Mark Pope says Lamont Butler's performance vs Louisville was an all-timer

Butler had a career-high night against Louisville on Saturday.

Dec 14, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Lamont Butler (1) smiles during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky faced off against the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday evening in what was the beginning of a new era for both programs. It did not disappoint, as the Wildcats had a late surge to pull away from the Cardinals after leading for much of the game. A big catalyst in the win was none other than Lamont Butler, who made his highly-anticipated return after missing two games.

Butler made his impact known and showed everyone just how much he brings to the table. Kentucky's offense has been a bit stagnant the two games he was out, as he is huge in helping the offense run smoothly, and that's exactly what happened. The Wildcats even shot well, which has been an issue recently, as they shot 58% overall and 52% from three. Mark Pope acknowledged Butler's career performance after the game. Butler had 33 points on perfect 10-10 shooting and 6-6 from deep, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.

"Lamont Butler just gave us one of the all-time greatest performances in the history of this super special game, like, of all time. The numbers back it up. The way he came into it backs it up, and you think about when you go out and you are trying to recruit and our guys, our staff is so good and those guys identify a winner, then this is what you get from him. I'm so proud of him and major credit. Major credit. ...Him getting downhill to the rim was really important because when he got down there, it was a lot of space to operate. He had such a terrific burst. He's gotta special burst. It matters, his ability to get downhill was really important."

- Pope on Butler's performance.

It wasn't just Butler who got credit for his incredible performance, but also the strength and conditioning staff that helped him recover quickly and stay in the best possible condition.

"Brandon Wells is probably the best in the entire business. He's incredible, and for
Randy to have limited access but to be creative enough to keep Lamont in playing condition without him being able to set foot on his ankle for a week is really remarkable. You know, we weren't proceeding with caution, we weren't just holding him out of game play because we wanted him to get a bunch of practice under his belt. He really hasn't done anything. Everything has been auxiliary. We are blessed at Kentucky to have two the best guys in the whole business doing it. It's a real credit to Lamont. His heart, it's a real credit to Brandon and Randy. What an unbelievable team they were."

- Pope on strength/conditioning staff.

Butler's performance will no doubt go down in history among best performances in the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry. He made his mark on not only this team, but Kentucky basketball history with that performance.