(For those wondering about the title, I am a frequent visitor of insidethehall.com)
Rotnei Clarke
This Season: Essentially, Clarke was everything he was advertised as when he transferred to Butler in the summer of 2011. He shot an immense amount of threes, and while shooting 41%, that was actually a few percentage points down from his junior season at Arkansas. Clarke was never a true point guard at Arkansas, and that was more than visible this season. Clarke had more turnovers than assists this season, and he was often moved off the ball in favor of Roosevelt Jones toward the latter part of the season. He certainly had his fare share of turnovers in crucial moments this season, but so did most of the Bulldogs players. As much as a deficiency he had in passing ability, he brought great 3-point shooting to a team that so desperately needed it. His buzzer beater against Marquette will go down as one of the best buzzer beaters in college basketball this season. His leadership both on and off the court will be sorely missed on a young Bulldogs squad next season, and he made the most of his two years at Butler.
Butler Career: While this was only season that Clarke suited up in for Butler, I truly believe that his offensive presence in practice last season was a major contribution to Ronald Nored winning the 2012 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year. Clarke set a great example with his work ethic, and represented the Butler Way in many different aspects.
Andrew Smith
This Season: While Smith's shooting percentage was slightly down this season, he made up for that with increased productivity at the free throw line. Nothing else changed drastically for Smith this year, as he remained a solid rebounder and decent three point shooter. Smith could have scored more this season if Butler guards were more inclined to feed him the ball down low instead of remaining three point shot happy. While he certainly had some struggles finishing inside on his jump hooks, he was clearly the leader of Butler's front line, and did everything he could have reasonably been asked for.
Butler Career: Smith faced quite a difficult situation when he arrived on Butler's campus in the fall of 2009. He was the only new player, as everyone else on the roster was a returning player. He was the only one who had to learn the offense that the other players already new. Needless to say there was a great deal of pressure on Smith as Butler's one-man recruiting class of 2009. While he played very few minutes during his freshman season behind Matt Howard, Avery Jukes, and Gordon Hayward in the frontcourt, he gained valuable experience and was even able to make a contribution in Butler's Elite Eight game vs. Kansas State that season. As a sophomore, Smith starting at center made Matt Howard a much better player, as Howard could roam around the perimeter with his newly developed 3 point shot while Smith was being physical in the paint. Even though he made big leaps and bounds from his freshman season, Smith struggled in the 2011 NCAA tournament, often sitting on the bench in favor of Khyle Marshall. As a junior, Smith was expected to lead Butler back to the NCAA tournament, but the team's lack of three point shooting caused opposing defenses to clamp down on Smith in the paint, which led to many offensive struggles for both Smith and the team in 2011-12. Smith was slightly more aggressive as a senior and was able to keep his 11 point per game average while playing strong post defense and providing excellent leadership. Smith will definitely be severely missed next season as the Bulldogs try to make it back to the NCAA tournament.
Chase Stigall
This Season: I thought Stigall had a chance to start this season following the dismissal of star guard Chrishawn Hopkins, but strong play in the early season from Roosevelt Jones, Alex Barlow, and Kellen Dunham left the senior on the bench most of the time. Stigall was relegated to only 10 minutes per game this season, and his playing time steadily decreased during the course of the season. Stigall was never a great shooter in his Butler career, and he once again hovered around 30 % from distance the entire season. He was certainly an upgrade to Dunham on defense when he came in the game, but his shot selection was often questionable for a guy who wasn't a particularly good shooter to begin with. I will remember the two 3's he made to propel Butler to beat Indiana, as that was easily the highlight of his season. I still commend the way he was able to accept his diminished role, which truly shows he selfless nature as a basketball player.
Butler Career: No one has had as many different roles on Butler as Stigall had. From bench warmer during his freshman season, to role player off the bench for the majority of his sophomore season, to a starter playing over 20 minutes per game towards the end of that season, taking minutes away from the defensively challenged Zach Hahn. For November through January of his junior season, he was a starter playing almost 30 minutes per game. In February and March, he returned to the bench as a role player playing about 15 minutes per game. As a senior, he played about 10 minutes per game coming off the bench. Had Stigall become a 38-40% three point shooter, he would've played as much as Kellen Dunham did this season, given the fact that he is clearly a better defender than Dunham is. But unfortunately, Stigall's inconsistent 3 point shooting kept him in and out of games during his five years in a Butler uniform. Nonetheless, he always set a great example for younger players, and I was pleased that he was able to contribute for the team in many different aspects, especially on the defensive end, which is what he should be remembered for.
Emerson Kampen
This Season and Butler Career: Brad Stevens said on Dan Dakich's radio show that Kampen was one of the most important players on the team that does not get any credit. While he averaged less than one minute per game season, I will say this. No one was as comfortable with a difficult task this season than Emerson Kampen. It is not easy to have precision on those full court baseball passes, but Kampen did a great job at getting the Bulldogs great looks in short time clock situations this season. The Marquette game last week and the Evansville game last season are two great examples of Kampen's ability to make the difficult pass to lead to a basket, by Andrew Smith in both situations (although Smith's basket was dubiously waived off in the Evansville game). EK was also a model of humility and high character. His contribution to the team does not show up in the box score, but it is quite visible in the Butler locker room.
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