Player Profile: Myles Tate

Background

The first player profile for the upcoming season is on Myles Tate, a six-foot junior who will be returning for his first full season since tearing his ACL late in his Freshman year. Myles has shown great flashes in the open court during his time in Indianapolis and I expect him to grow as a scorer and provide the spark off the bench that the Dawgs have missed out on since his injury. As a freshman, he averaged nearly seven points to go along with a steal and two rebounds per contest. Tates' speed and playmaking ability in the open court are two things I am very excited to see in a much more open offense under Coach Matta. The stagnant and slow offense didn't play into his elite open-court skills so I am excited to see him surprise some Butler fans with high-energy plays this season. 

European Tour 

Myles was extremely impressive on the European tour as he scored double digits in two of the four games while dishing out multiple assists in each game as well. The thing that stood out the most was his ability to attack bigs and finish at the rim which we grew accustomed to seeing during his Freshman campaign. With so much depth at the guard position, I think he has a chance to distinguish himself as a leader in a downhill offense especially if he can improve on his shooting. Facilitating the offense will be a top priority if he is leading the second unit like we saw in Europe but if he develops a consistent three-point shot the opposing defense will be forced to expand and will open up opportunities to attack the lane. 

Expected Role

My expectation is for Myles to lead the bench unit throughout the year because of his ability to distribute and defend at an elite level. Coming off the bench is simply because it fills an important hole that the Dawgs have been missing in recent years. A true alpha leader off the bench will take pressure off of Eric Hunter Jr who is expected to run point for the starting unit. Personally, I want to see our second unit run a fast-paced offense to keep pressure high on the opposition. Ideally, this "Speed" unit would consist of Pierce Thomas and Myles Tate at the guard positions which would be guaranteed to provide highlight real plays every game. 

Projected Statistics

Pts- 9.5 

Ast- 3.6 

Stl- 1.5 

Fg%- 41% 

3pt%- 34% 

European Tour Fuels High Expectations

To kick off the Thad Matta Era, part 2, the Bulldogs are across the pond to play professional teams from Greece. This could not have come at a better time for the Bulldogs as a team and for us as loyal fans as it marks a new chapter beginning with a plethora of new faces and a return of excitement brewing in Hinkle. While Coach Matta was able to retain the vast majority of the roster there was still a significant turnover as the senior class graduated and gave way to high-profile transfers and the re-commitment of Connor Turnbull. The latter has impressed in practice and in limited minutes so far on tour. The prized transfers have also impressed me so far as I will dive into below. From the highlight reels and reports coming out of Europe, a few things have really stuck out to me and are fueling high expectations and a light at the end of the tunnel out of the rough few years we have had in Hinkle Fieldhouse. 

• Proficient Scoring: It is no secret that defense was the main focus for our Dogs under Coach Jordan. At its peak, #5 in the country, it was a stifling unit that took away top options and kept games within striking distance regardless of the competition. Unfortunately, the offense was reliant on knocking down threes along with the presence of a true alpha leading the pack. The presence of Sean McDermott and Kamar Baldwin filled these roles perfectly as McDermott averaged nearly 40% from 3 and Baldwin was a first-team big east selection. This slow-paced offense was tailor-made for these players but unfortunately, after their departure, sputtered. The offense last season averaged less than 64 points per game which will not fly in a strong Big East. So far on the European tour, the Dogs are averaging over 87 points per game. I understand the competition is lower than the likes of Villanova and Creighton but this proficiency is something we haven't seen in a few years.

• Size Down Low: Butler has always been an undersized team that relies on grit and toughness over the shear force that we see from teams such as Providence. This disadvantage was obvious from an onlooking fan and was at the top of my wishlist every year as we entered the transfer portal. Last year our starting center was Bryce Nze who did an adequate job and had a very solid career for the Bulldogs. With that being said, playing him at the center was unfair and did not allow him to show off his elite skill set at his true position of power forward. This year Coach Matta addressed that issue with 3 separate players over 6'10". Manny Bates is a transcendent player, the likes of which have never dawned a Butler Uniform. The last player to average over one block a game for the Bulldogs was Tyler Wideman in 2015-2016. Bates has averaged nearly three blocks a game in both of his healthy seasons at NC State. This presence inside is a necessity in the Big East and will be a gamechanger as we get into the grind of conference play. Coming along with Bates was Jalen Thomas, a skilled big from Georgia State who scored 12 points and grabbed 9 rebounds against the #2 pick in the NBA Draft Chet Holmgren during the first round of March Madness last year. He too averaged over a block a game and will add more of a presence down low than we have had in the last few years. The final piece is Connor Turnbull, a high-flying big from St. Louis who will most likely sit and learn for most of this year but has been impressive so far since arriving on campus. 

• Run and Gun: Frustrations about the speed at which the team was allowed to play have been at the forefront of many fans' minds the past few years. With skilled, fast guards it seemed as though the team thrived in the open court but was slowed down by the monotonous offense that we came accustomed to seeing. With the addition of Eric Hunter Jr, I think that this offense has a chance to run fast, shoot threes, and create a style of offense that will get Hinkle fans back on their feet much more than we have seen in recent years. Harris and Taylor have picked up right where their momentum left off last year as they have impressed in all three games averaging 18 and 14 respectively. With another offseason of work, I expect these two to be one of the most dynamic scoring backcourts in the Big East. Hunter, Harris, Taylor, and Lukosius are expected to thrive but there are 2 other names who could be x-Factors as we go into the season. The first is Myles Tate who is the ideal leader off the bench for a fast-paced offense. The speedy point guard was hampered last year while recovering from his ACL tear but seems to be back in full strength and looks to impress this season. The other is Pierce Thomas who could become not just the most exciting player on the team but potentially in the big east. If you don't believe me just watch this casual dunk he threw down in practice this past month. He has seemed to have a poster-worthy dunk in every game so far overseas and I expect him to continue to wow us in his redshirt freshman year. 

The Bulldogs will finish their tour tomorrow before heading home to Indianapolis to start pre-season camp and start preparing for the season in early November.