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Kentucky Basketball Player Spotlight: Lamont Butler

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Get to know more about Kentucky graduate transfer Lamont Butler before the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Chet White | UK Athletics

All summer Mark Pope has talked about understanding the assignment, which is winning a national championship. The player on the roster that has gotten the closest to that is Lamont Butler.

Playing in four straight NCAA tournaments at San Diego State, Butler not only has experience, but winning experience. That includes hitting a buzzer-beater to advance to the national championship game in 2023.

Lamont Butler

  • Position: Guard
  • Height: 6-2
  • Weight: 208 lbs
  • Class: Graduate Student (5th year)
  • Hometown: Moreno Valley, California
  • High School: Riverside Poly High
  • Previous School: San Diego State
  • Recruiting Ranking: Three-star recruit ranked as the 38th best point guard in the 2020 class via 247 Sports Composite. Four-star transfer and 44th overall.

Butler’s journey started in Moreno Valley, California where he was born in a garage as his mother Carmicha went into labor as she was getting into the family car. He grew up the youngest of four, with three older sisters in a working-class family.

Watching his older sisters playing basketball, including his sister Amani who was a McDonald’s All-American, Lamont became interested in the game at a young age. At seven years old, he chose to really start pursuing basketball and his father Lamont Sr began to drive him to Los Angeles to play in the local youth league.

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Fast forward to high school, playing at Riverside Poly High, Butler broke the school scoring record previously held by NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. As a three-star prospect, he was offered by the likes of Colorado and Washington before ultimately selecting San Diego State.

Starting just two games as a freshman, Butler became one of the team’s most important players as a sophomore due to his defense. Over the next three seasons, he earned three consecutive All-MWC conference selections and helped the Aztecs to their most successful run in program history, featuring a runner-up finish, back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances, and two conference regular season championships.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Butler made the decision to enter the transfer portal.

Growing up a Kentucky fan, enamored with the 2009-10 team that featured five players drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, Butler didn’t see Kentucky in the cards for him in his career. That was until an entire roster to be filled.

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Just 48 hours after entering the portal, he announced his commitment to Mark Pope and Kentucky after an impromptu visit in Las Vegas.

Why Kentucky?

“It started with Coach Pope,” Butler said this summer. “Ever since I came to the portal he’s been talking to me. He’s just been a great person, a great role model. Just a great leader. He really believed and he really trusted me.”

Pope has a lot of trust in Butler, as he is set to be the starting point guard for his first Wildcat team.

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“Lamont Butler is the definition of a winner,” Pope said. “He might be the best perimeter defensive player in all of college basketball. Lamont has helped lead championship teams for the last four years and hit one of the most epic shots in the NCAA Tournament to send his team to the championship game.”

Known for his defense, Butler wants to show more of his all-around game in his final season of eligibility. “I definitely have a lot more to show,” Butler said. “Offensively I have a lot more game that I wasn’t typically able to show at San Diego State and that was just because of the system we ran.”

That said, he understands the assignment. That’s to win.

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Men's Basketball

Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno Earn Conference Preseason Honors

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Photo via Chet White | UK Athletics

On Monday, Oct. 12, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno both earned All-SEC preseason honors, with the Iowa State transfer selected to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team and the returning sophomore selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team.

Momcilovic is entering his senior season with the Wildcats, looking to follow up his junior campaign after reigning as the undisputed best shooter in college basketball. He averaged 16.9 points per game last year, with his shooting splits reading 50.6/48.7/87.8.

Leading the Cyclones to a No. 2 seed and being selected to All-Big 12 Second Team, it’s safe to say that this isn’t the first time that Momcilovic has been left off of the top list, making the Kentucky superstar hungry to prove the haters wrong on a much larger stage.

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Moreno is returning for his sophomore season after earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors last year, looking to show the Big Blue Nation everything he learned throughout the draft process and that he has changed this summer.

The Kentucky native was thrown into the fire, earning 30 unexpected starts for the Wildcats. He developed as the season went on, ending the 2025-26 campaign averaging 7.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.

With both Momcilovic and Moreno as staple players on this year’s roster, the SEC has slated Mark Pope’s team to finish seventh in the conference this season, finishing behind Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt.

The full lists of the All-SEC Teams can be found below:

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First Team

  • Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  • Juke Harris (Tennessee)
  • Thomas Haugh (Florida)
  • Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)
  • Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)

Second Team

  • Amari Allen (Alabama)
  • Alex Condon (Florida)
  • Milan Momcilovic (Kentucky)
  • Jordan Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
  • Matas Vokietaitis (Texas)

Third Team

  • PJ Haggerty (Texas A&M)
  • Malachi Moreno (Kentucky)
  • Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)
  • David Punch (Texas)
  • Billy Richmond III (Arkansas)

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Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Shows Flashes in First NBA Preseason Appearances

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Photo via Getty Images

Former Kentucky standout Otega Oweh took another step in his basketball career on Tuesday night, making his NBA preseason debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder and taking on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Oweh came off of the bench and played 28 minutes, finishing with six points, six rebounds, two steals, one block and an assist. The former Wildcat struggled offensively, shooting only 3-of-9 from the field and missing all four of his free throw attempts.

Despite the shooting struggles, Oweh showed flashes of his defensive ability and physicality that made him a fan favorite during his two seasons in Lexington.

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The Pelicans escaped with a 116-110 win, leaving the Thunder with a 0-1 record. The next night wouldn’t draw a different result, with Oweh’s team losing by two and only playing the beloved superstar a total of 16 minutes.

Due to foul trouble, this would be the only minutes he would receive, ending the game with two points on three shots.

Oweh was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Thunder after averaging 18.6 points per game during his senior season at Kentucky, joining former Wildcats Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Although his preseason debut wasn’t the offensive performance he might have hoped for, Oweh will have more than enough opportunities to prove himself as he looks to earn a role in a professional rotation.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Competes at Annual Pro Day Inside of Rupp Arena

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Photo via Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

Kentucky held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, where NBA scouts were able to watch the team go through individual drills and a live game-like scrimmage. There are plenty of takeaways that stood out during the two hour practice. Let’s dive into it:

1.) Franck Kepnang Shows Off in the Paint

The first thing that stood out was transfer big man Franck Kepnang, with the seven-foot big from Washington dominating in the paint. Starting with the individual drills, he showed his size and ability to get downhill off of a pick-and-roll.

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The bigs went through a finishing through contact drill, and the new Wildcat seemed unfazed by the pads being pounded against him. With Moreno and Kepnang running the paint together, it will make it very difficult for opposing teams to stop both of them.

2.) Ousmane N’Diaye Has High-Scoring Performance

Overseas big Ousmane N’Diaye was another standout in front of the NBA scouts. In the first six-minute “quarter”, N’Diaye led all scorers with eight points.

He showed off his ability to score at all three levels, hitting multiple threes and also demonstrating his ability to score in the paint. N’Diaye wasn’t playing the five spot, which really allowed his team to stretch the floor and help with spacing.

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With Moreno, Kepnang, N’Diaye and Reece Potter all standing at seven-feet tall, Mark Pope has the opportunity to run a four-big lineup all while each player hones a different skillset. Having this much size will pay dividends come time for conference play.

3. The Forwards Do a Little Bit of Everything

A few other players who performed well were Milan Momcilovic and Braydon Hawthorne. Momcilovic played very unselfish during the inter-squad scrimmage, looking to first get his teammates involved and not forcing his game whatsoever.

He did hit a nice step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second “quarter”, highlighting his 10-point performance. Hawthorne had some great looks from beyond the arc and did a phenomenal job getting his teammates open, driving and distributing the rock.

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He finished with six points and one assist.

Overall, the whole team appeared molded together and played as a unit rather than just isolation ball, which is a great sign in early October. There is no shortage of individual talent on this roster, and that was evident on Tuesday, with leaders and experience at every position.

The wait is almost over BBN. Kentucky will take the court in its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 16, when Little Rock comes into town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.

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