• Showing great mobility for his height and nice timing as a shot blocker, Butler’s tools played a key role in his defensive impact last season. His lack of strength is a clear limiting factor projecting ahead and he is still learning the nuances of the game, but his ability to move his feet is impressive for a 7-footer.
Advanced Stats
• With almost half of his shots in the half court coming in catch and shoot situations, Butler did much of his scoring as a spot up shooter, but also contributed with his speed in transition and reach as a finisher.
• Scoring 1.10 points per jump shot [86th percentile], Butler made set shots at a fairly impressive rate. His pull-up is still a work in progress and his misses tended to be very erratic, but when he was on balance and in rhythm the results from beyond the arc were very encouraging. The way he relocated on the perimeter also stood out for a freshman his size. He was not ready to do a lot of shooting on the move, but understood where he needed to be and when to lift up along the sidelines.
• Getting most of his touches inside in catch and finish situations, Butler scored 0.98 points per shot around the rim in the half court [25th percentile] as his frame was a limiting factor in traffic. Faring a bit better in transition, he is still growing into his body in some ways. While he caught some lobs, his ability to handle contact is a key point in his development moving forward.
Defensive Analysis
• Moving his feet well on the perimeter and using his agility to come up with blocks inside, Butler had some nice moments in Florida State’s full court press and switch-heavy half court defense.
• His inexperience was apparent at times on and off the ball and his strength limited him on the glass and against more physical slashers, but he showed some fight in spots as teams looked to challenge him on the perimeter.
— Profile by Synergy Sports
