Lamont Butler Season 2023-24

Is the 38^th player in program history to score at least 1,000 points in his Aztec career and is just the second Aztec, since at least the start of the 1996-97 season, to finish his career with at least 1,000 points, 330 assists, 300 rebounds and 175 steals (also Brandon Heath). Won four Mountain West Championships (two regular season & two tournament) and played in the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons on The Mesa, including a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and the 2023 national championship game.
 
Completed his Aztec career ranked No. 5 in steals (183), No. 6 in conference victories (52), No. 9 in victories (100), No. 10 in assists (338), No. 12 in games (131), No. T-13 in games started (102), No. 17 in minutes (3,061), No. 18 in 3-point field goal attempts (324), No. 18 in field goal attempts (888), No. 36 in points (1,008).
 
On the program’s single-season lists he ranks No. T-7 in victories (32)  and No. 20 in assists (126), both from the 2022-23 campaign.
 
Upon the completion of his Aztec career, is the only player to hit a game winning shot, with his team trailing, in NCAA Final Four history.


As a Senior (2023-24 Season)
MW Rankings: No. 6 in steals, No. 9 in assist-to-turnover ratio, No. 13 in assists
NCAA Rankings: No. 107 in steals, No. 128 in assist-to-turnover ratio, No. 182 in steals per game, No. 232 in assists, No. 344 in assists per game
Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year… Mountain West All-Defensive Team… Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (coaches & media)… A starter in all 37 games… Averaged 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game… Added 112 assists, 56 steals and nine blocks in 1,018 minutes played… Shot a single-season matching best 42.1 percent (128-of-304) from the field, 30.2 percent (32-of-106) from the bonus distance and 59.4 percent (57-of-96) from the line… Finished 17 games with double figure points, including matching his single game high with 23 points vs. Wyoming (1/23)… Played double digit minutes in all 37 appearances, 14 games of at least 30 minutes and a career-high 40:07 at UNLV (3/14) at the Mountain West Tournament… Matched career-highs with 128 field goals and 304 field goal attempts… Recorded first collegiate double double (11 points & 10 rebounds w/ 3 steals) vs. Colorado State (2/13) and is the first Aztec, under 6-3 since Chad Nelson (Dec. 10, 1996), to have a points/rebounds double double with multiple steals… Hoisted 10 or more shots in 11 contests, including a career-high equaling 15 at Colorado State (1/30)… Knocked down a career-high 10 field goals vs. Wyoming, among 10 games where he was successful on a minimum of five shots... Was successful on at least 40.0 percent of his shot attempts in a game on 24 occasions, led by a 71.4 percent night (10-of-14) vs. Wyoming… Hit multiple 3-pointers in 11 contests with a season-best three vs. Stanford (12/21), at Colorado State and vs. Utah State (3/15) at the Mountain West Tournament… Attempted a season-high six 3-pointers vs. Long Beach State (11/14), vs. Stanford, vs. Wyoming and vs. New Mexico (3/16) at the Mountain West Tournament… Knocked down at least 40.0 percent of his three point attempts in nine games… Equaled his single-game high with five free throws Colorado State, vs. Utah State (3/15) at the Mountain West Tournament, and vs. UAB (3/22) in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament… Matched his single-game best with eight free throws attempted vs. Utah State (3/15) at the Mountain West Tournament… Recorded four games with multiple offensive rebounds, which included equaling his career-high of three at Fresno State (2/24)… Among five games with a minimum of four defensive boards, he set his career-high, 10, vs. Colorado State… Finished six games (4-2) with a minimum of five total rebounds which included his career-high 10 vs. Colorado State… Had at least three assists in 26 games, SDSU was 19-7 in those contests, including a season and career-high matching seven vs. Cal State Fullerton (11/6)… Blocked a shot in eight games, with a career-best two vs. Connecticut (3/28) in the Sweet 16… Produced 11 multi-steal games (8-3) with a season-high five vs. Washington (1/19)… His 56 steals led the team… 128 field goals & 112 assists ranked No. 2 on the team.
 
As a Junior (2022-23 Season)
SDSU Single-Season Rankings: No. 7 in wins, No. 20 in assists
MW Rankings: No. 7 in steals, No. 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio, No. 12 in assists
NCAA Rankings: No. 82 in steals, No. 141 in assists, No. 199 in steals per game, No. 209 in assist-to-turnover ratio, No. 279 in assists per game
NCAA All-Tournament Team… NCAA Tournament All-South Regional Team… Mountain West All-Defensive Team (coaches)… Third-Team All-Mountain West (coaches)… Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (media)… Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (media)… Academic All-Mountain West... Appeared in 39 games, including starting in 38 of them… Averaged 8.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game… Added 126 assists, 57 steals and four blocks in 1011:59 of floor time… Shot 42.1 percent (128-of-304) from the field, 34.2 percent (40-of-117) from beyond the arc, and 73.1 percent (49-of-67) from the line… Had two game-winning buzzer beating baskets including at New Mexico (2/25) and vs. Florida Atlantic (4/1) at the Final Four… In the season opener against Cal State Fullerton (11/7), became the second Aztec since the start of the Dutcher/Fisher era (1999-00) to have four steals and a 6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in a game… Against Furman (3/18), became the second Aztec to record at least 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists in an NCAA Tournament game… Led the team in assists and steals and was third in minutes and points… Scored in double figures in 14 games (SDSU was 12-2 in those contests) and it was 6-0 when he totaled at least 15 points… Finished with a career-high 23 points at Wyoming (1/7)… Twice, at Wyoming and vs. Creighton (3/26) at the Elite Eight, knocked down a career-high eight shots and in the 12 games in which he made a minimum of four buckets the Aztecs were 11-1… Led the team in scoring four times and SDSU was undefeated in each of those games… In 11 games he attempted double digit shots and the Aztecs went 10-1 in those contests… When he made multiple 3-pointers, San Diego State was 9-1… Among his 10 games with two or more made three pointers, he knocked down a career-high five at Wyoming a game in which he also established a career-best with 11 3-point shot attempts… In games in which he shot at least four treys, the Aztecs posted a 9-2 record… In 20 games he attempted at least two free throws (SDSU was 17-3 in those contests)… Matched a career-high with five free throws made vs. Saint Mary’s (12/10) at the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Ariz., and vs. Colorado State (2/21)… Established a career-best with eight free throw attempts vs. Saint Mary’s… In 19 contests (SDSU was 16-3 in those games) he pulled down a minimum of three rebounds… Set a career-best with seven boards vs. UNLV (2/11) and had six vs. Furman (3/18) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and five vs. Colorado State (3/9) in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Tournament… Among four games with multiple offensive rebounds, his three vs. UNLV matched his career high which was set last year at Wyoming (2/28/22)… In 16 games in which he totaled at least three defensive rebounds, he totaled a season-best four vs. UC San Diego (11/29), vs. UNLV, vs. Utah State (3/11) in the championship game at the Mountain West Tournament and vs. Furman (3/18) in the second round at the NCAA Tournament… Led the team in assists in 17 games and the Aztecs were 15-2 in those contests… Dished out a minimum two assists in 31 contests (SDSU was 27-4 in those games)… Established a career-high with seven dimes vs. UNLV (2/11) and dished out at least four assists in a game on 18 occasions (the Aztecs went 16-2 in those games)… In 15 games in which he had at least a pair of steals the team was 14-1… Set a career-high with six steals vs. Brigham Young (11/11)… Blocked shots at Stanford (11/15), vs. UC Irvine (11/29), vs. Alabama (3/24) in the Sweet 16 and Connecticut (4/3) in the national championship game…Played at least 20 minutes in 35-of-39 games and at least 30 minutes in nine contests with a season-high 36:12 at Utah State (2/8).

As a Sophomore (2021-22 Season)
MW Rankings: No. 2 in steals 
NCAA Rankings: No. 104 in steals per game, No. 191 in steals
Mountain West All-Defensive Team (coaches)… Paycom Wooden Legacy All-Tournament Team… San Diego State Scholar-Athlete... A starter in 25 of the 27 games in which he appeared… Averaged 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game… Added 57 assists, 46 steals and four blocks in a total of 685:17 of action… Shot 70-of-179 (39.1 percent) from the field, 23-of-70 (32.9 percent) from beyond the arc, and 34-of-44 (77.3 percent) from the line… Established new single-season career bests in nearly every statistical category… In two games in the Paycom Wooden Legacy, he averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals, and zero turnovers while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (10-of-20), 66.7 percent from the bonus distance (4-of-6) to earn inclusion on the all-tournament team… Set and then equaled a career-high with 16 points vs. Georgetown (11/25) in the Paycom Wooden Legacy tournament and then matched it vs. Boise State (3/12) in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament… Against Georgetown, went 6-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc becoming the first Aztec in 26 seasons to post a perfect night shooting from the floor with at least six field goal attempts and at least three 3-point attempts… Also had double figure scoring games vs. Arizona State (11/18), Long Beach State (11/30), No. 20 Colorado State (1/8), at Nevada (3/5) and vs. Boise State (1/22)… Knocked down at least one field goal in 27 contests, while matching his single-game best six buckets vs. Georgetown among nine games with at least four hoops… Against No. 24 Southern California, hoisted a career-high 14 shots and recorded and additional three games with double digit attempts: 12 shots each vs. No. 20 Colorado State (1/8) and vs. Boise State (1/22), and 10 vs. Arizona State (11/18)… New career-best of three 3-pointers came vs. Georgetown (11/25) and vs. Boise State (3/12) in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament… Knocked down two trey’s vs. Arizona State (11/18), vs. Boise State (1/22), at Colorado State (2/4) and at Nevada (3/5)… Attempted three or more 3-point shots in 12 contests led by a career-high six vs. Arizona State… Matched a career-best with five free throws knocked down vs. UC Riverside (11/9)… Twice, UC Riverside and vs. Arizona State attempted a season-high six free throws in a game… Matched his career-best six rebounds in three games: vs. No. 20 Colorado State (1/8), vs. New Mexico (1/31) and against Creighton (3/17) in the NCAA tournament… Set a career-high with three offensive boards at Wyoming (2/28) and also had a two offensive rebound game at Colorado State (2/4)… Equaled a single-game bests with five defensive boards vs. No. 20 Colorado State, vs. New Mexico and vs. Creighton… Dished out multiple assists in 16 games, SDSU was 13-3 when he did, which included a season-best five assist game at Utah State (1/26)… He also had three four assist efforts: vs. New Mexico (1/30), vs. Utah State (2/15) and against Fresno State (3/10) in the quarterfinal of the Mountain West tournament… Produced multiple steals in 15 contests, SDSU was 13-2 in those games, led by three four steal games: vs. No. 20 Colorado State (1/8), at San Jose State (2/9) and vs. San Jose State (2/25)… Blocks came vs. Long Beach State (11/30), vs. No. 20 Colorado State, vs. Boise State (1/22) and at Utah State (1/26)… Missed five contests, from at No. 24 Michigan (12/4) to at UNLV (1/1), due to a wrist injury… Played double figure minutes in every game, including a career-high 35:15 at San Jose State.

As a Freshman (2020-21 Season)
Mountain West Scholar-Athlete... Academic All-Mountain West... San Diego State Scholar-Athlete... Appeared in 28 games, including the first two starts of his college career, at Air Force (1/22 & 1/24)… Averaged 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game… Added 43 assists, 24 steals and one block in 348:24 of action… Shot 40-of-101 (39.6 percent) from the floor, including 9-of-31 (29.0 percent) from 3-point range, and 32-of-48 (66.7 percent) from the line… Was the only freshman to appear in every game and led his class in every statistical category… Scored in double figures five times, including a season-high 13 points at Utah State (1/16) which he matched vs. Wyoming (1/28)… Is the only Aztec in the last 25 seasons to post a 13-point, 5-steal game (at Utah State – 1/16) coming off the bench… His 13 pts at Utah State (1/16) are the most by a San Diego State true freshman since Matt Mitchell scored 17 points at Air Force on Feb. 21, 2018… Combine his 13 pts & 5 steals at Utah State (1/16) and he is just the third San Diego State true freshman to have at least that many points and steals in a game since the start of the 1996-97 season (Kyle Spain & Richie Williams in 2005-06)… Is the first Aztec true freshman to start back-to-back games since Nathan Mensah on March 15 & 16 in the 2018-19 season and is just the third freshman in the last four seasons to start a game for SDSU (Matt Mitchell & Nathan Mensah)… Had at least one assist in the last 16 games of the season, including ten of his 11 multi-assist games with a single-game high six vs. Wyoming (1/28)… Had one or fewer turnovers in 21-of-28 games… Recorded multiple rebounds in 15 games, including a back-to-back season-high five boards vs. San Jose State (2/8 & 2/10)… Among his five offensive rebounds, had a single-game best two at Air Force (1/22)… His five steals at Utah State (1/16) were his single-game best among five games of multiple steals… Lone block was vs. Pepperdine (12/6)… Scored multiple field goals ten times, with six buckets at Utah State (1/16) a single-game high… Two threes vs. Wyoming (3/11) in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West tournament, are a single-game best… In the semifinal round of the Mountain West tournament, sank five free throws, which is his single-game high... Played a season-high 25:38 at Air Force (1/22).

High School
A graduate of Riverside (Calif.) Poly High School… Four-year letterwinner (coach Yancy Dodson)… A four-star rated recruit by ESPN and three-star talent by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com… Named one of the class of 2020’s top-50 point guards nationally by ESPN (No. 30)… Compiled 91 wins in his high school career, culminating in a 27-7 record in 2019-20 including going 12-0 in Ivy League play and winning the conference championship… Named Ivy League Most Valuable Player as a senior, as well as a second-team Cal-Hi Sports all-state performer… A four-time All-Ivy League and all-state performer… A three-time all-county and all-CIF selection (following his sophomore, junior and senior seasons)… Twice, following his sophomore and senior seasons, reached the CIF Championship game… Earned Riverside Kiwanis Tournament MVP as a sophomore, junior and senior… In his junior season was an all-tournament selection at the Damien Classic and Maranatha Tournament… As a senior earned all-tournament honors in the Tarkanian Classic… A member of teams that won the Battlezone (freshman), Riverside Kiwanis (sophomore, junior and senior) and Section 7 (senior) tournaments… Program was runner-up in the Tarkanian Classic (sophomore), Marantha (junior), CIF Championship (sophomore and senior)… Passed NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller as Poly’s all-time leading scorer with more than 1,800-career points… Other career number include 559 assists, 271 steals, and shot .432 (642-of-1,485) from the floor.