The Butler Bulldogs have their highest rated recruiting class in program history inbound to W. 49th Street this fall, and head coach LaVall Jordan and his coaching staff are hoping to carry forward that momentum in their ongoing pursuit of three local wing recruits–as it relates to the Class of 2021.
Butler has already landed the commits of a pair of local Class of 2021 recruits including Brownsburg wing Pierce Thomas and Perry Meridian guard Jayden Taylor, but the Bulldogs may not be quite done just yet.
With Homestead wing Luke Goode having committed to Illinois recently–whose Butler connection had admittedly ‘cooled’ in recent weeks, the Bulldogs seem to be focused on three highly regarded local wings (among others) to round out their Class of 2021–all of whom they’ve offered:
- Blake Wesley, SG (Riley; South Bend, IN): The 6’4″, 170 pound dynamic guard also has outstanding offers from the likes of Louisville, Ohio State, Xavier, Texas, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois, Cincinnati, Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame among other schools. The 4-star recruit is an athletic wing who can both shoot and drive/finish at the rim at a high level, and his length should make him a plus perimeter defender at the next level–especially as he only gets stronger:
- Brooks Barnhizer, SF (Jefferson; Lafayette, IN): The 6’6″ 200 pound wing has offers from Butler, Northwestern, and Xavier among ‘Power 6’ programs already. The 3-star recruit has improved his shooting and has an all-around offensive skill-set–with nice athleticism and length as a wing. There’s some definite “Sean McDermott vibes here”. For what it’s worth, 247Sports’ crystal ball currently projects Barnhizer as 100% going to Butler:
- John Poulakidas, SG (Neuquay Valley; Naperville, IL): The 6’5″, 175 pound pure shooting lefty also has offers from Loyola (IL.), Bradley, Minnesota, Rutgers, Yale, and Wake Forest among other schools. Poulakidas has a soft touch and can really light it up from deep. He’d be a nice shooting complement to some of Butler’s incoming slashers with his ability to spread the court. He’s shown a lot of growth in his game with an improving ability to dribble-and-drive and possesses deceptive length for the wing position:
- Other Butler Offered Class of 2021 Recruits: Pierre Brooks SG (Douglas Academy; Detroit, MI); Trevor Keels SG (Paul VI Catholic; Fairfax, VA): Brooks is projected to go to Michigan State–with Michigan having also offered, while Keels is prognosticated to Virginia respectively–as he also received offers from Duke, UNC, and Villanova among others.